At xRM, we frequently hear two questions from our customers who work in the medical industry, whether are they doctors, dentists, clinics, or health insurance companies:

1. Is Microsoft Dynamics CRM HIPAA compliant?
2. Will Microsoft provide a signed HIPAA-BAA?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) Act and The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act are two federal laws that govern the handling of personal health information (PHI) Personal Health Records (PHR). The laws require that all hospitals, insurance providers, and medical offices (known as HIPAA-covered entities or entities for short) maintain control of and security over this personal information. The acts require that vendors that provide services to HIPAA-covered entities comply with the regulations as well. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online meets all of the requirements of HIPAA and HITECH.

A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is a contract between a HIPAA-covered entity and a vendor that provides that entity with services. HIPAA and HITECH impose regulations on those vendors who use and disclose PHI. Microsoft will provide a signed HIPAA-BAA for any of its CRM Online customers who request it. You can request a signed HIPAA-BAA here.

You can read more about Microsoft’s commitment to security and privacy by visiting the Microsoft Trust Center.

The words “cloud” and “online” can generate a considerable amount of consternation for some people who worry about the security of data stored in those systems. Customers of xRM.com frequently ask us the same question: How secure is Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online? The people that ask this question aren’t luddites. They have legitimate concerns about the security of their data in online systems.

Microsoft is the largest software company in the world, and it has put its considerable resources into ensuring that Dynamics CRM meets the strictest security standards in the world. Back in August of 2012, we wrote about the appearance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online on the Security, Assurance & Trust Registry created by the Cloud Security Alliance. At the time, CRM Online was one of only 1% of cloud-based solutions that had met the requirements and registered. To this day, it remains the only online CRM solution on the registry.

In addition to joining the STAR registry, Microsoft has ensured that CRM Online continues to meet the strictest security requirements:

Certified for ISO 27001

The ISO 27001 standard, created in 2005, is the standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) for any kind of organization, large or small, for-profit or non-profit. ISO 27001 specifies requirements for the “establishing, implementing, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining, and improving a documented Information Security Management System.” The BSI (the organization that certifies ISO compliance) regularly audits Microsoft to ensure that CRM Online meets the ISO 27001 standards for information security.

CSA Cloud Controls Matrix

The Cloud Security Alliance Cloud Controls Matrix provides a framework of security principles designed to help cloud service providers ensure that their services offer the highest level of security. The matrix also provides customers with a way to evaluate the security practices of the cloud service providers whose services the customers are investigating.

Click here to read how Microsoft meets the security, compliance, and risk management requirements of the Cloud Control Matrix.

Safe Harbor

The European Union, which has stricter privacy rules than the United States, created the Safe Harbor requirements in 2001 to govern the transfer of personally-identifiable information out of the EU countries. Companies that wish to do business with EU customers must abide by the Safe Harbor standards. Microsoft recertifies its Safe Harbor compliance every twelve months.

EU Model Clauses

Microsoft has also made a major commitment to follow the requirements of the EU Model Clauses, which govern the transfer of personal data of residents of the European Union to locations outside the EU. Organizations that deal with the personal data of EU residents must make sure that their cloud service providers understand and abide by the conditions of the EU Model Clauses. Microsoft will also back its commitment with a signed contract. While the EU sets a high standard for the security of transmitted data, you don’t have to be an EU citizen to benefit from the EU Model Clauses.

If you are considering a cloud-based CRM solution, please visit xRM.com to learn more about Microsoft Dynamics CRM. xRM has a variety of resources including Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online webinars and a self-help video library devoted to Dynamics CRM called the Success Portal.

As of April 9, 2013, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 moved from mainstream support to extended support. The CRM 4.0 software will be on extended support until April 10, 2018. It is not required to upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, however Dynamics CRM 4.0 users should understand how the support changes will affect their CRM deployment moving forward. If you are a customer using Microsoft CRM 4.0 On-Premise, you will no longer receive the following support items:

-          Warranty claims

-          Design changes and feature requests

-          No-charge incident support

-          Non-security hotfix support (except for customers who purchase an Extended Hotfix Agreement by July, 8, 2013)

Microsoft supports its software releases in phases. When Microsoft releases a new version of one of its applications, it continues to support the previous version as a mainstream release. Mainstream means that Microsoft will treat the release like their current production release and special conditions still apply. These special conditions include hotfixes for bugs, cumulative updates or service packs at longer intervals, and offering per-incident paid and prepaid technical support cases. After a couple years, Microsoft ends the special conditions and transitions the software into a phase called “extended support,” which typically lasts for five more years.

