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Recommendations

CWR Mobile CRM…from CWR Mobility

As mobile devices become ubiquitous, mobile CRM moves from the nice-to-have to the must-have category. If your organization runs Dynamics CRM and needs to support mobile users on Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and iPhone, there’s really only one choice: CWR Mobile CRM from CWR Mobility. The more I work with this product, the more I like it. Native online and offline support for all three client platforms, a metadata-driven architecture, support for on-premise and online deployment models, role-based profiles, fast synchronization. 

On February 15, 2010, CWR Mobile CRM became available as a free download through Apple’s App Store! (picture below). I recently worked on a project that involved building a prototype mobile CRM application for a large field sales force and we used CWR Mobile CRM. As a side note, one of the things I learned was how hard it is to deploy iPhone apps if you are not in the App Store. (Talk about a locked down platform!) Now that Mobile CRM is available through the officially approved App Store channel, it should get plenty of well-deserved attention.

The Dynamics CRM User Group featured CWR in our Dynamics CRM Mobility 2009 So-Hot-Summer series — here are links to CWR CEO Erik van Hoof’s presentations:

• Part 1 (slides)
• Part 2 (demo)

Web2CRM … from CRMInnovation

If you’ve ever had the need to let a site visitor fill in a web form and create a Dynamics CRM record with the data, you’ll appreciate a) how important that functionality is, and b) what a hassle it is to implement in out of the box CRM! Lately I’ve become a convert to a remarkably useful application, Web2CRM, from a company in St. Loius called CRM Innovation. I use it now any time I need to bring the contents of a web form into CRM, and I recommend you use it if you have those requirements. They have a 7-day free trial, which you can take advantage of by clicking this link and creating your trial account. If you like it, you can convert your trial subscription to a full license for $495 for 12 months. Tell Jerry that Richard sent you and you might even get a 13th month for free!

www.CRMInnovation.com

Books for power-users and customizers

In my opinion, this is the best book on Dynamics CRM 4.0 for a wide range of users, power-users, customizers and administrators. If you can only buy one book, make it this one: 

Books for developers

If you’re a developer, this is the best book for you. Excellent coverage of client-side scripting, site map and isvconfig customizations, plug-ins, web services and .NET extensions.

My book on Dynamics CRM 4.0 Workflows

Workflows are one of the most importantly improved feature areas in the 4.0 version, and I wrote a book all about them. I think it’s pretty good and I recommend it. With a purchase, you also get access to the online version, where you can download the frequently updated pdf version, plus sample workflows and customizations.