Microsoft Lystavlen - the Office 365 and CRM Online display board

The long awaited standalone SkyDrive Pro sync client has just been released

Jesper_Osgaard — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:40:00 GMT

The long awaited standalone SkyDrive Pro sync client has just been released!

The standalone SkyDrive Pro sync client allows users of SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint Online in Office 365 to sync their personal SkyDrive Pro and any SharePoint 2013 or Office 365 team site document libraries to their local machine for access to important content on and offline.

Until the release of the standalone version you would need an installed Office 365 Pro Plus, Office 365 Small Business Premium, or Office Professional Plus 2013 client on your PC in order to be able to sync SharePoint files to your desktop.

The SkyDrive Pro client can be installed side-by-side with previous versions of Office (Office 2010, Office 2007, etc)

Read more on the SharePoint Team blog here. You can download the standalone SkyDrive Pro sync client here

See also

"Synchronizing SharePoint Online document libraries with Windows Explorer" link

Phases and Requirements during transition of your CRM Online organisation

Jesper_Osgaard — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:48:00 GMT

On July 19th, 2012 Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online on-boarded to a new administration portal and billing platform. Together the portal and billing platform are referred to as the Microsoft online services environment. This environment is designed to streamline and improve the customer experience across all Microsoft online services. It enables customers to manage their Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and Office 365 subscriptions from one location and also delivers enhanced regulatory and industry compliance.

Prior to the introduction of this environment, customers who created a subscription using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online used a different administration portal and billing platform. For the purposes of this blog post, this legacy platform will be referred to as CTP (Commerce Transaction Platform). This original platform for the service will be decommissioned in the Q4 2013 timeframe, and customers will be moved to Microsoft’s standard administration, billing and provisioning environment for cloud services (the Microsoft online services environment).

Microsoft will not be physically moving your organization application or data. At no time during the transition does Microsoft move your actual Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization comprising your application and data. Your Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization remains on the same physical online infrastructure (e.g. scale group) before and after the transition. The transition is concerned with the implementation of a new authentication mechanism and administration portal, which during the transition is connected to your existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization. The diagram below shows the key stages in the transition process.

Start Phase

The current situation where administration and billing of your organization is managed through the CTP platform and where we ask you to perform certain preparation activities

Pre-Transition Phase

Microsoft advises that Pre-Transition activities be started weeks in advance of the scheduled transition date.
The transition of service will have an impact on users, developers and administrators of Microsoft Dynamics CRM; therefore it requires a level of planning equivalent to any major technology infrastructure change.
During the Pre-Transition Phase, your Transition Manager (see the Transition Center for more) will set up a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online trial account on the Microsoft online services environment for your organization. Once this account is created, you will have access to your CRM Online solution on the Microsoft online services environment through this trial account.
IMPORTANT: Once your trial account has been established on the Microsoft online services environment, you will need to activate your licensing and billing before you can transition.
You should not add new users during the Pre-Transition phase.

Transition Phase

The transition will be performed. During this time your organization is still accessible in a Read-only mode until the transition is complete.
The Transition phase is a Microsoft responsibility
The Transition phase is a series of tasks executed by Microsoft online services under direction of your Transition Manager. These tasks are planned in the background in the weeks prior to the actual transition, and then executed at the agreed time.
The actual transition of user accounts and set up of the new administration environment usually occurs over a weekend but can be scheduled for a specific date and time to fit with your operational constraints.

Post-Transition Phase

After the transition, your subscription, new user credentials and licenses will have been transitioned to your trial account, and your users will have to access their Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online accounts using their new credentials.
The Post-Transition phase is a customer responsibility.
All organizations are encouraged to perform Post-Transition tasks including any validation tests contained in the Post-Transition checklist. This key step ensures the transitioned environment performs correctly based on the plan prepared in the Pre-Transition phase and where you issue a Post-Transition communication to affected users.

See also

"Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Partner Transition to the Microsoft Online Services Environment" (requires access to Partner Source) - link

Understanding the concept of a CRM Online user on Office 365

Jesper_Osgaard — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:34:00 GMT

Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration with Microsoft Office 365 adds a new dimension to the concept of a user.

User records are stored in both systems’ databases, and are synchronized. In addition, different types of users may exist to handle the situation where a user exists in one system but not the other.

In this blog post I'll describe these types of users, the data that is synchronized, and how to create, update, and delete a synchronized user. This applies to customers who access Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online through the Microsoft online services environment.

#	User Type	Description
A	Full user	A user who is licensed for full use of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, and is synchronized with Office 365.
B	Non-interactive user	A user who is synchronized with Office 365 but can only access Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online using the web services.
C	Synchronized user	A user who is not licensed to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online but who exists in, and is synchronized with, Office 365. This user appears as a regular user to other users of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, and can own and share records and is similar to a disabled user. This type of user can be created through the Microsoft online services portal or by assigning the user a license through the Admin page. If desired, the license can be removed after the user is synchronized to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.
D	Stub user	A user record that has been created as a placeholder. For example, records have been imported that refer to this user but the user does not exist in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. This user cannot log in, cannot be enabled, and cannot be synchronized to Office 365. This type of user can only be created using the Create method or the CreateRequest message, or through data import. Data import always creates stub users.

