Mobile Express for CRM 4.0

In case you haven’t heard, Microsoft CRM Mobile Express for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 was released recently.  Mobile Express is a mobile browser friendly interface for CRM 4.0 that makes it easy for users to look up CRM data and enter data on the go.  Mobile Express is a free download.

I played with the beta of Mobile Express 4 several months ago, so I was excited to see what the final release looked like.  Here are my initial reactions:

1. The installation is one of the easiest installations I have ever done—it is literally a hotfix.  The total installation time is less than 3 minutes. It does require you to restart your CRM server, so be sure to do it at a time that won’t disrupt your users.

2.  It is a great complement for IFD implementations.  If you used the 3.0 version of Mobile Express, you had to set up an externally available URL for users to use.  ME4 simplifies this by using the existing IFD url.  So if your CRM external URL is https://crm.contoso.com, after installation, you will have a mobile url https://crm.contoso.com/m that will direct users to the mobile express site.  Especially if you already have an IFD enabled implementation, Mobile Express is a no brainer—with really very little work you gain a lot of functionality and user convenience.

3.  Configuration is very convenient.  After installation you will find a Mobile Express configuration link in Settings—>customizations.  This allows a user to configure Mobile Express and select ME form layouts without having to log on to the server.

Some considerations as you roll out Mobile Express:

1.  Configuration of forms is separate from CRM form customization—you have to select which entities and attributes are available from Mobile Express—this allows you to lay out the mobile form in a way that makes the best use of the smaller form factor.

2.  Mobile access is controlled via CRM security.  After installation you will see a new permission called “Go Mobile” in CRM security roles.  This permission is enabled by default for all roles, and it gives you an easy way to exclude users from being able to use Mobile Express if there are security concerns.

3.  It works with virtually any mobile device.  I have tested on an iphone, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry.  It is also an option if you have limited use users that use a Mac or Linux and just need to look up data, since it works from browsers such as Safari, Firefox, Opera, etc.

4.  Blackberry users--if you have problems accessing your Mobile Express site, check your browser options.  Enabling javascript and changing the emulation mode to IE mode may help.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft CRM,Microsoft Dynamics CRM,mobility,iphone,blackberry

Comments

[Steve]

I have been unable to get MobileExpress to work on BlackBerrys. My MobileExpress installation loads perfectly on Windows Mobile 6, and on an iPhone.

It does not work on BlackBerrys (one is a Storm, the other a Pearl), nor on a G1.

I've tried adding the BlackBerry.browser file and registering it, as described on the Microsoft Connect site.

The BlackBerrys return an HTTP 500 error. The IIS logs show a 401.2 error. Is a BlackBerry SERVER required for this to work?

My test environment is NOT presently IFD.

Thanks for any help,
Steve

[Joel Lindstrom]

Hello Steve,

I think you will have better luck if your CRM site is IFD. IF it is not, the site will look for windows authentication, which I have not been able to make work with blackberry. If your environment is IFD, the site uses forms suthentication, which the blackberry browser should be able to process ok.

[Steve]

Thanks,

That's what I expected. I'll give IFD a shot and let you know my results.

[Steve]

I had a strange problem with the IFD tool. It seemed to simply not work. I was running it from the Tools directory within the CRM program directory, but no matter how many times I attempted to run the tool, the MSCRM_CONFIG db did not have the Ifd records, the CRM server registry did not have the Ifd regkey, and IIS was not set to enable anonymous access. SO, that was weird, and took a bit of time to track down. Once I figured out what was going on, I made the changes myself.

With IFD configured, the BlackBerrys (BlackBerries?) worked properly with Mobile Express.

Thanks again for the help.

(Still don't know how/why the app, without IFD, worked on an iPhone!)

-- Steve J.

[venkat]

HI there,
does any one know how to customise the fields in the mobile exprss crm forms,chaging the attributes in the search view

thanks
venkat

[Joel Lindstrom]

Venkat,
It uses the first columns of the default view for that entity. see this forum thread for more information:

http://social.microsoft.com/forums/en-us/crmdevelopment/thread/6617DD81-F3EB-4606-803B-2A308D3B80E7

[Miguel Riano]

Hi, Is there amything to do with iPhone to make it work with mobile express? It returns an error saying browser version not supported.

[Joel Lindstrom]

Miguel,
it works fine with iphone. I use it on my iphone and ipad all the time. What you are most likely seeing is that you are hitting the crm url, not the mobile express url--if this is the case you will get the browser version not supported error. In most IFD implementations, your mobile express url will be http://whateveryourcrmurlis.com/m
with a "/m" at the end. If you don't type that in, it will try to pull up crm, but wont be able to. If you include the /m, you should get the mobile express sign in screen.