The table below, extracted from the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ, highlights the differences between mainstream support, extended support, and online self-help support for software products.

Source: Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ, http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy 

Note A hotfix is a modification to the commercially available Microsoft product software code to address specific critical problems.

Non-security hotfix support requires an Extended Hotfix Agreement purchased within 90 days of mainstream support ending. There are two methods available to sign up for the Extended Hotfix Agreement. The first option is an add-on program for existing Premier Support Customers. These customers can purchase the extended hotfix support for an annual program fee plus an additional fee for each nonsecurity hotfix provided in a contract year.  The second option is available on select products. You can enroll in Software Assurance or Business Ready Enhancement Plan at any time and only pay a fee for each nonsecurity hotfix needed.

According to Microsoft Services, you should consider purchasing an Extended Hotfix Agreement in the following situations:

-          When changes are made to products in the Extended Support phase.

-          When migration to a supported product cannot be completed by the end of the Mainstream Support phase.

-          If you have a history of requesting new nonsecurity hotfixes in any phase of the Support Lifecycle.

To discuss upgrade options from CRM 4.0 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 contact xRM, a certified Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner. Visit our website at www.xrm.com or call us at (800) 836-5147.

Tags: crm support, microsoft dynamics crm

Microsoft Cloud Easy is a subsidy rewards program that returns a portion (15%) of every dollar you spend on Microsoft Online Services in the form of a rebate check that you can use to purchase products and services from an authorized Microsoft Partner like xRM (www.xrm.com). If you are a small to mid-sized business (SMB) looking to gain more value from your Microsoft Cloud Services deployment, there is no better time to buy additional Microsoft server or end-user applications than during the Cloud Easy Offer. SMBs have until May 31, 2013 to take advantage of this offer.

This program allows you to enrich and implement your Microsoft solution. You can use the rebate check to increase the efficiency of your CRM users with xRM consulting or training offerings, such as xRM hourly consulting, prepaid consulting or Quick Start CRM Training. These services will ensure that your CRM deployment pays real dividends for your company. Another way to redeem the subsidy check is to purchase innovative and cost-effective CRM tools like xRM Constant Contact Integration and xRM Web Gateway, which enhance CRM deployment capabilities and provide a powerful system to grow any business.

The Cloud Easy Offer applies to the purchase of at least five user licenses and up to 200 user licenses. In addition, the offer only pertains to purchases made between March 1, 2013 and May 31, 2013. The rebate check is redeemable up to 30 days after product purchase, and the total amount of the subsidy check varies depending on the Cloud Service that you select. You can estimate your rebate with the Cloud Easy subsidy calculator. 

If you have made the move to the Cloud, Microsoft offers a similar program, the Big Easy Offer 10, with comparable terms. For more information on the Cloud Easy offer, read the full Microsoft Cloud Easy Offer Terms and Conditions.

Click here to take advantage of the Microsoft Cloud Easy Offer with xRM.

Tags: Constant Contact Integration, Microsoft Big Easy Offer, Web Gateway

On March 30, 2013, Internet Lead Capture (ILC) went dark for all its remaining users, marking the final death knell for the service. If you haven’t yet found a replacement for ILC, consider xRM Web Gateway from Microsoft Partner xRM.com.

Microsoft initially announced that it would discontinue ILC back in November of 2012. The service was never widely adopted in the marketplace due to its relative paucity of features and the existence of more powerful alternatives. However, ILC had a dedicated group of customers that depended on it to gather leads on the web and input those leads directly in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

Once Microsoft announced the decision to abolish the service, many of those customers pleaded with Microsoft for a stay of execution, and Microsoft extended the date. No new users could access ILC after February 15, 2013, but the service stayed active for existing customers until March 30, 2013.

Companies still looking for a replacement should investigate xRM Web Gateway from xRM.com. More than a copy of ILC, xRM Web Gateway actually offers more functionality than the discontinued service from Microsoft. xRM Web Gateway works with partner-hosted and on-premises Internet-facing deployments for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 in addition to CRM Online. It supports the use of all entities in CRM, including custom ones, enabling the capture of just about any information, not just leads. It also works with any existing web page, saving users the trouble of recreating enabled pages from scratch.

