Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration can help administrators and key decision makers explore other services such as Office 365. Integrating Dynamics CRM Online with Office 365, for example, has become increasingly relevant to CRM Online users because management of Dynamics CRM Online transitions to the Microsoft online services environment.
For those who haven’t transitioned yet, you can gain early experience with the powerful user and subscription management features that Office 365 offers and gain a head start on your planned transition.
Microsoft Social Listening – Direct Sign In
In order to directly sign into the service, you may use: https://listening.microsoft.com/app/<appID>, which, including the appID, sent to the Dynamics CRM admin in an email invitation. However, your username will depend on whether your organization uses the Office 365’s standard domain, for instance, username@contoso.onmicrosoft.com or has its own custom domain, such as username@contoso.com. Regardless, CRM administrators can provide you with the URL, including sign-in information.
Microsoft Dynamics Marketing – Direct Sign In
In order to sign in to the service, you may use: https ://< tenant>.marketing.dynamics.com, a URL sent to the Dynamics CRM admin in an email invitation. However, your username will depend on whether your organization uses the Office 365’s standard domain, for instance, username@contoso.onmicrosoft.com or has its own custom domain such as username@contoso.com. Anyway, CRM administrators can provide you with the URL, including sign-in information.
Setting Up Dynamics CRM Online for it to Use Exchange Online
Every businessperson knows how crucial email is to a business. And who knows what might happen when email ceases to flow for just a short while? However, you can free yourself of the heavy burden and stress of actively managing your email server by delegating the duty of hosting this email service with Exchange Online to Office 365.
You can then proceed with the integration of Exchange Online with Dynamics CRM Online and leverage on CRM Online email capabilities and features. To start with, pick a deployment scenario.
Deployment Scenarios
There are many choices available when it concerns synchronizing messaging between the Dynamics CRM Online and Exchange Online. Below are scenarios for your review so that you can select the choice that is best for your company.
Scenario 1: Server-side Synchronization
Dynamics CRM Online, particularly Spring ’14 allows you to set synchronization of your email messages, contacts, tasks and appointments between Exchange and CRM-Online. And it is not required that you install and/or maintain a different application in order to utilize this particular functionality. Setup here is so simple and maintenance is much easier, at least compared to several other deployment scenarios.
This scenario is a preferred choice for many organizations with users running Dynamics CRM in their Web browser, including on mobile gadgets, such as smartphones and tablets. Configuring and managing server-side synchronization, particularly from within Dynamics CRM is easy, just find the nav bar and click Microsoft Dynamics CRM >> Settings >> Email Configuration. After that, click Email Configuration Settings.
Scenario 2: Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Outlook
Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Outlook offers messaging data integration functionalities on a one-user basis. This is simply an Outlook add-in that requires no server-side synchronization for the E-mail Router because the synchronization agent is being run in the Outlook client of the user’s personal computer. This is a preferred choice for organizations using Microsoft on a regular basis, especially if they are in need of robust offline data capabilities.
However, if Dynamics CRM is not running, Microsoft Outlook may need to be restarted for messaging synchronization to occur. In this particular scenario, all of company’s CRM Online application users will use Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Outlook as their email client. However, CRM for Outlook needs to be installed for each user within your organization.
Scenario 3: Email Router
The Dynamics CRM E-mail Router, a separate application, delivers an Exchange Server that is centrally managed and SMTP-based email server or POP3 email routing for its users, queues, as well as forward mailboxes. With the E-mail Router running as a service (continuously), it will only synchronize email messages, but unable to synchronize contacts, tasks or appointments.
Hybrid scenarios – CRM on-premises together with Exchange Online, or CRM Online together with Exchange on-premises –only get supported with CRM for Outlook and Email Router synchronization. Moreover, running the E-mail Router when using Exchange Server 2007, or having users using both POP3 and Exchange Server email systems, is recommended.
Setting Up Dynamics CRM Online Ready to Use Yammer
If you want to empower employees or workers to be more productive, Yammer is the right tool. It will enable them to be successful at what they do by enabling them to collaborate more easily, make critical decisions much faster and even self-organize into teams to create a powerful force that can take on any business challenge that comes their way.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration with Yammer is a natural fit. However, it requires a Yammer Enterprise subscription for Dynamics CRM. Fortunately, a Yammer Enterprise subscription comes with Microsoft Office E plans.
Activating Yammer in the Office 365 Administration Center
Complete the following steps – available in Office 365 – to start connecting Yammer to Dynamics CRM Online:
1.Using Office 365, add and then verify your organization domain
2. Assign your organization’s domain a Global administrator
3. From the Microsoft Office 365 dashboard, activate Yammer Enterprise
Note that a company domain, such as contoso.com, is required to activate Yammer.
Conclusion
Administrators and key decision makers within an organization can explore other services such as Office 365 after integration with Dynamics CRM online. Integrating Dynamics CRM Online with Office 365, for instance, has become increasingly relevant to Dynamics CRM Online application users because management of Dynamics CRM Online migrates to the Microsoft online services environment.
Experience the extended power of Dynamics CRM Online and enjoy the freedom to work when and where you choose using the online services of Office 365, which delivers the ability of cloud productivity to virtually all business of all shapes and sizes, saving you time and money, while at the same time simplifying cross-application integration.
Powerful Office services like SharePoint and Exchange running on on-premises servers can now be accessed in Microsoft Office 365 as cloud-based services. Office 365 provides you the option of delegating the effort and heavy burden of managing the machines to Microsoft. Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration enables users to use the powerful capabilities of other services.
