
This post will discuss a different integration point – using search in SharePoint 2013 to expose CRM entity data. When setup properly, SharePoint 2013 can provide a robust, enterprise level search capability that can be tailored to your needs. Also, it seems to fill a current functionality gap in CRM that often requires a third party tool. Granted, you will need SharePoint 2013 Enterprise to realize this setup, but if this is available to you there should be no need to look anywhere else for search. Read More…

How do you handle document storage and management in CRM? While this is a prominent feature in SharePoint, it is not as obvious or as easy to use in CRM. However, if you have a need to attach and manage documents in CRM, there is a provided option.
CRM offers a Notes field that can be turned on and associated to any entity. This Notes field is actually a reference to an entity called Annotation. The Annotation entity holds your file attachment and a reference ID back to the entity that the attachment belongs to. This feature is turned on by default for some of the default entities, but you need to turn it on yourself for custom entities. Read More…

There are three basic versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, and each has its own particular licensing requirements:
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 On-Premises: Most useful for organizations that do their deployments in-house. You must purchase a license for each server that will run the CRM Server software. You must also purchase Client Access License (CAL) for each user or device that will access the software.
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Online: Used for solutions that will be hosted in the cloud. You must purchase a User Subscription License (USL) for each user that will access the solution. USLs are assigned to a named user, which means that USLs cannot be shared. A single USL licenses the user to access any instance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 or earlier associated with the same tenant. (USLs do not include use rights for Yammer or Skype.)
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 SPLA: Used by service providers and independent software vendors who license CRM to provide solutions to customers. You must purchase a Subscriber Access License (SAL) for each unique individual user who is authorized to access or otherwise use the licensed products. SALs are assigned to a named user, which means that SALs cannot be shared. A SAL will authorize a user to access any number of instances of CRM 2013 or earlier running on the organization’s servers. Read More…

SharePoint 2003 had been available for use in my previous office where I had initially set up out-of-the-box team sites for working groups to support a large department-wide initiative. I found it empowering to quickly set up sites, lists and libraries without any fuss (or custom coding) to get people working together. Working with my new team, I gained insight into what we could do with this tool in terms of workflow, integration and branding. It got even better when we migrated to SharePoint 2007. We made great strides in consolidating our websites and communicating to those who were interested exactly what the tools could do in terms of collaboration and knowledge management.
This ability for a power user to quickly create a variety of new capabilities exposed a deeper customer need – easier communications with IT. While we had all this great expertise and firepower to create and maintain IT tools and services, our core customer base did not have an easy way to quickly and reliably communicate their needs in a manner that matched their high operational tempo. It was a problem. We needed a way for our customers to quickly and easily communicate with us in order to really hear what they needed to meet their mission goals and work more effectively. Read More…

This functionality is apparent in a couple of different places in the CRM 2011 web interface. First, there is a page under the Settings section for Document Management. Second, some entities will have a Documents area available on their forms. Please see the screen shot in Figure 1 below. (Click on any image to see full-size.)

For this write-up, I’ll be focusing on the Document Management page and the required steps for configuring access to SharePoint 2010 as well as installing the SharePoint List Component.