Kiddie Academy Customer Success Story

We feel very proud to have been a part of this great Microsoft Customer Success Story with Kiddie Academy!

Click Here to read the story on the Microsoft Customer Stories site

“The project was a collaborative effort between Slickdata and our in-house development team. We use Dynamics 365 in conjunction with various Azure and Office 365 services to make this a full end-to-end solution for running our business.”

— Candace Snyder - Director of Software Development at Kiddie Academy

“We have to select the best technology solutions that give us a competitive advantage. It wouldn’t have been feasible to deliver this solution without the Microsoft cloud. We would have needed more staff and more budget and it would have taken considerably more time to implement KARES.”

— Greg Goodwin - VP of Technology at Kiddie Academy

Slickdata Joins Gravity Software Partner Program

New Partnership Allows SlickData to Implement Gravity’s Robust Accounting Solution

Detroit, Michigan – November 9, 2016 – Gravity Software™(Gravity) the #1 accounting software written on the Microsoft CRM platform, today announced its partnership with Slickdata to provide consulting and implementation services to the company’s clients.  Slickdata, a Microsoft partner, helps drive operational efficiencies to growing businesses by taking full advantage of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 (aka Microsoft CRM) platform.

“We are very excited to be partners with the team at Slickdata” said John Silvani, President & CEO of Gravity. “They bring extensive knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform with a proven track record to help Gravity’s customers of all sizes. Now they can offer a fully integrated Financial and CRM on a single platform that makes knowledge transparent throughout an organization. We look forward to working with their team.”

Gravity’s robust accounting software provides small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) the distinct advantage of having their financials and CRM fully integrated on one platform. There’s no need to manage two separate databases.  By utilizing the Microsoft Dynamics CRM cloud based platform, Gravity makes it simple for businesses to operate from anywhere without all the startup costs associated with other accounting applications.

“Historically, in the small and medium-size business space, CRM applications and ERP applications have lived on separate platforms, operating with siloed databases, toolsets and processes,” said Rocky Pavicevic, President & CEO of Slickdata.  “We’ve had the experience of being part of many Microsoft CRM integrations with various accounting systems over the years. Gravity goes a long way in bridging the gap between front office and back office. Many of our customers, and I believe prospects, will be excited to have the opportunity to more easily create a true 360-degree view of the customer within one application, in addition to bypass the need for translating business logic between disparate systems. We’re very excited about the opportunity.”

As businesses grow, they need a strong financial system like Gravity.  Gravity’s goal is to fill the gap between lower end applications like QuickBooks and expensive enterprise applications.

If your business is outgrowing your current entry level accounting software, consider Gravity Software. Want to learn more about Gravity? Schedule a Demo at http://go-gravity.com/schedule-a-demo/

2 tips of the day - Win 10 screen recording & Outlook @mentions

A couple of neat functions I came across today that might also be helpful to others:

1. Screen recording in Win 10 via Xbox app. When needing to send someone detailed instruction, instead of capturing multiple screenshots, record a video and share it with them. I followed instructions and had it up and running in 2 minutes: 

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/use-the-xbox-app-to-record-your-screen-in-windows-10/

2. @mentions function in Outlook Web App (soon to also be in Outlook desktop for O365 users). Writing @contact_name in body of email adds that recipient to email thread. Why address someone twice when you can do it once? So efficient: 

https://blogs.office.com/2016/07/26/outlook-helps-you-focus-on-what-matters-to-you/

AI & Machine Learning

The terms AI and Machine learning are getting more and more airtime in high tech software/applications, especially in MS land. This weekend I decided to get a better grasp of the basics. This article does a good job starting with the basics. 

https://www.toptal.com/machine-learning/machine-learning-theory-an-introductory-primer

Power BI 2.0 available for free without an Office 365 subscription on July 24th

On July 10th, Microsoft officials unveiled the general availability for Power BI 2.0, along with updates to Power BI Designer (now aptly renamed Power BI Desktop).

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Using PowerBI will no longer require an Office 365 Subscription. Instead, you can register for PowerBI on their website. Microsoft provides  2 two registration options. A free, smaller data capacity, and a $9.99/user/month, bigger data, live & collaboration option. You can see the difference on the PowerBI pricing page.  

For more release information you can see the official Microsoft Blog. 

What does this mean to you as a Dynamics CRM User?

Watch this short video with new Customization features of PowerBI for your Personal Dash board

PowerBI is available on Desktop as well as your Phone/Tablets through the Microsoft Store, Apple AppStore for iOS devices and Google Play for Android devices.