Tags: crm online, microsoft dynamics crm, Web Gateway

At Convergence 2013 in New Orleans, Microsoft announced that it would release MarketingPilot 15 – a new version of the integrated marketing management (IMM) solution that brings together MarketingPilot and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Microsoft acquired MarketingPilot last October to help organizations attract, retain and grow their customers in new ways by enhancing the marketing automation capabilities of Dynamics CRM. MarketingPilot helps manage products, budgets and resources, and executes and monitors marketing campaigns and customer interactions across social and digital channels. The integration of MarketingPilot with Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a welcome development that will greatly improve the IMM capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, providing Microsoft CRM customers with a powerful alternative to Salesforce.com Marketing Cloud.

MarketingPilot 15 is an online release and includes a new MarketingPilot Connector as well as an updated user interface that allow it to work hand-in-hand with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and CRM Online. The MarketingPilot update will be available to U.S customers by the end of March and by the end of 2013 for international customers.

MarketingPilot 15 features a similar look and feel to Microsoft Dynamics CRM (screenshots are available via Bob Stutz’s blog post) and offers a substantial range of capabilities including:

• Digital Asset Management
• Project Management
• Collaboration tools
• Spend Management
• Budget Management
• Campaign Management
• Marketing Database
• List Segmentation
• Behavior Analysis
• Campaign Automation
• Lead Management
• Landing Page Builder

MarketingPilot provides the kinds of rich customer insights that can help companies grow their revenue, capabilities that were only available through external third-party solutions in the past. The acquisition provides Dynamics CRM users with a tool to align their sales and marketing efforts and shows the lengths that Microsoft is willing to go to improve the integrated marketing management capabilities of Dynamics CRM.

Bob Stutz, corporate vice president of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, wrote in the CRM Connection blog, “We have had some great feedback from customers.” He continued, “This new release, just five months after the acquisition, reinforces our dedication to the marketing automation space and underscores our commitment to continue innovation in MarketingPilot and to our joint customers.”

“In today’s economic climate, [organizations] want to get back to growth mode. Automation is about productivity savings. Growth is about the new generation. Marketing is nexus of that,” said Bill Patterson, Microsoft Dynamics CRM program management architect. “We will make MarketingPilot a part of our family, to help our customers use marketing as a lever for growth,” he said. Patterson credits Stutz’s leadership for Microsoft taking on an integrated marketing management (IMM) acquisition.

The pricing details have yet to be announced, but Microsoft representatives said it will have per-user pricing. The MarketingPilot Connector for Dynamics CRM is available for download now at the Microsoft Download Center. More information is available at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm.aspx and www.marketingpilot.com.

Have feedback regarding MarketingPilot? Share your thoughts and experience below and to @xrmdotcom.

Tags: Convergence, crm online, MarketingPilot, microsoft dynamics crm

On Tuesday, March 26, 2013, Microsoft released Update Rollup 13 for on-premises and partner-hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 customers. Unlike Update Rollup 12, this update does not include any major new functionality.

The update includes hotfixes for a number of issues that the Microsoft Engineering Team or CRM 2011 customers have uncovered. You can read the full list of fixes on the Update Rollup 13 KB article.

This update also includes support for Windows Server 2012 and Active Directory Federation Services 2.1. However, the Self-Healing Setup that is required to install the update for CRM 2011 on Windows Server 2012 won’t be available until mid-April 2013.

As a cumulative update, Update Rollup 13 incorporates the changes that Microsoft introduced with Update Rollup 12, including cross-browser support and new entity indexes, as well as updates to the SDK, metadata, and activity feeds.

Update Rollup 13 is available for download on the Microsoft Download Center.

Note: To install this update, you must already be using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 6 or a later version.

Tags: crm online, crm support, crm update rollup, microsoft dynamics crm

Microsoft recently announced the acquisition of Netbreeze, a Swiss social media analytics and monitoring solutions provider, which specializes in social consumer relationship management. Microsoft plans to integrate Netbreeze’s strength in multi-lingual, social monitoring analysis with Dynamics CRM. Microsoft executives acknowledge that the organization has become more active in seeking out new technology, but that the primary focus remains on the functionality and not the customer base of the acquired company.

Now, more than ever, consumer behavior is shifting because social media provides consumers with a powerful voice that they are not afraid to use. It is vital for businesses to track what is being said about them online and react quickly in order to establish customer loyalty. With Netbreeze’s data mining and text analysis capabilities, Microsoft Dynamics CRM gains an essential tool for an in-depth analysis of customer preferences.

Bob Stutz, corporate vice president of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, explained some of the capabilities of Netbreeze in his blog post about the deal:

“Netbreeze technology is unique in the way it combines modern methods from Natural Language Processing (NLP), data mining and semantic text analysis to support 28 different writing systems including German, English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Traditional Chinese or Mandarin.  Additionally, they offer their customers the ability to monitor a wide array of social channels including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, as well as 6,000 online news websites, 18 million blogs and 500,000 message boards.”

