Microsoft Expert Reviews
Once more, with feeling.
I expect that we’ll have yet another break-out quarter, a better idea that Kinect is poised to be a great seller for the holidays (sell-out pre-orders and screaming Oprah audiences can’t be too wrong), and some glow from reasonable WP7 reviews (oh, and yes, we all realize that it doesn’t have copy and paste – and yet the apocalypse will not arrive).
So this seems like a do-over with more good news from the last quarter. Will Wall Street react with the same “Meh?”
An interesting pre-earnings release article: Sleepy in Seattle – Microsoft learns to mature.
Again, not much love for Mr. Ballmer. So, since the last quarterly earnings, Ms. Friar at Goldman Sachs dropped a bomb on Microsoft and there’s been serious concern that Mr. Ballmer is clearing the executive bench at Microsoft. Or is it cleaning house? Since we’re unable to criticize any mistakes our departed leaders have made, it remains a big unknown.
iPad, iPad, iPad!
Once it was “Google, Google, Google.” Now it’s Apple’s iPad meant to be Microsoft’s undoing. First of all, major props to Apple’s continued success. It’s been a long journey for Steve Jobs and Apple – especially for those of us who read The Journey is the Reward back when it was new. I like my iPad. It’s fun. It’s also no notebook replacement. I’m not even going to use it for writing tweets on Twitter, let alone writing emails. It’s for screwing around, and I like screwing around… so I like my iPad. I’m blessed that I’ve got the spare cash for such a luxury device and the spare time to play with it.
It’s a new, quick consume experience that our Tablet vision failed to realize because our Tablet vision (like all visions of that time) was so firmly shoved up the Enterprise’s butt we didn’t care for consumers who’d pay good money to have a fun device to facilitate their screwing around.
We continue an expensive lesson in enlightenment. And spanking: Microsoft’s consumer brand is dying.
And goodness help us if Apple TV takes off. Our inability to string together a coherent TV strategy (despite having been in the TV realm for over a decade) is yet another dropped pants embarrassment waiting to happen and represents the anxiety that Wall Street has about our future despite having successes in the present.
Bloodletting
Cost cutting’s slippery slope continues. I’m sure if we don’t talk about continued overhead management (people, benefits, etc) that it will be an analyst question. I still believe we need to chuck about 15,000 positions (and half of our super-ballooned contingent staff) rather than continue the slow squeeze around the company that’s making this an ordinary job with some extraordinary wonderful people who just haven’t given up on the company. Yet. I hope that the analysts realize that continued, consistent bloodletting because a negative for hiring, and (allow me to be pro-hiring for a moment) if we can’t bring in deep-talented new blood to replace the departed dead wood, our future is doomed to mediocrity.
And that doesn’t get you a good dividend.
New Talent
And we’re losing the battle for hiring new talent. If you review who we’re losing to, it’s a big surprise. You look at who is ahead of us in preference and you say, “Really? Graduating students think they are a better place to work than us?” It’s a cold splash of reality that makes me – they guy who said we’ve turned things around and things are going great for our major initiatives – wonder if things are worse outside of the Microsoft bubble than I thought.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 5.0 is now Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011
Microsoft recently announced some updates to the next version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. I was expecting the next version to be “5.0” but Microsoft seems to like to change naming formats of their products occasionally. So now it’s officially Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.
Here’s a press pass with more detail on Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011
The most recent updates include:
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Online will be launched by the end of 2010
- CRM Online will be available in 40 markets and 41 languages by the end of 2010
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 On-Premise will be launched early 2011
- An updated video overview of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is now available
- Microsoft will be launching Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace in September 2010
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Public Beta will be available in September 2010
Panduit & Hitachi Win Overall Excellence Award for Microsoft Dynamics CRM at Convergence
This is a huge deal. For those of you not familiar with Convergence it’s one of Microsoft’s biggest events of the year. This year Microsoft, partners, and clients took over Atlanta for a few days.
Microsoft presents clients and their partners with different levels of awards based on projects they’ve worked on together. I’m not sure how many partners Microsoft has but I would guess in tens of thousands. Of all of the clients and partners out there our client Panduit, along with Hitachi Consulting, were presented with one of the highest level awards for Overall Excellence – Microsoft Dynamics CRM. And Panduit is a Chicago area client. How sweet is that?
Here’s a case study for the Panduit and Hitachi Microsoft Dynamics CRM project:
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000007014
And I’m not done yet. Another Hitachi Consulting client, T.D. Williamson, took home an award for Excellence in Innovation – Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Two major awards for our Microsoft Dynamics practice!
Here’s the list of winners on Microsoft’s Convergence site:
http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/convergence/atlanta10/about_excellence.aspx
KB 977650 Update Rollup 9 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is Available for Download
KB 977650 Update Rollup 9 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 was released on February 11th, 2010 and is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=5869f2b3-d1a0-4f71-8be3-fde6e8053a2e
Update Rollup 9 contains a cumulative set of updates and hotfixes for Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise. For more information see Article ID 977650 at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=977650
I’d suggest reading the 977650 article before getting started so you understand what’s involved. There are prerequisites including Update Rollup 7 and special considerations regarding Office and Exchange 2010.
As always, I’d suggest doing a full backup of MSCRM databases and even exporting customizations as a precaution. Update Rollup 9 can be uninstalled but it’s better to be safe in case the uninstall has a meltdown. Also, I’d suggest installing this in your test environment and then testing for server and user issues before implementing it in your production environment.
