Microsoft Dynamics CRM Analytics Foundation

Microsoft recently released the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Analytics Foundation, a shared-source download for Microsoft CRM customers and partners. The Analytics Foundation is available as a free of charge shared-source download at CodePlex. The current release is in beta and includes sample code, pre-built templates and components, and guidelines for building business intelligence solutions for Microsoft CRM.

I got a chance to see a demo last month in San Diego at the Convergence event for Microsoft Dynamics and speak with the Wan Li Zhu, who is the coordinator of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Analytics Foundation project. It looked good. Wan showed us some very nice OLAP integration with Excel 2007, a service dashboard, lead qualification and sales analysis. The views were very easy to understand and it was all right inside of CRM.

Based on this release and a few of the presentation sessions at Convergence it looks like Microsoft Dynamics is definitely trying to enhance the value of their CRM solution with analytics. Wan Li Zhu spoke with us at the exposition and described the Analytics Foundation as something Microsoft would like to see partners run with. More recently on the CodePlex message board Wan stated that Microsoft is intending to make the Analytics Foundation a product but did not have a schedule to share.

The Analytics Foundation data sheet presents the software as "a suite of business intelligence products that work with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0." The CodePlex description of the Analytics Foundation as a "business intelligence solution accelerator" to help partners deliver analytics to customers is more accurate. Wan stated to us that support for the Analytics Foundation was still available only by blog and forum. Based on the communication thus far it does not look like Microsoft is ready to fully support the Analytics Foundation.

That does not mean that the Analytics Foundation is without value to end-users. As a Microsoft Partner and developers of analysis software, we see some great things in the Analytics Foundation to take advantage of to benefit CRM customers. Data analysis by nature is not a cookie cutter solution. Quality results require the analysis to be fitted to specific problems and business processes. When trying to extract useful information out of complex business data, CRM customers that do not have the benefit of in-house analysis experts will want the assistance of partner with experience in analysis and CRM. A good analysis partner will tailor what Microsoft has provided through the Analysis Foundation to address the unique needs and problems of individual organizations.

ProWorks is interested in working with CRM partners and customers who would like to get a head start with CRM analytics. We can help you take advantage of the Analytics Foundation or even create customized analyses designed specifically to meet a special need. ProWorks is particularly interested in the areas of predictive analysis, data mining and analyising unstructured data such as the text found in blogs. Even if you just want to chat about the future direction of CRM analytics, shoot us an email at crm@proworks.com.

Some of the customer benefits of the Analytics Foundation listed by Microsoft include:

• Executives can better track and manage business performance
  through dashboards
• Managers and employees can create reports quickly and
  make better decisions
• Sales, marketing, service employees can identify new opportunities
  to grow revenue and increase efficiency through
  predictive analytics.

Analytics Foundation Requirements:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0
• Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1
• SQL Server 2005 (Standard or above)
• Internet Information Services (IIS)
• Both .NET Framework 1.1 and 2.0
• Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 or Windows SharePoint Services with SP2
• Business Scorecard Manager 2005 (required for editing and creating new scorecards)
• Visual Studio 2005
• Excel 2007 (recommended)

ProWorks Exhibits at Convergence

Last week Jason and I attended Microsoft's annual Convergence conference and exposition showcasing the Microsoft Dynamics line of business solutions. This was my second year to the event and I was pleased that San Diego was the location. The weather was great and the city fondly reminded me of Honolulu. Reportedly over 8000 people were in attendance, evidence that the Microsoft Dynamics community is continuing to grow. Again this year I was impressed that the event planners were able to manage that many people and make there time productive. The exposition hours seemed to be extended this year. At times there is quite a bit of traffic which was great for us. Jason and I got a chance to speak with a number of CRM partners and customers. I noticed a distinct increase in the awareness around CRM analytics and predictive analysis. We have to thank Microsoft for at least some of that. They ran a CRM analysis demo in the expo hall and had a couple of educational sessions devoted specifically to CRM analytics. As partners and customers begin to complete their inital implementations of CRM they seem to be looking for ways to take advantage of their growing CRM data.

One of our biggest challenges has been to clearly present the potential benefits of CRM analytics. Good analysis has been limited to data experts and executives for so long I think everyone else naturally asks "so how does this help me?" I am really looking for forward to Microsoft contributing to the general credibility of CRM analytics and predictive analysis and helping ProWorks to focus on meeting specific analysis needs for CRM users.

I would not have complained if the exposition hours were reduced a bit. Some of times overlap with the learning sessions and the number of visitors can be pretty minimal.

The structured networking could also have been much better. I completely agree with Mike Snyder's assessment of the networking system on the Sonoma Partners Blog. Last years system was not the greatest solution. This years new solution was terrible by comparison. I hope the event coordinators notice a reduction in scheduled meetings through the networking system and give it some serious attention for next year.

It was great trip. Thank you to Microsoft for hosting a fun and productive event. The entertainment was great. Where do you find an old Asteroids arcade game? I particularly enjoyed the sushi table and the baked brie. And thank you to all the Dynamics partners and customers that visited our booth and spoke with us.

Convergence 2007

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth at Microsoft Convergence 2007!

We enjoyed our time in San Diego and made some great contacts. Shortly we will be announcing the winners of the books we were giving away.

If you want to see a demo or would like to learn more about our predictive analysis and text mining for CRM, just contact us at crm@proworks.com.