The following table describes the different types of users for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and how they interact with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM application, web services, and with the Microsoft online services portal.

1: Yes or No
2: Only in Microsoft Online Portal
3: Using Microsoft Online Portal and CRM UI

See also

List of attributes that are synchronized to Office 365 and attributes that are written back to the on-premises Active Directory Domain Services - link

How to set the base language in a CRM Online Trial

Jesper_Osgaard — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:56:00 GMT

The trial creation experience around CRM Online has changed. In the previous UI you could pick your Country (ie. your location, determining what datacenter your trial will be created in) and your base language. The base language is a language used when installing Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for your company that determines which language you use for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online by default. It determines default settings for regional and language options in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. After the base language is set, it cannot be changed

In the new trial UI you can not pick your base language

The base language is now taken over from the first language used by Internet Explorer (which you set up in Windows).

This raises a potential issue. If a customer creates a CRM Online trial organisation, activates it into a paid subscription and then realize that he has the wrong base language (picked by his IE settings) it can't be changed. The customer has to quit the tenant and looses the subdomain name which he selected in the first place.

So what to do if you want to ensure that your trial has the right base language from the start?

In the below URL replace the [COUNTRY] and [CULTURE] placeholders with the appropriate letters (eg. GB and en-gb). The [CULTURE] placeholder will set the base language.
x
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=252780&Country=[COUNTRY]&culture=[CULTURE]
x
Copy the URL from above to the Clipboard
x
Start an InPrivate instance of Internet Explorer (Open IE and press Ctrl-Shift-P)
x
Paste the URL into the Address field and sign up for your trial

See also

Culture Names - link
Country/Region - link
Trial Guide - link

Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services

Jesper_Osgaard — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:26:00 GMT

As a subscriber trusting your business critical application with an Online Services provider, you are of course demanding assurance and accountability in the form of Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

The "Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services" covers the following services:

Bing Maps Enterprise Platform
Bing Maps Mobile Asset Management
Duet Enterprise Online
Dynamics CRM Online
Exchange Online Archiving
Exchange Online
Exchange Online Protection
Lync Online
Office Web Applications
Project Online
SharePoint Online
Translator API
Windows Azure Active Directory Rights Management
Windows Intune
Yammer Enterprise

Financial backing

We provide financial backing to our commitment to achieve and maintain the Service Levels for our Services. If we do not achieve and maintain the Service Levels for each Service as described in our SLA, then you may be eligible for a credit towards a portion of your monthly service fees.

We calculate the “Monthly Uptime Percentage” for a Service by the following formula:

100 * (x-y) / x

where x = "Total number of minutes in a month" and y = "Downtime"

If the Monthly Uptime Percentage falls below 99.9% for any given month, you may be eligible for the following Service Credit:

Monthly Uptime Percentage	Service Credit
< 99.9%	25%
< 99%	50%
< 95%	100%

Some of our friends in the market take a different view of downtime, and others offers no standard service level agreement.

See also

Download the "Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services" - link
The Promise and Pitfalls of CRM Service Level Agreements - link
Google Apps Service Level Agreement - link

Synchronizing SharePoint Online document libraries with Windows Explorer

Jesper_Osgaard — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:14:00 GMT

Synchronizing SharePoint Online document libraries with Windows Explorer has always been a hot topic. My post on the topic from October 2011 has been viewed more than 10,000 times.

In previous versions of Office 365 its been possible, yet a little frustrating to setup and use on a daily basis. Especially the authentication part (a saml token timing out) has caused lots of discussions.

In the current version of Office 365 the synchronization is taken care of by a component known as the "SkyDrive Pro Windows Sync client". It installs with Office 2013 (soon available as a standalone download if you do not have/need Office 2013)

The SkyDrive Pro Windows Sync client

enables you to take your documents offline from document libraries in SharePoint Online. When you connect again your offline files are synchronized
establishes a synchronization relationship with the current document library when you clicks the Sync button in SharePoint Online. When a synchronization relationship is set up, files and folders can be synchronized between your device and SharePoint Online.
creates shortcuts displayed in Windows Explorer to Windows folders to store files from the synchronized document library.

See also

Overview of SkyDrive Pro in SharePoint Server 2013 - link
What is SkyDrive Pro? - link
Restrictions and limitations related to syncing SharePoint libraries to your computer with SkyDrive Pro - link
Sync a library to your computer - link
Video: Sync your SkyDrive Pro library to your computer - link
Out and about: New SharePoint mobile offerings - link

CRM for Dummies - get your free eBook here

Jesper_Osgaard — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:29:00 GMT

Click here to download "CRM for Dummies" from download.microsoft.com

See also

CRM Online videos - link

Understanding External Users in SharePoint Online

Jesper_Osgaard — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:58:00 GMT

The ability to share your SharePoint sites and documents with people outside your organization is a very compelling capability in SharePoint Online. You are allowed up to 500 unique external users per month on the P-plans, and 10,000 for the M and E plans at no cost.

