Welcome to the world of developing business solutions with Microsoft Dynamics CRM!

For a long time, professional developers building business applications have been forced to choose between two equally unappealing alternatives when designing their solution—either buy an off-the-shelf package and have their hands tied with closed, proprietary designs; or build their own solution from scratch using commonly available technology and spend the majority of the project implementing the "basics" (again!) such as storage, security, and a user interface framework.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is committed to providing a third way—a flexible architectural model that combines the power of the Microsoft platform with the appeal of a familiar Microsoft Office–style user experience and configurable business process. More important, although the power and value of Microsoft Dynamics CRM are most easily applied to sales, service, and marketing scenarios, the product’s capabilities easily provide a platform for enabling a wide range of business processes and applications.

Put simply, Microsoft Dynamics CRM makes delivering the basics easy and lets you apply your energy and creativity where it matters the most—solving unique problems and helping the business succeed with intelligent solutions.

In the end, the most important element of any business application development project is you—the developer. With this book, the authors make it easy for you to benefit from their years of practical experience working with customers and other Microsoft partners to deliver high-value CRM solutions. They explain what you need (and want) to know before you start in on your Microsoft Dynamics CRM development project and how to get the most out of the time that you spend. Their ability to provide clear, concise guidance across the entire range of developer capabilities in CRM is a tremendous asset for anyone building custom solutions with the product.

If you’re just getting started as a developer working with CRM, this book will give you the strong foundation in the core architecture, processes, and development capabilities to be a great Dynamics CRM developer.

If you’ve already had some experience with the product, this book is a handy reference that provides ideas and samples to stimulate your own creativity and help tackle common challenges.

I hope you find this guide both as informative and useful to read as I have during my collaboration with the authors. In the end, this book is just a first step. Whether you enjoy building business applications for the technical challenge or for the opportunity to help the world run a little smoother, I’m confident that Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help you reach your project goals faster and more effectively.

Welcome to the next generation of business application development—happy coding!

Andrew Bybee

Principal Program Manager

Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Microsoft Corporation