So - Simonhu from the MSDN blog site recently posted one of the most helpful blogs I've seen in a while. It didn't show you how to configure SQL Server, or the Email Router, or how to move reports. What it did though, was give the low-down on how you obtain your CRM license key. Sounds simple - and it is. But it's NOT what I'd call the conventional way you obtain your license keys for Microsoft products - and that is a huge source of confusion and frustration for customers and consultants alike.
You can read Simon's post here. The one that we at Inetium deal with most of the time is the Volume License agreements, or occasionally the Microsoft Partner Program (Internally, for example). Typically with the Volume License agreements, customers can log on to eOpen or the MVLS site to get their keys (Windows, SQL Server, Exchange, etc).
But not for CRM. Nope. For CRM, you get your key from the media sleeve. Even for Volume License customers. This is extremely difficult for VL customers to understand when they opt out of ordering physical media, and instead choose to download all their install bits. This started with version 3.0, and it has not changed with version 4.0.
But it is what it is. Once we get over that hurdle, and the customer orders the media, they are taken care of. It's just sometimes been a bit painful to come to an understanding on how it works, and why the CRM product is just a bit different in that regard than other products they have purchased.
Kudos to Simonhu for putting together this post! Again - you can read his post here:
http://blogs.msdn.com/ukcrm/archive/2008/01/14/where-is-your-crm-4-0-license-key.aspx
Posted
Jan 15 2008, 02:25 PM
by
Tedh