The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Virtual Machine (VM) is now available for partner consumption on PartnerSource.

 The CRM 2011 VM BOM consists of two separate VMs:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 VM-01: DC, SQL, CRM
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 VM-02: Exchange (optional)

 Included in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 VM-01 are the following deployments:

 Core CRM 2011 Environment

A basic CRM environment that contains sample data and preconfigured SharePoint integration.

CRM Demo Scenarios Environment

More comprehensive demonstrations illustrating core CRM capabilities in expanded scenarios.

• Marketing, Sales, and Service scenarios
• Enhanced data, dashboards, customizations, processes (workflows, and dialogs), SharePoint integration, and customer and partner portals
• End-to-end script that ties each scenario together

xRM Environments

Configured examples of how CRM can be extended to vertical solutions.

• Facility Management
• Employee Management
• Vendor Management

 A detailed description of these environments is included in the VM package. This virtual machine requires 64-bit hardware and runs in Hyper-V.  To install the Hyper-V role, Windows Server 2008 (64-bit only) or 2008 R2 Standard, Enterprise or Datacenter edition is required.

Regards,

Max Beuker

For those in the financial community that do reporting and performance management every day, you'll appreciate the updated financial reporting capabilities included in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 – Management Reporter. In fact, with the latest release, we've added Management Reporter to the General Ledger and Budget Planning menus in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, making it easier for you to access financial reports created with Management Reporter. (The financial statement options that you may have used in prior versions are still available with a configuration option, if you need them.)

More detail you can find at the Inside Microsoft Dynamics blog here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dax/archive/2013/07/22/financial-reporting-even-better-with-microsoft-dynamics-ax-2012-and-now-available-in-36-languages.aspx :

We are very pleased to offer a web seminar series highlighting the new features in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, for no additional charge. These web seminars range from 60 to 90 minutes and can be viewed on-line and contains:

• Video's
• Workbook's
• Slides
• Labs

These web seminars have been produced by Partner Technical Services and are available via the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Learning Plans on PartnerSource and the Partner Learning Center (PLC). Each web seminar includes a downloadable Workbook for additional learning. For readiness direction on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, please see also the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 role tailored learning plans.

Make sure to bookmark this page as new Web Seminars are added in time. Make sure to attend and direct your collegues to these web seminars as they are created for your consumption by the technical specialist to get up to speed with the readiness on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Allready these web seminars are available:

Voor het geval dat dit je nog niet opgevallen was:

Summary

· The Microsoft Dynamics AX team has released a hotfix that will allow customers and partners to install Enterprise Portal in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 on SharePoint 2013.

· Many of our customers and partners have been upgrading to Office 2013 and waiting for this hotfix to move Enterprise Portal to the new Office 2013 stack.

Steps to install Enterprise Portal on SharePoint 2013

1. You must install one of the following updates if you plan to run Enterprise Portal on either Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2013 or Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013. Choose an update that matches the SharePoint version on which you plan to deploy Enterprise Portal.

· Update for Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Server 2013 (KB2767999)

· Update for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2013 (KB2768000)

2. After you install the SharePoint update, you must run the SharePoint 2013 Products Configuration wizard.

3. Download and install the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 setup hotfix (KB2830441).

4. Download and install the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 claims-mode authentication hotfix (KB2823664).

· For more information you can read this article on TechNet “Deploy an Enterprise Portal site that uses forms-based authentication”

5. Reboot the server and then install Enterprise Portal. For more information about how to install Enterprise Portal or Enterprise Search, see Install Enterprise Portal and Install Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Search.

We have also added an article on TechNet with these steps: Enterprise Portal on Microsoft SharePoint 2013

Enjoy

Microsoft recently released three mobile app scenarios for organizations running Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2. These apps work on industry-leading mobile phone operating systems (Windows, iPhone and Android) and are optimized for Windows 8 Tablets. These are part of Microsoft's ongoing commitment to enhance the business value customers receive from their Microsoft Dynamics AX investments. All apps are now also available in 36+ languages!

Microsoft Dynamics AX phone apps

Microsoft Dynamics AX phone apps capture expense transactions and receipt information, and give users the ability to create and submit timesheets – all in conjunction with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2. The phone apps are available in three formats:

Microsoft Dynamics AX Windows 8 apps

Configuring AX for mobile apps

The apps use the Windows Azure Service bus and Mobile applications connector to communicate with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2. If you would like to download and install the connector, it is available here: Microsoft Dynamics AX Connector for Mobile Applications.

If you would like more information on how to install and configure the Microsoft Dynamics AX Connector for Mobile Applications, check out the whitepaper: Configure Microsoft Dynamics AX Connector for Mobile Applications.

Update Jan 2014: Since the companion apps require the Windows Azure Service Bus for connectivity it may be good to know that the cost involved is minimal. For Expense app it is estimated at USD 21/month as described in this blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/axcompapp/archive/2013/11/06/azure-service-bus-cost-is-minimal-for-ax-companion-apps.aspx

Workflow Approval via Email

This new feature, enabling users to view and approve workflow actions via email on any device, is a simple extension to existing workflow capability. Details on how to configure approval via email are available in a whitepaper: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 Whitepaper: Workflow Approval via Email.

Enjoy,