Coming in Fall 2015
At Convergence, Microsoft announced a number of enhancements that will be part of the fall release of CRM. Here are a few of the highlights:- Offline mobile – data will synchronize with your mobile device so that you can still use CRM when you are not in a network area.
- Predictive analytics – Microsoft is adding predictive capabilities to CRM to identify best prospects and products automatically.
- OneDrive integration – file management, but also for having private files in CRM that are only shared with selected users.
- XRM – it appears that Microsoft is getting serious about making CRM a development platform for entirely new applications and will not only roll out a number of developer tools, but also new licensing options. Dare we hope that Microsoft will finally include record types as an extension of multiple forms? Or a vastly improved report designer?
- Search – the search capabilities that appeared in CRM 2015 will gain more intelligence and flexibility.
- Delve / Office Graph – Delve is a new product available from Microsoft that is somewhat like FlipBoard, but it summarizes news generated within the business (I am not clear on what Office Graph is or how it differs from Delve – the two seemed to be used synonymously during the demo, so I left both here for reference). This integration appears simple enough, but in my opinion this will be one of the game changers in how people interact with CRM and how executives collaborate with the front lines.
- Outlook – even more updates will come to the CRM for Outlook application and, it appears, mobile email as well.