These new social analysis capabilities will be an integral part of Microsoft’s social strategy. The acquisition will complement the recent purchase of MarketingPilot, the powerful integrated marketing management solution that provides insight into campaign expenditure and marketing budgets, helping better forecast for future marketing campaigns.

Microsoft officials announced the acquisition of Netbreeze on the opening day of the company’s annual Convergence conference in New Orleans, which according to Seth Patton, senior director of marketing for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, is the largest Convergence to date.

Microsoft has not set a date for when this functionality will become part of Dynamics CRM.

Tags: Convergence, microsoft dynamics crm

If you need additional Microsoft server or end-user application licenses, there is no better time to buy than during the Big Easy Offer 10. For the next few weeks (until May 31, 2013), Microsoft is offering rebates on the vast majority of server and application licenses for small to mid-sized business (SMBs). A portion of all eligible purchases will be returned to you in the form of subsidy checks that you can redeem at an authorized Microsoft Partner.

The Microsoft Big Easy Offer 10 applies only to on-premises licenses. It does not apply to Microsoft Online Services such as CRM Online or SharePoint Online. For those of you who have moved into the Cloud, Microsoft offers a similar program, the Cloud Easy Offer, with similar terms.

You can use your Big Easy Offer rebate checks to hire a Microsoft Partner to setup and configure new hardware, educate system admins, or train new users. You can also redeem the subsidy checks to purchase innovative tools, such as xSign DocuSign Integration for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, that make Microsoft technologies even more powerful.

The Big Easy Offer applies to the purchase of one to five new server licenses, or five to 200 user licenses. You will want to read the full terms and conditions of the Big Easy offer here.

The product you choose and the number of licenses you purchase determines your subsidy amount. You can use the Big Easy subsidy calculator to estimate your savings.

Click here to take advantage of the Big Easy Offer 10 with xRM.

Tags: crm online, Exchange, Lync, Microsoft Big Easy Offer, microsoft dynamics crm, Office, Visual Studios, xrm

Come for the excitement of Bourbon Street; Stay to hear how DocuSign is making businesses around the world more efficient and how partners like xRM are building innovative solutions using the DocuSign API.

Convergence, Microsoft’s annual conference for the Dynamics Community, is heading to New Orleans March 18-21. Each year, Convergence provides partners and customers in the Dynamics Community a chance to interact, discuss new trends, and explore innovative solutions introduced by Microsoft Partners.

As a Convergence sponsor, DocuSign is hosting its own breakout session on Thursday, March 21, 2013, called Still Signing Contracts on Paper, Are You NUTS? How DocuSign eSignature Transforms Sales. The session will highlight the business benefits of going paperless for signing all contracts and other important documents.

In addition to promoting its signature service, DocuSign will highlight the work of its partners who have used the DocuSign API to create new solutions.

“The combination of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and DocuSign enables sales teams to close deals, improve productivity, and accelerate revenue,” said Matt Malden, chief product officer, DocuSign. “Companies are able to immediately capitalize on opportunities by DocuSigning straight from Microsoft Dynamics CRM.”

During the session, xRM chief information officer Owen Scott will take the stage to discuss how xRM implemented DocuSign as its eSignature solution and how that decision helped make the entire organization more efficient.

Scott will also highlight the new integration solution that xRM, a DocuSign partner, created using the DocuSign API. The solution, called xSign™, integrates DocuSign®, Microsoft Dynamics® CRM, and Microsoft SharePoint® into a cohesive document storage, delivery, and tracking system.

“The DocuSign API made it possible for us to create just the system we needed to solve our business need,” Scott said.

Using the API, xRM developers built xSign, a tool that integrates DocuSign functionality directly into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. xSign allows users to retrieve existing documents from SharePoint, populate fields with data from CRM, and configure and send the documents using DocuSign Envelopes. xSign also sends the DocuSign tracking information to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

“We use xSign internally, and it has transformed our business,” explained Scott. “Our old system of faxing contracts for signature seems so quaint in comparison, like we were using Morse code.”

xSign is compatible with on-premises and partner-hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 deployments.

Read more about xSign.

To catch all the latest news about DocuSign and the company’s session at Convergence 2013, follow them on Twitter @DocuSign.

Tags: Convergence, crm online, DocuSign, microsoft dynamics crm, xrm, xSign