Is there an advantage to using BCM with Exchange vs. Stand-alone?

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Guest

We have currently implemented the "Shared" version of BCM on a user's PC. We
are planning on implementing Exchange very soon. Is there any advantage to
using BCM with Exchange or are there negatives? We are currently using BCM
Version 2.00.4013 with Office/Outlook 2003 SB1.
 
BCM is a low end CRM - exchange is an email and collaboration server. While
you can use public folders and custom forms in exchange, replicating BCM
would be expensive. On the other hand, if BCM does not meet your needs as a
CRM application, there are a number of good exchange-based CRM programs
available.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/
 
We are using Exchange Server with SBS and also MSBCMV2 & MS Accounting 2006
and it works great. No problem implementing it as a Small Business
CRM/Accounting solution. Just a couple of tricks to get it to work thanks to
a Microsoft TS2 seminar.

George McCullen
PearsonCRM
Customer Relationship Management Specialists
 
We use BCM v2.00.4013. To date we have been synching using export / import.
We need to hold a central d/b which can be viewed centrally and / updated
etc. I am thinking of getting an exchange server and SBS implemented for this
very purpose. Do I understand that this is good idea or not? If so, what
considerations are there in using BCM in this way?

I hope you could answer this as I need to make decision here quickly?
Thanks for any help.

Ian
 
One thought....

Hi Tim,

I don’t believe we need web access. All we want to do is to work remotely
and then when we are back in the office, synchronise with the server so that
all the users have a refresh of all the data?

Ian
 
one thought...

I don’t believe we need web access. All we want to do is to work remotely
and then when we are back in the office, synchronise with the server so that
all the users have a refresh of all the data?

Ian
 
This is exactly what we want to do... (see 9/22 post above) however, we want
to both have access to the contact/account/opportunity data while we are
offline and then synchronize any changes that we may have made back into the
shared database when we come back into the office... similar to what happens
with the Synchronize feature for files on the share drive.

Is this possible?
 
I believe that BCM's networking ability is limited (funny how easy and often
it is to use the word "limited" when discussing BCM) to a peer-to-peer, non-
server based configuration. In order to share data in the way that you
describe would likely require a migration to the full CRM application.
Someone in the know can please correct me if my comments are incorrect.

-THP




Hal said:
This is exactly what we want to do... (see 9/22 post above) however, we want
to both have access to the contact/account/opportunity data while we are
offline and then synchronize any changes that we may have made back into the
shared database when we come back into the office... similar to what happens
with the Synchronize feature for files on the share drive.

Is this possible?
one thought...
Click to expand...
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
Click to expand...
 
Can anyone out there help with this please?

I'll start a new "urgent" thread on this as I don't know about you guys, but
we need to make a decision?

Tim P via OfficeKB.com said:
I believe that BCM's networking ability is limited (funny how easy and often
it is to use the word "limited" when discussing BCM) to a peer-to-peer, non-
server based configuration. In order to share data in the way that you
describe would likely require a migration to the full CRM application.
Someone in the know can please correct me if my comments are incorrect.

-THP




Hal said:
This is exactly what we want to do... (see 9/22 post above) however, we want
to both have access to the contact/account/opportunity data while we are
offline and then synchronize any changes that we may have made back into the
shared database when we come back into the office... similar to what happens
with the Synchronize feature for files on the share drive.

Is this possible?
one thought...
Click to expand...
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
using BCM with Exchange or are there negatives? We are currently using BCM
Version 2.00.4013 with Office/Outlook 2003 SB1.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Hi Tim,

Your comments are incorrect. (hey, you asked <g>)

Seriously, I'd like to thank you for being such a valuable resource to our BCM customers. I know you've answered many posts and your knowledge is greatly appreciated. Now, let's get discuss Ian's situation.

BCM's database sharing is actually easier to set up in a domain environment than a peer-to-peer. Since all of the users on the network are already authenticated users, there is no need to provide passwords and such as you would in a peer-to-peer scenario. To share a db, you simply:
1.. Click on Business Tools, Share Database
2.. Click Next, then click on Add Users
3.. Type in the user name and the domain name
4.. Follow the prompts to complete the sharing
5.. Follow the instructions to connect to the shared db from the other machine.
Unfortunately, this version of BCM does not support offline synchronization. George's earlier post on this thread shows how he's harnessing the full capability and synergy of BCM v2, SBS, Exchange, and SBA. For more information on BCM and what it can do for you, visit http://www.microsoft.com/office/outlook/contactmanager/prodinfo/default.mspx.