KB975995 Update Rollup 8 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is Available for Download
KB975995 Update Rollup 8 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 was released on December 18th and is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=c53b2916-6b93-4092-bdd3-a394c96ca000
Update Rollup 8 contains a cumulative set of updates and hotfixes. For more information see Article ID 975995 at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=975995
Before you do anything else I’d suggest reviewing the above article in-depth.
One key thing to note is that Update Rollup 7 is now a prerequisite for deploying Update Rollup 8. Update Rollup 7 made some pretty significant modifications to CRM and especially the CRM for Outlook Client.
As always, I’d suggest doing a full backup of MSCRM. Update Rollup 8 can be uninstalled but it’s better to be safe in case the uninstall tanks. Also, I’d suggest installing this in your test environment and then testing both for server and user issues.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Adapter for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 is Now Available
The long-awaited Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) adapter is now available.
This tool provides integration between CRM and GP to better manage data and data flow. When changes are made to one system the adapter can update the other system.
As an example, if a customer’s address is updated in Microsoft Dynamics GP the adapter can automatically update the customer’s address in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, or vice-versa. Or if an invoice is created in Dynamics GP the adapter can add the invoice to the customer’s account in Dynamics CRM.
Another CRM adapter?
This is different from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM BizTalk Adapter I recently posted about. This adapter is a standalone product that doesn’t require Microsoft BizTalk. Also, this adapter was created to help non-developer types connect the systems without needing to know programming languages. And it has out-of-the box template mappings
Price?
Free! Sort of. As a customer you must have an active/current Microsoft Dynamics GP Enhancement/Support plan and an active/current Microsoft Dynamics CRM Software Assurance Support Plan.
How do customers get more information on the adapter?
Customers can log into their CustomerSource account where there’s a section about the adapter. There’s a pretty good Frequently Asked Questions document that covers some of its features and limitations.
How do customers get the adapter?
Currently the adapter is only available through Microsoft Partners who are registered and approved as a Microsoft Dynamics GP partner. Contact your current Dynamics GP partner. If you don’t have one or would like a new one call me.
Microsoft Office Professional 2007 FULL VERSION MS 2007 OFFICE PROFESSIONAL SOFTWARE: I had read other reviews of the new version and with talking with others decided I would have to upgrade from 2003 Office Pro to Office Pro 2007. Yes, I am starting to love it… but why do they not tell you where the print button is? It is hidden under the icon on the top left! It sure has many bells and whistles. The learning curve took my productivity from 100% to 25% for about two weeks. But now that has passed I am back up and running again. I am in my fifties and so maybe if you are older thinking you can’t learn… well you can! Just have patience and lots of time on weekends to go through stuff. I did hope I would maybe get on offer to upgrade cheaper to Office Pro 2010 since that just came out… but to date have not gotten that. All in all I would upgrade because sooner or later you just have to keep up with the times.
Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student (Disc Version) (DVD-ROM) This is a very affordable solution for households who need Microsoft office without the fancier applications like Access or Publisher. You’re allowed 3 installs. I’m not sure whether that means you can move one copy to a newer computer if you delete it off the old one but regardless,this deal can’t be beat. Well, it CAN be beat if you have a student ID and your university has a licensing contract with Microsoft but for mere mortals, it’s a great deal.
Microsoft Office 10 is simply the best out there for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. If you have not upgraded in a while from an older version, such as 2003 or earlier, be prepared for a large interface change. But I really believe it is a lot better in my opinion. I have to say I was really impressed with Office 10′s interface. It was clean, extremely polished, and seemed very intuitive to me. I was really apprehensive prior to installing because I was so used to previous versions I had used regularly (Office 97, Office 2002, Office 2003). I was really impressed with the clean menus that made it really easy to find more advanced features that I always had to dig around for, like adding password controls to files. Also, the default shortcuts at the top include more advanced features that I suspected existed, but in the past I never took the time to dig through the menus to try to discover them. For example, text direction on Excel, it is nice to be able to change to a vertical format for the heading for a slim column in a table, and turn on and off various lines easily. I just poked through each menu tab at the top to see my choices and it is so much cleaner in my mine. But it really comes down to how hard-wired you think you are. If you can accept a change or give it a chance, I really think it is better. I also think it is a lot better than competitors. They really didn’t phone this one in or sitting on their position as #1. They seem so be working very hard to stay on top.
Two things surprised me, which will take a little getting used to, but are probably for the better in the long run. First, file extensions you were used to in 95 – 2003 (.doc, .xls, .ppt) are replaced with new extensions with an added ‘x’ (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx). I miss the cleaner extensions, but I think I will get quickly used to it. I think this is acceptable if it means Microsoft can do more flexible things with a new format. Second, the look of the Excel table rows is different. In 95 – 2003, you are probably used to seeing spreadsheet row and column widths by the long-time unchanged aspect ratios. The Excel 2010 rows are taller by default and seem to have more white space by default, but looks cleaner if you think about it, but takes a little getting use to. I think it will be for the better once I get used to it. I think I can do more with Excel formatting-wise more easily than I could in the past. But it doesn’t look the same.
I was also impressed by how fast and smooth it ran on my computer, a 2005 with Windows XP. I figured it would be a little slower and hoping for not a lot slower due to background processes that so many things add now days. But it actually seems to run reasonably better than my previous Office 2003.
Office is the most reliable, most widely used, and most compatible set of home and office applications. When you don’t want it to crash and lose your work (like my experience with too many other competing solutions), and just need it to work, do your job or homework, Office is the best.