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Get Better Visual Analytics and live Dashboards

To find out more features do not hesitate to reach out so our team can show you how your business can best understand the features and usage of Power BI 2.0 and better analyze your Dynamics CRM data.

Top new features in Dynamics CRM 2015 Update 1

Interested in one of these features we can help you best implement them in your business. Be in touch!

Find what you want, See what you want, fast!

New Navigation bar

Did working on CRM ever feel like a constant navigation menu drag? ( Pun intended) Microsoft improved their navigation bar and it’s now much easier to access work areas, records and other items with fewer clicks than previous versions. 

Want to see it in action, watch this short video tour (<1 min).

Recently Viewed Items

The new recently viewed items button,  , on the navigational bar gives you fast access to those records you are often using, as well as an easy way to move back and forth between records or views,

Section Drop-Down List

Within Complex forms(and long) forms, the new drop-down list will make it faster and easier to get to the exact section you want. Just press the drop-down list button next to the form title for the available sections to navigate to.

Modify the Color scheme using themes

You can add a logo, and create a look and feel that is consistent with your brand.

Tracking Emails

For those of you that track exchange email activities, 2 different techniques now exist for you.

Tracked folders

To use tracked folders, it must be enabled by a system administrator. But it makes it very easy to track those emails. Just drag the email right into the tracked folder and Voila! Behind the scenes, this tracked folder works with Exchange Inbox rules, which must of be configured.

Track incoming email with the Dynamics CRM App for Outlook

The new Dynamics CRM App for Outlook is useful for users who are on O365 or on Outlook 2013, and simply want to manage incoming emails.

You can use the app to set a track on a record, view information about the record, create a new contact or lead records if the person on the From line isn’t in your CRM.

Use Excel Online from within CRM Online

Wouldn’t it be great to use Excel to do some analysis with your CRM data. In the past you needed to export your data,

Easier Export to Excel

1 click is all it takes now to export to excel in the web client of Dynamics CRM for outlook. All of the formatting is kept making your reimport that much simpler and issue free.

Share & collaborate with non-CRM team members

Office 365 users can use Office 365 groups to exchange ideas, files, emails, conversations.

OneNote integration with CRM Online

You can now take photos, write notes, draw free-form drawings and these will be added to the CRM record. It’s a great tool for your users on the field with offline synchronization.

CRM for phones APP

The CRM for phones APP now looks and feels like the CRM for tablets experience. Great news for those of us who preferred this more intuitive interface. If you have a Windows Phone with Cortana, you can also use Cortana voice commands to access and modify CRM records hands-free

Watch an overview here:

For the complete list, and upgrade guidance, do not hesitate to contact us!

Microsoft CRM 2015 and Scribe Compatibility

For those interested in Microsoft CRM 2015 compatibility with Scribe Insight and its corresponding Scribe Adapter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, here are the details: 

- Scribe Adapter for Microsoft CRM version 5.5.1 is required.
- Microsoft CRM Adapter 5.5.1 is compatible with Scribe Insight version 7.6.2 or later.

Full details can be found at: http://help.scribesoft.com/scribeinsight/en/#Subsystems/AdapterForDynamicsCRM/gettingstarted/requirements_adapterfordynamicscrm.htm

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Spring Update - Customer Service

With the Q2 2014 update to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft enhanced the feature set of the already existing Customer Service capability of Dynamics CRM. On this blog, I’ll describe some of the new features as well as a new tie in with Parature and how it may support your end user’s needs.

Unified Service Desk

One of the most significant improvements in this update is the Unified Service Desk update. Agents will now be able to access call script and process driven communications with end-users. All of the interactions can be managed from one place and you are able to easily configure and integrate many systems.

Enterprise Case Management

Start with a superior method to create and manage different customer service packages and SLA’s. Tie it in with Unified Service Desk for case management capabilities. Finally add Portable Business Logic and workflow to allow case management across device platform.

Parature enhancements

When you tie-in the already powerful structure of Dynamics CRM and Parature you get solid infrastructure that allows you to take care of you end-users through all communication channels.

Multi-Channel Service

Parature is a leading multi-channel solution with support features for customer care including Social, mobile, web self-service and Knowledge Base capabilities.

No matter what channel the end-user chooses, you have consistent look-and-feel to your business’s communication and interactions. “EasyAnswer” maximizes self-service by providing your clients resolution articles.

Of course let’s not forget the ability to chat with your clients.

Knowledge Management

Connect the right information to the right people at the same time, or separately, across any channel. You can provide rich media articles with feeds, videos, and images.