Hope this helps...


--
Regards,

Bob Cooley, [MSFT]


This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


Ian said:
Can anyone out there help with this please?

I'll start a new "urgent" thread on this as I don't know about you guys, but
we need to make a decision?

Tim P via OfficeKB.com said:
I believe that BCM's networking ability is limited (funny how easy and often
it is to use the word "limited" when discussing BCM) to a peer-to-peer, non-
server based configuration. In order to share data in the way that you
describe would likely require a migration to the full CRM application.
Someone in the know can please correct me if my comments are incorrect.

-THP




Hal said:
This is exactly what we want to do... (see 9/22 post above) however, we want
to both have access to the contact/account/opportunity data while we are
offline and then synchronize any changes that we may have made back into the
shared database when we come back into the office... similar to what happens
with the Synchronize feature for files on the share drive.

Is this possible?

one thought...

[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
using BCM with Exchange or are there negatives? We are currently using BCM
Version 2.00.4013 with Office/Outlook 2003 SB1.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Hi Bob,

Many thanks indeed for your clear explanation. I really do appreciate it.

If I understand you correctly:
We can; share BCM in real time when we are in the office.

We cannot; work offline (updating history, adding new contacts, emails etc);
expecting this to be “merged†automatically when we get back to the office.

I guess what you are saying is that there is no server / sbs / exchange
configuration that will allow us to do this with the current version of BCM?

If my assumptions are correct, in order to achieve the scenario where all
users have a fully updated system, we will still need to do the export /
import routine periodically?

Any thoughts on when BCM may support what I am asking?

Ian


Bob Cooley said:
Hi Tim,

Your comments are incorrect. (hey, you asked <g>)

Seriously, I'd like to thank you for being such a valuable resource to our BCM customers. I know you've answered many posts and your knowledge is greatly appreciated. Now, let's get discuss Ian's situation.

BCM's database sharing is actually easier to set up in a domain environment than a peer-to-peer. Since all of the users on the network are already authenticated users, there is no need to provide passwords and such as you would in a peer-to-peer scenario. To share a db, you simply:
1.. Click on Business Tools, Share Database
2.. Click Next, then click on Add Users
3.. Type in the user name and the domain name
4.. Follow the prompts to complete the sharing
5.. Follow the instructions to connect to the shared db from the other machine.
Unfortunately, this version of BCM does not support offline synchronization. George's earlier post on this thread shows how he's harnessing the full capability and synergy of BCM v2, SBS, Exchange, and SBA. For more information on BCM and what it can do for you, visit http://www.microsoft.com/office/outlook/contactmanager/prodinfo/default.mspx.

Hope this helps...


--
Regards,

Bob Cooley, [MSFT]


This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


Ian said:
Can anyone out there help with this please?

I'll start a new "urgent" thread on this as I don't know about you guys, but
we need to make a decision?

Tim P via OfficeKB.com said:
I believe that BCM's networking ability is limited (funny how easy and often
it is to use the word "limited" when discussing BCM) to a peer-to-peer, non-
server based configuration. In order to share data in the way that you
describe would likely require a migration to the full CRM application.
Someone in the know can please correct me if my comments are incorrect.

-THP




Hal Anderson wrote:
This is exactly what we want to do... (see 9/22 post above) however, we want
to both have access to the contact/account/opportunity data while we are
offline and then synchronize any changes that we may have made back into the
shared database when we come back into the office... similar to what happens
with the Synchronize feature for files on the share drive.

Is this possible?

one thought...

[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
using BCM with Exchange or are there negatives? We are currently using BCM
Version 2.00.4013 with Office/Outlook 2003 SB1.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Hi Ian,

Yes, you are understanding it correctly. As for the offline/sync feature,
this is something that will be considered for the next version of BCM.
We've seen feedback from customers on this newsgroup and other sources who
want offline access and syncing, so the BCM folks are looking into it. No
promises, obviously, but it is something they are looking at.

