Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a platform can be accessed by PC users as a web based application, an application embedded in Outlook while online only, and an application embedded in Outlook with Offline capabilities (meaning that you can update data while not connected to the Internet and your data will synchronize when you are back on-line). For the sake of this blog, I’ll leave hand-held devices out of the discussion.  That’s a whole other post.

One of the biggest selling points of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is that it can be part of Microsoft Outlook, yet it doesn't have to be and sometimes it is better kept as a separate application.  So, why would you want to keep Microsoft CRM on its own and not make it part of Outlook?  There are some business reasons to consider when making this decision.

First, we must look at how the user is going to be using the application.  As a rule of thumb, if the users are sales people who are out of the office frequently, then CRM using the Outlook client is probably the way to go.  This is for a few reasons.  First, most sales people are loath to incorporate a new application into their daily lives and by having CRM look like it’s just another part of Outlook relieves some resistance to this technology.  Second, many of the CRM functions are similar to Outlook and this makes the training easier.  Finally, if a user wants to track or link new emails received in his personal email account back to a CRM contact or account, then the Outlook client provides a cool 'Track in CRM' button to make this a snap.  Note that any email replies to emails that originate from CRM are automatically tracked back to the CRM contact or CRM record from which they originated.

If the user is someone who will be untethered from the Internet for extended periods of time and still needs to either enter or have access to CRM data, then this type of user will want to have CRM offline capabilities which come with the CRM for Outlook Offline client.  This client implementation creates a SQL database on the user's computer onto which the desired offline data can be stored and eventually synchronized to the host CRM system.  When on-line, the host data base and the client database will periodically synchronize in the background (if using version 4.0 or later – in version 3.0, this was a manual process).  And when offline, any new data input will be stored on the local PC and then synchronized back to the host database when back on-line.

The offline feature doesn't come without some baggage, however.  First, the hardware requirements of the client PC are greater for an offline client implementation.  For CRM 4.0, at least 2GB RAM are recommended for the offline version vs 1GB for the online version of the Outlook client.  Then, each user must determine what data they want to take with them, or how much data to synchronize.  The more accounts and contacts they want to have on their local PC, the more synchronization must take place and this can slow down the user's system whenever synchronization takes place.  Lastly, any custom development that is done to the system needs to be developed with the offline client in mind so that the offline experience matches the online one, at least after the data has been synchronized back with the server.  So beware, this luxury comes at a cost, but for the real road warrior it's a blessing. 

So who would want to use CRM in its native web-based format?  Lots of people find that using CRM strictly as a CRM web application is less problematic than using it in Outlook,  This is because when you look at CRM as strictly a business application, all your business contacts are in CRM, all the account information is in CRM, you can email, make appointments, etc.  You can do just about everything you can do in Outlook except maybe setup recurring appointments, but you can also do more in CRM.  The users who use CRM in the web client mode are usually customer service reps (CSRs), sales support people, administrators, marketing managers, etc.  They find that there is no confusion between personal contacts in Outlook and their business contacts in CRM and it tends to be a little bit faster, particularly since you are not synchronizing.  Your IT staff will also love the fact that they don’t have to deploy or support the additional Outlook plugin.  The biggest thing you lose is the ability to track e-mails back to CRM with a single mouse click.  If that isn’t important to you in your business process, the Outlook client in any of its forms might not be the optimal solution for you.

If you are thinking of implementing CRM, think of how you users will really be using the product.  Even if they are on the road, can they wait until they are in their hotel room and on-line to enter CRM data?  If so, then there should be no need to implement the Offline client and the extra setup it takes.  If your users are desk jockeys and in CRM all day long, then the web client should be just the ticket to a successful implementation.  

Ilja Gregor, CRM Consultant, Inetium