Social Service

Keep an ear on social interactions regarding your products and services.

Use social data to trigger workflows and manage situations accordingly.

With all of these new features, do not hesitate to contact us for a free 30-day demo.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Spring Update – Dynamics Marketing

On this Blog we will describe the new Microsoft Dynamics Marketing.

What is Microsoft Dynamics Marketing?

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing (MDM) is a cloud-based marketing suite created to generate revenue by better planning marketing campaigns, and executing them across multiple channels. MDM comes with a pre-configured Dynamics CRM sales automation connector, to integrate both platforms and simplify data management and end user experience.

Some Key Features of Microsoft Dynamics Marketing?

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing looks very similar to Dynamics CRM 2013, making it simple to use.

Homepage

As a marketer, you can easily create your own dashboard, with personalized views, key performance indicators and reports. This is done through a graphic editor, allowing easy access to the information you require on a daily basis.

Visual Campaign Editor

Graphically creature campaigns integrating email marketing and social media. In this case, a picture says it all.

Lead Lifecycle Management

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing was created specifically to manage the process of lead acquisition, scoring, distribution and segmentation across both marketing and sales. You can score leads across multiple elements as well as Recency/Frequency of engagement with your campaigns.

Power BI

Using Power BI you can use excel based reporting tools without a manual data export or you can use one of Power BI’s predefined reports to visualize your data.

Functionality of Microsoft Dynamics Marketing?

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing has 5 main sections.

Projects

This is where you’ll do your marketing project management. You’ll find Project status info as well as the ability to create and assign tasks to members of your team.

Marketing Execution

This is where you set up your marketing campaigns, manage your contacts and leads, setup landing pages, create your email marketing campaigns and much more.

Assets & Media

Among other functionality, this is your library of media. You can manage file sharing with other members of your team as well as file versioning.

Budget

The name says it all. This section will provide tools to manage expenses, quotes, invoices, as well as creating and managing budgets.

Performance

The Performance section is more of a reporting section. Microsoft Dynamics Marketing comes pre-installed with a long list of reports that you can use to manage your marketing campaigns.

Speak with our team and let’s see how we may reduce your marketing costs and lower the complexity of your Marketing infrastructure.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Spring Update – Social Listening

Spring has been here for over 1 month already. With spring comes the opportunity of a new beginning, of a clean slate (hence the spring cleanings). After the difficult weather, we welcome some great news.
In comes the Dynamics CRM 2013 Spring (Q2) Update.
This update is a big one. No less than 3 new Services are included and these can alter the way you do Marketing, Customer Care and manage your Social Media presence.
We will describe the Microsoft Social Listening component on this blog. Keep an eye out for following blog posts regarding Microsoft Dynamics Marketing and Microsoft Dynamics Customer Care.

What is Microsoft Social Listening?

Social Media, and more precisely our use of it, has completely changed how we find information and communicate. People today are more likely to get information from friends, or business acquaintances, than ever. That information shapes our decisions and our lives.

Here are some statistics that point to this phenomenon:

• Customers are 60% of the way through the sales cycle before they contact you.
• 75% of B2B customers are likely to use social media to influence their purchase decisions.
• 40% of customers complain about products or services on social media.
• 73% of salespeople who use social selling techniques outperform their sales peers.

Given these statistics, it makes sense to manage and use social media to increase overall customer happiness and sales efforts.
To support that, Microsoft created Microsoft Social Listening, a powerful social listening and analytics service that your enterprise can use to monitor and update Twitter, Facebook and others social media outlets.

Benefits of Microsoft Social Listening?

For Sales & Marketing:

• Generate leads from Social media.
• Gain important insight about the competition, what people are saying about them, and the general sentiment.
• Manage your brand and product sentiment.
• Monitor how your campaigns are evolving on the social media landscape – how your marketing message is rippling through the web.

For Service (customer care):

• Receive Real-Time alerts regarding customer issues.
• Respond to customers and resolve their issues across the social web.
• Track posts through Dynamics CRM.

For everyone:

• Customize searches for any keyword or topic.
• Native Language Sentiment Analysis.
• The User Interface looks just like Dynamics CRM.
• Accessible through O365 platform Cloud based service.
• Interactive visual analytics and dashboards for easy analysis.

With 1.4 Billion users on Facebook, and 5,000 Tweets a second on Twitter, Social Media conversations need to be taken seriously, and can promote business development.
Get in touch with us and let’s see how we may be able to support you in growing your business and managing your Social Media Presence.