--
Regards,

Bob Cooley, [MSFT]


This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


Ian said:
Hi Bob,

Many thanks indeed for your clear explanation. I really do appreciate it.

If I understand you correctly:
We can; share BCM in real time when we are in the office.

We cannot; work offline (updating history, adding new contacts, emails
etc);
expecting this to be "merged" automatically when we get back to the
office.

I guess what you are saying is that there is no server / sbs / exchange
configuration that will allow us to do this with the current version of
BCM?

If my assumptions are correct, in order to achieve the scenario where all
users have a fully updated system, we will still need to do the export /
import routine periodically?

Any thoughts on when BCM may support what I am asking?

Ian


Bob Cooley said:
Hi Tim,

Your comments are incorrect. (hey, you asked <g>)

Seriously, I'd like to thank you for being such a valuable resource to
our BCM customers. I know you've answered many posts and your knowledge
is greatly appreciated. Now, let's get discuss Ian's situation.

BCM's database sharing is actually easier to set up in a domain
environment than a peer-to-peer. Since all of the users on the network
are already authenticated users, there is no need to provide passwords
and such as you would in a peer-to-peer scenario. To share a db, you
simply:
1.. Click on Business Tools, Share Database
2.. Click Next, then click on Add Users
3.. Type in the user name and the domain name
4.. Follow the prompts to complete the sharing
5.. Follow the instructions to connect to the shared db from the other
machine.
Unfortunately, this version of BCM does not support offline
synchronization. George's earlier post on this thread shows how he's
harnessing the full capability and synergy of BCM v2, SBS, Exchange, and
SBA. For more information on BCM and what it can do for you, visit
http://www.microsoft.com/office/outlook/contactmanager/prodinfo/default.mspx.

Hope this helps...


--
Regards,

Bob Cooley, [MSFT]


This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.


Ian said:
Can anyone out there help with this please?

I'll start a new "urgent" thread on this as I don't know about you
guys, but
we need to make a decision?

:

I believe that BCM's networking ability is limited (funny how easy and
often
it is to use the word "limited" when discussing BCM) to a
peer-to-peer, non-
server based configuration. In order to share data in the way that
you
describe would likely require a migration to the full CRM application.
Someone in the know can please correct me if my comments are
incorrect.

-THP




Hal Anderson wrote:
This is exactly what we want to do... (see 9/22 post above) however,
we want
to both have access to the contact/account/opportunity data while we
are
offline and then synchronize any changes that we may have made back
into the
shared database when we come back into the office... similar to what
happens
with the Synchronize feature for files on the share drive.

Is this possible?

one thought...

[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
using BCM with Exchange or are there negatives? We are
currently using BCM
Version 2.00.4013 with Office/Outlook 2003 SB1.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Bob,

You'll forgive me for trying here :)

This year?....Spring?.....Summer?

Ian

Bob Cooley said:
Hi Ian,

Yes, you are understanding it correctly. As for the offline/sync feature,
this is something that will be considered for the next version of BCM.
We've seen feedback from customers on this newsgroup and other sources who
want offline access and syncing, so the BCM folks are looking into it. No
promises, obviously, but it is something they are looking at.

--
Regards,

Bob Cooley, [MSFT]


This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


Ian said:
Hi Bob,

Many thanks indeed for your clear explanation. I really do appreciate it.

If I understand you correctly:
We can; share BCM in real time when we are in the office.

We cannot; work offline (updating history, adding new contacts, emails
etc);
expecting this to be "merged" automatically when we get back to the
office.

I guess what you are saying is that there is no server / sbs / exchange
configuration that will allow us to do this with the current version of
BCM?

If my assumptions are correct, in order to achieve the scenario where all
users have a fully updated system, we will still need to do the export /
import routine periodically?

Any thoughts on when BCM may support what I am asking?

Ian


Bob Cooley said:
Hi Tim,

Your comments are incorrect. (hey, you asked <g>)

Seriously, I'd like to thank you for being such a valuable resource to
our BCM customers. I know you've answered many posts and your knowledge
is greatly appreciated. Now, let's get discuss Ian's situation.

