I joined the UK MBS team in July 2004 a few months after Microsoft CRM 1.2 was launched. Business applications were truly a new frontier for Microsoft at that time, and over the years I have been proud to have been part of a wonderfully close-knit community of enthusiasts, developers, partners and customers. A decade later and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 has well and truly left behind its quirky, adolescent charm and become a mature, enterprise "tour de force" - Isn't it great when the kids grow up...

I'm not going too far though, as I am joining the Microsoft Partner Enterprise Architect Team (PEAT) as a cloud architect and I'll supporting enterprise partners selling solutions built on Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online. I've even gone and started a new blog, specifically focussing on my Azure exploits - http://blogs.msdn.com/ukazure.

All that remains is for me to say "So long, and thanks for all the fish..."

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

When not working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Simon can be found singing with The Chain Gang. Berkshire’s leading live Soul, Funk, Disco and Motown function band.

Slightly off-topic, but I just found out that applications are still open for our first ever Microsoft UK Apprenticeship Programme which starts in September 2014. We are looking for school leavers aged 16 years + to join either our Business Management or Technical stream.

• Applicants need to be 16 years + with a minimum of 5 GCSE’s grades A to C (including Maths, English, Science and preferable IT).
• Roles are based at Microsoft UK Headquarters, Reading (http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/about/ukoffices/reading), starting mid September 2014.
• Salary of £14k.
• 18 month contract with full training and support.
• 13 confirmed roles available (4 technical, 9 non-technical).
• Assessment Process includes online application, interviews and Assessment Centre (early July 2014)
• Apply via our website:  http://www.microsoft.com/uk/students

Applications for the scheme close on 16th June 2014.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

When not working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Simon can be found singing with The Chain Gang. Berkshire’s leading live Soul, Funk, Disco and Motown function band.

Over this weekend I’ve been reflecting on what the partnership actually is, and what does it mean for Microsoft as a whole and specifically for Microsoft Dynamics. I’ve collected many of the press articles from the last few days, and it seems the overall sentiment is pretty positive, with both companies agreeing to cooperate for the benefit of our customers who want to use both Office 365 and Salesforce.com, whilst still competing vigorously in the CRM applications space.

What do you think? Add your comments below.

• Bloomberg - Microsoft, Salesforce Unveil Cloud-Computing Partnership
• Computer Weekly - Microsoft and Salesforce bind SQL deal and Office 365 integration
• V3.co.uk - Microsoft strikes deal to bring Salesforce1 to Windows and Windows Phone 8.1
• The Register - Microsoft, Salesforce thump table in cloud tie-up talks
• The Register - Confirmed: Salesforce partners with 'evil empire' Microsoft
• CBR - Salesforce muscles in on SAP territory with Microsoft partnership
• TechWeek Europe - Microsoft And Salesforce Settle Feud With Partnership Deal
• Business Cloud - Is this the death of Dynamics?
• ComputerWorld UK - Microsoft and Salesforce.com to link wares in global partnership
• diginomica - Cloudy glasnost for Microsoft and Salesforce.com, but what must Bernard think?
• The Next Web - Microsoft and Salesforce.com partner to bring Salesforce platform to Windows, Windows Phone, and Office 365
• TechWorld - Microsoft and Salesforce.com to link wares in global partnership
• Cloud Pro - Microsoft Azure users to get access to Salesforce tools
• The Inquirer - Microsoft and Salesforce smoke a peace pipe with Windows partnership

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

When not working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Simon can be found singing with The Chain Gang. Berkshire’s leading live Soul, Funk, Disco and Motown function band.

It’s taken a while, but “The Times They Are A Changing”. CRM Magazine has just announced Microsoft Dynamics CRM as the winner in their “Customer Case Management” category. Click in the image below to read the full article.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

When not working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Simon can be found singing with The Chain Gang. Berkshire’s leading live Soul, Funk, Disco and Motown function band.

Are you a Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner? Then this training on 8th/9th April 2014 is for you…!

Social listening! Customer care! Marketing! It’s all coming in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM “Spring Wave” releases. Please join Fred Studer, Microsoft Dynamics General Manager of CRM Product Marketing, as he and his team present an overview of these upcoming releases and show how your customers can create amazing customer experiences with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

This three-hour online event will include market positioning plus overviews and demos of the next big movement in Dynamics CRM: brand new out-of-the-box solutions that integrate social listening, marketing and customer care applications with the power of CRM. The session will also cover pricing and licensing for the new releases.

