Transcript Cambia Communities Proposal

DYNAMICS CRM AS AN xRM
DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM
Jim Novak
Solution Architect
Celedon Partners, LLC
http://www.celedonpartners.com
AGENDA
1. What is Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
2. Some Technical Details and History
3. What is xRM?
4. How can users extend Dynamics CRM?
5. How can developers extend Dynamics CRM?
6. Custom Dev vs. the xRM Platform
7. xRM in Action… Some demos
WHAT IS MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM?
“Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a customer relationship management software
package developed by Microsoft. Out of the box, the product focuses mainly on
Sales, Marketing, and Service (help desk) sectors, but Microsoft has been marketing
Dynamics CRM as an XRM platform and has been encouraging partners to use its
proprietary (.NET based) framework to customize it.”
via Wikipedia, Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Out of the box Sales and Marketing solution for small, mid and enterprise customers
Big competitor to the familiar Salesforce.com CRM solution
SOME TECHNICAL DETAILS AND HISTORY
Technical platform
 Fully managed code, .NET Framework 4.5+ on latest release
 SQL Server based, SQL Server 2012 fully supported
 Integrated with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services
 Available On Premise and Online
 Web based UI with mobile support and Outlook integration
History
 Platform originally built as an extensible business framework
 Originally designed as an application platform by iConnect out of Baltimore
 Microsoft liked the CRM proof of concept, so they acquired the platform and the team joined the
Microsoft product team
 xRM still at the core of the platform
WHAT IS xRM?
“Take the ‘C’ out of ‘CRM’ and you‘re left with Microsoft Dynamics Relationship Management—
and that‘s the right way to think about this product. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is not just about
sales and marketing. It‘s a platform for developing line of business applications—applications
that manage and track information and processes around real world objects.”
via Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a Business Application Platform whitepaper
 Translate - xRM means “Anything” Relationship Management
 Treat CRM as a flexible, adaptable platform for any LOB applications
 One business application platform, supporting many applications
 This means shared resources and familiar platform for cross application users
xRM PLATFORM
Microsoft Dynamics
CRM provides a
powerful rapid
development
platform easily
integrated into
existing systems…
the core of xRM!
Legacy
DB/App
Mobile
XRM
Web
SharePoint
Cloud
Apps
Office
ASP.NET
Social
Rapid
Application
Platform
Legacy
DB/App
HOW CAN USERS EXTEND DYNAMICS CRM?
 Customizations – Configuration based updates to the CRM platform
 Metadata – configure and extend the underlying data model
 Entities - An entity is a container for data, each containing a set of attributes
 Attributes - An attribute is a container for a piece of data in an entity
 Relationship - A relationship defines an association between two entities
 Entity Forms and Business Rules – forms designer for entity specific data entry
 Workflows – workflow designer for hooking into the entity event model
 Business Process flows –designer for guided business processes
 Reports – built in report designer for SSRS hosted reports
No option listed requires development time, skills nor tools
HOW CAN DEVS EXTEND DYNAMICS CRM?
 Forms JavaScript – extend entity forms via JavaScript web resources
 Web Resources – extend forms and dialogs via custom HTML pages
 Plugins – hook into the platform execution pipeline
 Workflows – extend workflow pipeline with custom workflows
 Custom Reports – download and modify SSRS reports
 Services – access to schema and solution data via web services
 Custom Portals – provide custom user interface for CRM data and services
Each option requires a level of development effort and developer skills to implement
CUSTOM DEV VS. THE xRM PLATFORM
Pros
 Powerful rapid development platform
 Increased developer productivity
 Less development investment in time and effort
 Supported by Microsoft, a full SDK and active developer and
user communities
 Many supported add-on solutions by vendors
 Consolidated IT infrastructure and improved IT Staff efficiency
through a known, supported platform
Cons
 Learning curve for developers
 Lack of some functionality
 Some limits to extensibility
xRM IN ACTION… SOME DEMOS
Custom Entity – Simple custom entity owned by a system user
Custom Form – Custom fields and navigation for new entity
JavaScript and Web Resource – demonstrate
Business Process – sample
Custom Plugin – auto generate field values on create
Custom Portal – access and update via a website
APPENDIX
References, notes and further
reading
REFERENCES
 Business users – Microsoft Dynamics CRM home
Home page for Microsoft Dynamics CRM
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm.aspx
 Developers - MSDN Online Community
Microsoft Dynamics CRM section of MSDN with documentation and examples
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm/
 Software Development Kit Online
Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK online, including documentation and examples
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa496081.aspx
 Training & Adoption Kit for Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Training slides, ebooks and presentations
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm-customer-center/training-adoption-kit-for-microsoft-dynamics-crm.aspx
 CRM User Group
Third party CRM user group, connecting to other users, developers for training and discussions
http://www.crmug.com
 Celedon Partners
Check out the Celedon Partners blog!
http://www.celedonpartners.com/blog/category/blog/
CRM EXTENSIBILITY ARCHITECTURE
Microsoft Dynamics CRM
provides a powerful extensibility
platform
Business Entity customizations
Security model configuration
User interface extensions
Plugin execution pipeline
Web services
Reports and SQL views
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg327974.aspx#BKMK_architecture
SHAREPOINT AND DYNAMICS CRM
 Microsoft offers powerful complementary, integrated platforms with Dynamics CRM and SharePoint
Unstructured &
Semi-structured
Data
Social
Engagement &
Collaboration
Information
Evolution &
Storage
Informal Rules
Enterprise
Search
Across Teams &
Domains
Structured
Relational Data
Interactions,
Activities &
Tasks
Information
Generation &
Analytics
Formalized
Processes
Data Query &
Filter
Within Teams &
Domains
SharePoint
xRM