BCM's database sharing is actually easier to set up in a domain
environment than a peer-to-peer. Since all of the users on the network
are already authenticated users, there is no need to provide passwords
and such as you would in a peer-to-peer scenario. To share a db, you
simply:
1.. Click on Business Tools, Share Database
2.. Click Next, then click on Add Users
3.. Type in the user name and the domain name
4.. Follow the prompts to complete the sharing
5.. Follow the instructions to connect to the shared db from the other
machine.
Unfortunately, this version of BCM does not support offline
synchronization. George's earlier post on this thread shows how he's
harnessing the full capability and synergy of BCM v2, SBS, Exchange, and
SBA. For more information on BCM and what it can do for you, visit
http://www.microsoft.com/office/outlook/contactmanager/prodinfo/default.mspx.

Hope this helps...


--
Regards,

Bob Cooley, [MSFT]


This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.


Can anyone out there help with this please?

I'll start a new "urgent" thread on this as I don't know about you
guys, but
we need to make a decision?

:

I believe that BCM's networking ability is limited (funny how easy and
often
it is to use the word "limited" when discussing BCM) to a
peer-to-peer, non-
server based configuration. In order to share data in the way that
you
describe would likely require a migration to the full CRM application.
Someone in the know can please correct me if my comments are
incorrect.

-THP




Hal Anderson wrote:
This is exactly what we want to do... (see 9/22 post above) however,
we want
to both have access to the contact/account/opportunity data while we
are
offline and then synchronize any changes that we may have made back
into the
shared database when we come back into the office... similar to what
happens
with the Synchronize feature for files on the share drive.

Is this possible?

one thought...

[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
using BCM with Exchange or are there negatives? We are
currently using BCM
Version 2.00.4013 with Office/Outlook 2003 SB1.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Sorry, I can't comment on that... <g>

--
Regards,

Bob Cooley, [MSFT]


This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


Ian said:
Thanks Bob,

You'll forgive me for trying here :)

This year?....Spring?.....Summer?

Ian

Bob Cooley said:
Hi Ian,

Yes, you are understanding it correctly. As for the offline/sync
feature,
this is something that will be considered for the next version of BCM.
We've seen feedback from customers on this newsgroup and other sources
who
want offline access and syncing, so the BCM folks are looking into it.
No
promises, obviously, but it is something they are looking at.

--
Regards,

Bob Cooley, [MSFT]


This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.


Ian said:
Hi Bob,

Many thanks indeed for your clear explanation. I really do appreciate
it.

If I understand you correctly:
We can; share BCM in real time when we are in the office.

We cannot; work offline (updating history, adding new contacts, emails
etc);
expecting this to be "merged" automatically when we get back to the
office.

I guess what you are saying is that there is no server / sbs / exchange
configuration that will allow us to do this with the current version of
BCM?

If my assumptions are correct, in order to achieve the scenario where
all
users have a fully updated system, we will still need to do the export
/
import routine periodically?

Any thoughts on when BCM may support what I am asking?

Ian


:

Hi Tim,

Your comments are incorrect. (hey, you asked <g>)

Seriously, I'd like to thank you for being such a valuable resource to
our BCM customers. I know you've answered many posts and your
knowledge
is greatly appreciated. Now, let's get discuss Ian's situation.

BCM's database sharing is actually easier to set up in a domain
environment than a peer-to-peer. Since all of the users on the
network
are already authenticated users, there is no need to provide passwords
and such as you would in a peer-to-peer scenario. To share a db, you
simply:
1.. Click on Business Tools, Share Database
2.. Click Next, then click on Add Users
3.. Type in the user name and the domain name
4.. Follow the prompts to complete the sharing
5.. Follow the instructions to connect to the shared db from the
other
machine.
Unfortunately, this version of BCM does not support offline
synchronization. George's earlier post on this thread shows how he's
harnessing the full capability and synergy of BCM v2, SBS, Exchange,
and
SBA. For more information on BCM and what it can do for you, visit
http://www.microsoft.com/office/outlook/contactmanager/prodinfo/default.mspx.

Hope this helps...


--
Regards,

Bob Cooley, [MSFT]


This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.


Can anyone out there help with this please?

