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Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Applications Course 8913 review

February 09, 2008

As an MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer), I specialize in Microsoft CRM training, so when the new curriculum arrives for CRM 4.0 I have to take these courses right away. The new 8913: Applications in Microsoft Dynamics 4.0 has some significant changes over the CRM 3.0 application courses and I am impressed. 

First of all, all four CRM 3.0 application courses (8521, 8522, 8523, and 8524) have been combined into a single three-day course. The course content also is more substantive and goes deeper than the earlier CRM 3.0 applications courses and seems more in touch with real world situations.

The new combined format will make it much easier for IT staff & Microsoft partners to get the applications training they need to properly support their customers and get an overall understanding of how the application works. This course will should be considered a prerequisite to the 8912:Customization and Configuration in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 course (read review) for any techie planning on customizing Microsoft CRM 4.0. I have seen too many CRM implementations where it was obvious that a number of customizations and extensions were made without a clear understanding of how CRM works out of the box from a user perspective. 

Management teams implementing CRM would also be well advised to take this course. It will help management understand the entire Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 product. This understanding is critical to support the appropriate planning needed to ensure the best returns on a CRM investment.

This course is not appropriate for the average CRM end-user.  It doesn’t make sense to invest in three days of training for a user when their focus will be on less than one third of the course content. The best approach for the average end user is to provide 2 four-hour sessions of training.  The first session should introduce CRM concepts & entities; teach the user how to navigate through CRM; and use the different CRM clients.  After the user has had an opportunity to practice the skills and get used to the system, they should take second training session designed to focus on their job requirements.

See our web site for more information about CRM training.

Steve Noe, MCT

Posted by Steve Noe on 02/09 at 11:42 AM
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