Microsoft CRM 4 Mainstream Support Expires April 2013

Posted on , updated on by Keith Cockerham

Mainstream support for Microsoft Dynamics 4 expires in April 2013. After this date Microsoft will no longer provide free updates and non-security fixes for Microsoft CRM 4.

Extended support will be available until April 2018. Extended support provides similar features to Mainstream Support but requires paid support cases to be opened with Microsoft. Here you can find more information on extended support.

Recently; Microsoft published Rollup 21 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4 – this is widely believed to be one of the last updates for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.

Table of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Support End Dates

Products Released Lifecycle Start Date Mainstream Support End Date Extended Support End Date
CRM 1 01/01/2003 11/07/2006 N/A
CRM 1.2 31/10/2003 09/01/2007 N/A
Dynamics CRM 3 01/12/2005 12/04/2011 12/04/2016
Dynamics CRM 4 29/02/2008 09/04/2013 10/04/2018
Dynamics CRM 2011 18/05/2011 12/07/2016 13/07/2021

Office 365 for Schools and Colleges

Posted on , updated on by Keith Cockerham

Microsoft offer selected plans of their Office 365 to Schools and Colleges for free!*

Features of Office 365 for Education:

Emails and calendars

Cloud-based email and calendars powered by Microsoft Exchange Online using your domain name. 25 GB storage per user.

Web conferencing

Rich online meetings with audio and video, desktop sharing, and virtual whiteboard. Excellent for distance learning.

Office Web Apps

Create and edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote documents using your favourite web browser

Public Website

Design and maintain a simple, public-facing website with no additional hosting fees. Use your own domain.

Team sites

Share files and documents with classmates. Create team, study group or club sites. Up to 300 sub sites.

Reliability & Security

99.9% uptime guarantee and enterprise class data centres.

Protection

Premium antivirus and anti-spam filtering. Configurable anti-spam filtering.

Administration

Easy to use and control. You can add and remove users in minutes. Use PowerShell for creating custom scripts and automating processes

Updates

Microsoft update the service regularly with new features and capabilities

*Microsoft verify your domain during the trial to check eligibility.

Microsoft CRM on iPad

Posted on , updated on by Keith Cockerham

One question we have been asked quite a bit recently is “Does Microsoft CRM work on an iPad?”

Currently, there are three options for using Microsoft CRM on an iPad.

 

1. Use CRM Mobile Express

CRM Mobile Express is built into CRM 20111 and was included with CRM 4 Rollup 7.  Currently, if you access Microsoft CRM from a browser other than Internet Explorer you will be directed to the CRM Mobile Express forms.  I say currently as this is due to change shortly (see point 3).

 

2. Use a 3rd Party App such as Resco Mobile or CWR Mobility. 

Resco’s MyCRM app is available for free in the Apple Store and Android Marketplace but will only work with built-in fields.  If you want to add custom entities or tables you need to purchase their “Woodford” customisation tool.

 

3. Wait for Microsoft CRM’s Q4 Update.

Also known as R8 (Not rollup 8);  This was due to be released in Q2, July 2012 but was postponed to Q4.  This update includes the Microsoft CRM Mobile Client (pictured) and Cross Browser Compatibility.  Cross Browser compatibility is for selected versions of IE, Chrome, Firefox and Safari across PC, Mac and iPad.  More information can be found on the new delivery schedule here.

 

If you have any questions about which solution for using Microsoft CRM on a tablet device please contact us on 0113 827 2040.

 

Windows 8 Partner Launch

Posted on by Keith Cockerham

On Wednesday this week we went to Microsoft in Reading for the Windows 8 partner launch and  had the opportunity to play with some Windows 8 touch screen devices.  I want one!  It will be interesting to see how Windows 8 is adopted as it’s designed for touch screen but assuming you have the full fat version you still have the traditional windows desktop, minus the start button.

 

I’ve been running the Windows 8 preview with Office 2013 on my work laptop for around a month now and I tend to use desktop mode.  I think if my laptop was touch screen I would spend more time in TIFCAM (The interface formally known as Metro) mode.  From what I hear, people who try Windows 8 on existing hardware don’t like it but those who have touch screen devices love it.  Now I’m used to it I quite like Windows 8.

 

James Akrigg also demonstrated some apps from the new Office 2013 store.  He received an email which had “please review this document” and Outlook prompted to create a new task.  He also showed a teaser of a dashboard in PowerPivot for Excel which looked pretty awesome!

Nokia Lumia 920 Unveiled

Posted on , updated on by Keith Cockerham

Today Nokia unveiled the new Nokia Lumia 920 which will run Windows Phone 8.

It has some great new features such as Nokia’s Optical Image Stabilisation technology which allows the capturing of blur-free image; wireless charging and a HD display.

I’ve been using the Nokia Lumia 800 for a few months now and it’s got some great features such as the People Hub where you can group people together such as work contacts and show their updates on a live tile.  I always feel overwhelmed with icons when I go back to Android or iPhone devices.  The Windows Phone interface has all the important information right where you need it.

Charity Pig Race

Posted on , updated on by Keith Cockerham

On Saturday 1st September Optimal sponsored a Porcine Spectacular of mechanical pig racing.  The first of a series of events to be held over the next year in aid of raising £7,000 for REGAIN: The Trust for Sport Tetraplegics. The events culminate in Rod and Chris doing a 400km Bike Ride across South Africa in September 2013.
Over ninety adults and not a few kids enjoyed the evening which was attended by no less than the Mayor of Kirklees and the event raised over £1,000 towards the target.  Well done Rod and Chris!
More information here: https://sites.google.com/site/regainrodandchris/

Update Rollup 10 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 (KB 2710577)

Posted on , updated on by Keith Cockerham

Microsoft have released CRM 2011 Rollup 10

You can download it from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?

You must have Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 6 (build 5.0.9690.1992) or a later version installed to apply this update rollup. For more information about this update rollup, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2600640/

 

Update Rollup 9 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 was skipped because of a delay in the Q2 Service Update. Update Rollup 10 fixes all the issues that would have been included in Update Rollup 9.