I'll start a new "urgent" thread on this as I don't know about you
guys, but
we need to make a decision?

:

I believe that BCM's networking ability is limited (funny how easy
and
often
it is to use the word "limited" when discussing BCM) to a
peer-to-peer, non-
server based configuration. In order to share data in the way that
you
describe would likely require a migration to the full CRM
application.
Someone in the know can please correct me if my comments are
incorrect.

-THP




Hal Anderson wrote:
This is exactly what we want to do... (see 9/22 post above)
however,
we want
to both have access to the contact/account/opportunity data while
we
are
offline and then synchronize any changes that we may have made
back
into the
shared database when we come back into the office... similar to
what
happens
with the Synchronize feature for files on the share drive.

Is this possible?

one thought...

[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
using BCM with Exchange or are there negatives? We are
currently using BCM
Version 2.00.4013 with Office/Outlook 2003 SB1.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Hi Bob,

Your diplomatically corrective comments are very well received. I'm still
not fully clear about the sharing potential of BCM eventhough what you have
stated to Ian regarding a domain environment makes sense. Could you expand
further upon the details (for a slowpoke like me) in George's synergistic
example above? What is this Microsoft TS2 seminar that he refers to? I
would like to know more about fully tapping the potential of BCM as a multi
user mini-alternative to the more expensive option of using the full
Microsoft CRM app. Am I correct in my understanding that the BCM cannot be
server based? I think a lot of questions in this forum exist among users
about setting up data sharing with BCM. Many users asking these questions
seems to assume the use of either SBS or Exchange and although I understand
that BCM can now exist on individual client machines within a shared
environment, is it possible to actually load and run the BCM MSDE on a server?
My current understanding is an obvious answer of no but please clarify if I
am incorrect. This is what I was referring to in my earlier post about BCM
being "limited" in its networking ability. Perhaps many users here do not
always realize the functional difference between a server based SQL and MSDE
which is the lite version of SQL for individual machines. This is possibly
the nature of so many of these types of questions that are posted here. Is
this confusion my own or does George's post above involve multi user access
from a server based BCM? Any specific links to where I can learn more?

Please clarify and advise. Much thanks in advance for any reply because I
know I speak freely and give you guys a lot of grief sometimes with my BCM
user limitation rants.

-THP

Hi Tim,

Your comments are incorrect. (hey, you asked <g>)

Seriously, I'd like to thank you for being such a valuable resource to our BCM customers. I know you've answered many posts and your knowledge is greatly appreciated. Now, let's get discuss Ian's situation.

BCM's database sharing is actually easier to set up in a domain environment than a peer-to-peer. Since all of the users on the network are already authenticated users, there is no need to provide passwords and such as you would in a peer-to-peer scenario. To share a db, you simply:
1.. Click on Business Tools, Share Database
2.. Click Next, then click on Add Users
3.. Type in the user name and the domain name
4.. Follow the prompts to complete the sharing
5.. Follow the instructions to connect to the shared db from the other machine.
Unfortunately, this version of BCM does not support offline synchronization. George's earlier post on this thread shows how he's harnessing the full capability and synergy of BCM v2, SBS, Exchange, and SBA. For more information on BCM and what it can do for you, visit http://www.microsoft.com/office/outlook/contactmanager/prodinfo/default.mspx.

Hope this helps...
Can anyone out there help with this please?
Click to expand...
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
Click to expand...
 
Hey George,

What are some of these "tricks" that you are referring to? Do you have a
website link or email that you could share to help me understand more how to
fully tap the potential of BCM for multi user access and sharing in the
manner you have had success with?

Thanks,

-THP
 
Hi Bob / Tim,

I really would appreciate any help with this sharing problem. We have grown
well as a business, and I like to think that BCM has played a part in that.
CRM is too much product for us and there must be a way to get what we need.

I'm not techncial but I know we need several users working on their laptops
with BCM, who can then synchronise simply when they get back to office. This
is now urgent for us and frankly I don't want the aggravation of having to
look at other products (why change when you don't have to).

Any advice, or even loose timesales as to when this could happen will really
help me.

This is very important to us. Feel free to email me if needed at:

(e-mail address removed)

Thanks.

Ian
 
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