Microsoft Dynamics CRM Analytics Foundation is a business intelligence solution accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 customers and partners. You can get for free via download at http://www.codeplex.com/crmanalytics [File size – 94 MB].
With the Analytics Foundation-
· Executives can better track and manage business performance with key performance indicators (KPIs) and Microsoft SharePoint dashboards.
· Managers and employees can create reports quickly and make better decisions with Microsoft Office Excel and Report Builder (part of SQL Server Reporting Services).
· Line-of-business users of Microsoft CRM across sales, marketing, and service can identify new opportunities to grow revenue and increase efficiency with predictive analytics.
…All while allowing IT departments to maximize the use of familiar Microsoft technologies and reduce report maintenance costs. Through the implementation of the Analytics Foundation, end users can become more self-sufficient in creating detailed reports and acting on new customer insights.
Analytics Foundation Content
The Analytics Foundation contains customizable source code and documentation that enables Microsoft CRM partners and customers to effectively present and accelerate the development of customized business intelligence solutions.
The Analytics Foundation download includes:
· Technical Whitepaper
· Business intelligence solution samples and source code
· Presentation “demo” script
· Database for demonstration purposes
· Design documents
· Implementation guidance
Note: The Analytics Foundation is a share-source release and is not meant to be deployed “as-is” into a live server environment without additional testing of the supplied solutions.
What are the technology requirements for implementing the Analytics Foundation content?
· Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0
· Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1
· SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
· Internet Information Services (IIS)
· Both .NET Framework 1.1 and 2.0
· Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 or Windows SharePoint Services with SP2
· Business Scorecard Manager 2005 (required for editing and creating new scorecards)
· Visual Studio 2005
· Excel 2007 (recommended)
Excel 2007 is highly recommended because of the new improved end user pivot table experience. Pivot tables are used to interact with the underlying UDM model provided in Analytics Foundation. Business Scorecard Manager is required for editing and creating new scorecards. For viewing scorecards, it is not required. Note that SQL Server Analysis Services and Reporting Services are included with SQL Server 2005. We are not using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) by default.