The people outside your organization are called External Users. External Users means users that are not either your or your affiliates’ employees, or your or your affiliates’ onsite contractors or onsite agents.

Over the years I've had so many questions as to what an external user can or can not do in SharePoint Online.

Here is a couple of the things they can do (have the rights to)

External users can use Office Web Apps for viewing and editing documents. If your plan includes Office Pro Plus, they will not have the licenses to install the desktop version of Office on their own computers.
External users inherit the use rights of the Office 365 customer who is inviting them to collaborate on a site. That is, if an organization purchases an E3 Enterprise plan, and builds a site that uses enterprise features, the external user is granted rights to use and/or view the enterprise features within the site collection they are invited to.
An external user can perform tasks on a site consistent with the permission level that they are assigned. For example, if you add an external user to the Members group, they will have Edit permissions and they will be able to add, edit and delete lists; they will also be able to view, add, update and delete list items and documents.
External users will be able to see other types of content on sites. For example, they can navigate to different subsites within the site collection to which they were invited. They will also be able to do things like view site feeds.

And here is a couple of the thing they cannot do (do not have the rights to)

External users cannot create their own personal sites (what used to be referred to as My Sites). This means that they do not have their own SkyDrive Pro document library.
External users cannot see the company-wide newsfeed. They also cannot edit their own profile, change their photo, or see aggregated tasks.
External users do not add quota to the overall tenant storage pool (this is determined by licensed users only).
External users cannot be an administrator for a site collection. However, you can designate an external user as a designer for your Public Website. This restriction also does not apply to scenarios where you have hired a partner to help you manage Office 365.
By default, external users cannot access the Search Center and will not be able to execute searches against “everything” (cross site collection search)

Office 365 - comparing P, M and E plans

Jesper_Osgaard — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 14:30:00 GMT

The new Office 365 Service Descriptions can be easily accessed in your favorite browser; just type office365sd.com in the address box, and you'll get a full list of service descriptions.

Each service description will give you tables comparing features across plans, making it easier to pick the plan that suits your needs the best. To provide an easy, visual overview I've compiled the below table comparing Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online across the P, M, and E plans.

In the table I'm using these abbriviations for the plans

P1 = Office 365 Small Business
P2 = Office 365 Small Business Premium
(Designed for 1-10 users, maximum of 25 users)
x
M = Office 365 Midsize Business
(Designed for 11-250 users, maximum of 300 users)
x
E1 = Office 365 Enterprise E1
E3 = Office 365 Enterprise E3
E4 = Office 365 Enterprise E4
K = Office 365 Enterprise K1 (aka Kiosk)
(Designed for 250+ users, no limit to number of users)
x
You can read more about the above plans here

...and this Color coding visualizing whether a feature is included in the plan or not

Green = Yes
Red = No
x
NOTE: always consult the appropriate service description for an authoritative answer as to whether a feature is included (comments can apply, but wont be listed here)

Table: Comparing Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync Online across the P, M, and E (and K) plans

(click here to get the source Excel file if you need to do filtering or other tasks)

Note

In the E-plan you can opt to subscibe to various available add-ons, e.g.

Visio Pro subscription
Project Pro subscription
Project Online
CRM Online (click here to learn more about the dynamic duo in the cloud; Office 365 and CRM Online)
x

See also

Exchange Online Comparison - link
SharePoint Online Comparison - link
Lync Online Comparison - link
What exactly do you get in an Office 365 plan? -. link

How the transition will affect users of CRM Online

Jesper_Osgaard — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:37:00 GMT

Prior to the introduction of this environment, customers who created a subscription using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online used a different administration portal and billing platform. For the purposes of this article, this legacy platform will be referred to as CTP (Commerce Transaction Platform). This original platform for the service will be decommissioned in the Q4 2013 timeframe, and customers will be moved to Microsoft’s standard administration, billing and provisioning environment for cloud services (the Microsoft online services environment).

I often get asked about the transition experience for customers transitioning from the CTP platform to the Microsoft online services environment.

On the CTP platform users logged into CRM Online using their LiveID credentials, whereas users logging into the Microsoft online services environment are using a different set of credentials - the Microsoft Online Services ID, the unique ID that is required to administer or use Microsoft online services. The Microsoft online services ID can be created when you try or buy a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online or Office 365 plan for the first time. Alternatively, an administrator creates a new ID when creating a new user.

So how will the transition affect your users of CRM Online

Once transitioned users will need to input their new cloud managed credentials when logging on to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Each customer is encouraged to create a communication plan ensuring that each user has received a communication telling them what their new user name and password will be prior to the transition.
If your users access Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online using the Outlook client and experience logon difficulties even after inputting the correct cloud managed credentials or federated IDs then they may need to run the Outlook Configuration wizard to set the Server URL to “CRM Online”.

To read more on the topic of credentials and much more on the transition itself you can download the Transition Guide here

See also

Transition Center (automated) - link