Incorporating both recorded content and live chat-based Q&A with Microsoft Subject Matter Experts, the Dynamics CRM Spring Wave Readiness Blitz will be offered at two different times to offer attendance options convenient for your schedule.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about the Microsoft Dynamics CRM “Spring Wave” release.

• Option 1: 8th April 2014 at 19:30 Pacific Daylight Saving Time
• Option 2: 9th April 2014 at 07:30 Pacific Daylight Saving Time

For further information please contact the Dynamics Readiness team on mbsr2go@microsoft.com.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

When not working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Simon can be found singing with The Chain Gang. Berkshire’s leading live Soul, Funk, Disco and Motown function band.

Just a quick post to let you know that you are able to register for “Virtual Convergence” and access recordings of all the Microsoft Dynamics Sessions free of charge, here - http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/convergence/atlanta14

There are many CRM related session for you to enjoy, with lots of information about our roadmap for 2014.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Product roadmap and future vision
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122791&ShowKey=18130

Parature: An introduction
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122781&ShowKey=18130

Getting started with a social strategy
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122799&ShowKey=18130

Best practices for using Parature to deliver exceptional customer service
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122782&ShowKey=18130

Better Together: Connecting Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Parature
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122785&ShowKey=18130

Analyse this! Learn to drive insights with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122795&ShowKey=18130

Customer care in the Age of the customer
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122778&ShowKey=18130

How Microsoft delivers your Microsoft Dynamics CRM online services
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122797&ShowKey=18130

Introduction to Dynamics marketing
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122773&ShowKey=18130

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013: Mobility options
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122802&ShowKey=18130

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013: Upgrade considerations
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122794&ShowKey=18130

The science of customer relationships
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122777&ShowKey=18130

Unified Service Desk: Enabling a super agent!
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122779&ShowKey=18130

Better Together: Connecting Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Parature
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122785&ShowKey=18130

Leo: Transform your Customer Service with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122780&ShowKey=18130

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013: Key platform enhancements
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122796&ShowKey=18130

Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Customizing the user interface
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122885&ShowKey=18130

Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Driving impact with advanced Business Process Management
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122882&ShowKey=18130

Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Driving sales effectiveness
https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?DisplayItem=E122790&ShowKey=18130

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

When not working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Simon can be found singing with The Chain Gang. Berkshire’s leading live Soul, Funk, Disco and Motown function band.

It’s approaching the end of another year, and now’s the time I start to sort through a bunch of stuff that has been at the bottom of my “To Do” list pretty much all year. I’ve been trying to get round to writing a series of articles about “best practice” for Microsoft Dynamics CRM pre-sales, but I think that may have been a little too ambitious. Instead I’m going to post a few “top tips” that should make life a little easier for you.

This post is focussed on demo data. When building customer demos, good quality demo data is usually a bit of an afterthought. Very often, I don’t have the luxury of spending a couple of day just making sure that the demo data is relevant to the customer I am working with, but even the smallest touches can bring a demo to life. For example, making sure that the customer’s products and services are in the product catalogue; making sure that business units, sales territories and sites are recognisable to the customer’s own business.

Another problem is how to make sure demo data doesn’t get stale and that data can be refreshed so that it is not months or even years out of data. There’s nothing worse than looking at a CRM sales or case dashboard and seeing a couple of “lonely” data points. So, how can we improve the situation?

Earlier this year I started to configure a basic Excel workbook to help me generate demo data for the entities I use most commonly (primarily leads, accounts, contacts and opportunities). Through extensive use of formulas, I was able to make sure that only qualified leads got converted into accounts and contacts, and that date fields were relative to the current day. Over time I extended the workbook to make use of accurate UK addresses (with correct postal codes), territory assignments based on those same postal codes, randomised contact names based upon lists of country specific first and last names and so on. I also included more entities such as cases, campaigns, campaign responses, appointments and phone calls. Wherever possible, I tried to make the data easy to modify, so that it could be easily tailored for specific customer demos.

Finally, with so much data, I needed an excel macro that would make it really simple to export the data into .CSV files ready to import into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. As you can see from the screenshot, I’ve ended up creating a tool that can be used to create data for 20 different CRM 2013 entities.

Now, rather than spend hours producing details instructions on how to use this tool, I put some basic “How To” information at the front of the workbook to get you started. If you have any questions, then post a comment below and I will do my best to answer.

Oh, before I forget, you can download my Excel 2013 workbook here.

*** UPDATE 31st MARCH 2014 ***

Thanks to Mark & Patrick for pointing out that default mappings for 3.zip (Leads, Accounts, Contacts) don't work. To fix this, you need to re-map the "Originating Lead" field for both the Account & Contact records, to lookup the "Topic" field of the Lead. The animated .gif below shows how this is done.

*** UPDATE 4th JULY 2014 ***

Now that the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Spring '14 release (codename "Leo") has arrived, I've updated my spreadsheet to include demo data for the new "Social Profile" and "Social Post" entities, as well as adding additional fields to the "Case" entity (such as "Social Profile", "Influence Score", "Sentiment Value", "First Response By", "First Response SLA Status" and so on). The new version of the workbook can be downloaded here and the original v1 version is still available here.

*** UPDATE 12th NOVEMBER 2014 ***

I've recently found out that the v2 workbook .ZIP file has become corrupt, so I've uploaded a new version here.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

When not working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Simon can be found singing with The Chain Gang. Berkshire’s leading live Soul, Funk, Disco and Motown function band.

CRM 2013 Demo Data - B2B Team Owned v3.zip

Thanks to my Danish colleague, Jesper Osgaard, for spotting the availability of a new CRM 2013 eLearning course. You can find the course by searching for course number 80543AE “Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013” via the Microsoft Training Catalogue here - http://learning.microsoft.com.

If you (or your company) already have access to Microsoft Training, then the course should be free of charge. If not, then you can purchase it for £181.23 (price correct at the time of writing).

*** UPDATE 24/03/2014 ***

Thanks to Alex & Naveen for pointing out that this course doesn't show up when you search the learning portal. Here is the direct link to this and a couple of other training courses:

• Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 - https://dynamics.microsoftelearning.com/eLearning/courseDetail.aspx?courseId=445873
• Customer Service in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 - https://dynamics.microsoftelearning.com/eLearning/courseDetail.aspx?courseId=446660
• Sales Management in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 - https://dynamics.microsoftelearning.com/eLearning/courseDetail.aspx?courseId=446950

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

When not working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Simon can be found singing with The Chain Gang. Berkshire’s leading live Soul, Funk, Disco and Motown function band.

Last week at Microsoft Convergence EMEA 2013 we announced the imminent availability of a number of industry-specific templates for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, providing additional functionality for businesses in sectors as diverse as Wealth Management and Local Government. The good news is that are now available for download, free of charge, from Microsoft Pinpoint (the Microsoft Dynamics app store).

I particularly would like to draw your attention to the “Microsoft Dynamics CRM Deal, On Boarding and Account Planning Process” template, which was developed by my good friend and UK CRM colleague, Mark Margolis. Prior to joining Microsoft last year, Mark worked in the financial services sector, building systems for buy-side & sell-side firms as well as corporate banking and wealth management customers. I have demoed this template to my customers several times over the last month or so, and without fail, every single one has been impressed with its power and simplicity.

The template includes the following CRM configurations, as well as some sample data to get you started:

• Six business processes to handle on boarding and account management for new and existing clients.
• Two dashboards: one tailored for account planning and one for on boarding new clients.
• Two dialogs to help employees gather required information from clients.
• Workflows and security roles to support the business processes.
• Three custom entities: “Account Plan”, “Account Plan Product”, and “On Boarding”.

Here are the links to all the templates currently available. Enjoy!

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Deal, On Boarding and Account Planning Process

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-deal-onboarding-and-account-planning-process-12884966166

This business process guides financial organisations through the complete client lifecycle for new and existing customers – from initial data gathering and on-boarding to account planning and execution. This solution gives on-going visibility into the status of client relationships, so that you can handle deals consistently and drive successful outcomes.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Wealth Management Process

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-wealth-management-process-12884966167

This business process enables financial advisors to create detailed investment proposals and deliver great service to their clients. This solution guides financial advisors through best practices to gather required information from clients, develop investment proposals, and close transactions successfully.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Life Insurance Sales Process

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-life-insurance-sales-process-12884966164

This business process helps insurance companies sell life insurance policies from start to finish, including from prospecting for clients to quote, application, underwriting, and policy issuance. Agents, customer service reps (CSRs), and district managers can use it to capture information from prospects, convert leads into opportunities, send price quotes, and create the policy. Customer service reps can also follow the process to cross-sell insurance products during service calls.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Health Plan Sales Management Process

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-health-plan-sales-management-process-12884966267

This business process is designed for organisations that sell health insurance. Agents, customer service reps, and district managers can use it to capture information from a campaign response, convert leads into opportunities, send price quotes, and create the policy. Customer service reps can also follow the process to cross-sell insurance products during service calls. You can also easily modify this business process for selling other types of insurance.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Citizen Service Request Process

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-citizen-service-request-process-12884966084

This business process gives organisations in the public sector a great way to manage incoming service requests from citizens. This business process is ideal for local, regional, or state governments who need to prioritize and assign service requests, estimate time and costs, and track progress until resolution.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Complex Opportunity Management Processes

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-complex-opportunity-management-processes-12884966165

This business processes guides professional services organizations through each step to respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quote (RFQ). This solution helps sales, marketing, and finance teams create proposals, assess risks, and conduct cost-benefit analysis. With visibility into the overall RPF/RFQ process, executive leadership can make bid/no bid decisions based on relevant data.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Grant Management Process

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-grant-management-process-12884966087

This business process gives organisations in the public sector a standardised way to manage and track grant awards to individuals, businesses, or other governments. This solution allows grant managers to stay on top of the grant process from application to the allocation of funds. A dashboard gives you visibility into the status of all applications in the pipeline, including trends in requests versus awards, the number of active grants by category, and the number of grants awarded by month.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM License and Permit Compliance Process

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-license-and-permit-compliance-process-12884966088

This business process helps organisations in the public sector to oversee the collection of licensing and permitting fees from businesses and citizens. This solution helps investigators and enforcement officers improve the number of fees collected by keeping track of where they are in the collection process and ensuring that all required steps are followed.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Public Sector Case Management Process

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-public-sector-case-management-process-12884966089

This business process gives governments and healthcare organisations a great tool to manage social service cases. Case workers and case managers are guided through standardised steps to assess cases, define and approve mitigation plans, provide management reports, and ensure all required activities are completed to close a case.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Service Call - Repair and Return Process

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-service-call-repair-and-return-process-12884966168

This business process is ideal for standardising how customer service reps (CSRs) handle product repairs and returns to ensure swift, efficient resolution of service calls and higher customer satisfaction. This solution helps CSRs assist customers with product fixes by phone, and manage product returns, replacements, and repairs.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sports Management Process

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-crm-sports-management-process-12884966314

This business process helps professional sports teams manage the sale of tickets and merchandise to fans. This solution also helps organisations track players and teams, including injuries, scouting reports, drug testing results, and contracts.

Microsoft Dynamics Solution Selling® - Short Sales Cycle

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-solution-selling%c2%ae-short-sales-cycle-12884966210

A shorter sale assumes a sales cycle of only a few meetings, generally 2 to 3. The seller employs a repeatable approach using defined sales process steps and sales tools. The opportunity is a “solution” sale where the seller has multiple offerings and proposes solutions based on the buyer’s needs. The seller may initiate the opportunity directly with a decision maker and require less need for risk mitigation and proof steps.

Microsoft Dynamics Solution Selling® - Strategic/Complex Sales Cycle

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-solution-selling%c2%ae-strategic-complex-sales-cycle-12884966169

The longer sale assumes a sales cycle of several meetings, generally 5 or more. The seller engages a repeatable approach using defined sales process steps and sales tools. Opportunities require meeting with one or more sponsors and decision makers throughout the sales cycle, highlighting the need for effective risk mitigation. The opportunity is a “solution” sale with multiple potential offerings and often benefits from an account management focus.

Microsoft Dynamics Solution Selling® Transactional Sales Cycle

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-gb/applications/microsoft-dynamics-solution-selling%c2%ae-transactional-cycle-12884966212

A transactional sale assumes a “one call” close sales cycle. The opportunity may be identified when the prospect proactively contacts the business - “inbound” call, or may be initiated by a sales representative contacting an identified prospect - “outbound” call. A transactional sales process is generally highly customised and/or scripted and may be a focused “product” sale. It is important the sales approach be clearly defined and repeatable, while the sales process may be less important.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

When not working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Simon can be found singing with The Chain Gang. Berkshire’s leading live Soul, Funk, Disco and Motown function band.

Announced this morning at the Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2013 EMEA conference, not only do we have the CRM 2013 Mobile Companion Apps (MOCA) for iPad and Windows 8, but we have now released the CRM 2013 Phone Apps for Windows Phone, iPhone and Android (affectionately known as EXPRESSO as a nod towards Mobile Express from CRM 2011). You can find the apps in the in the relevant app stores here:

Windows Phone Store: http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=bdf6ad14-8ff3-4db1-a9d5-336c50ef13ee

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/app/microsoft-dynamics-crm-for/id723891307

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.crm.crmhost

Just like the MOCA apps, there is no additional charge for the EXPRESSO apps. Simply download to your phone, connect using your CRM login credentials, and off you go.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

When not working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Simon can be found singing with The Chain Gang. Berkshire’s leading live Soul, Funk, Disco and Motown function band.