Book Description

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 offers you access to exciting new interactive and flexible Dashboards that contain any combination of Charts, Lists, iFrames and Silverlight components. These can be used to easily visualize your CRM data and provide you with a light BI interface, all of which this practical cookbook will enable you to utilize.

At first glance, Dashboards and their myriad information can be overwhelming to users that are new to the Dynamics CRM 2011 interface. This book guides you through navigating and interacting with Dashboards in a simple and easy to follow manner, and builds on that experience to walk you through creating and sharing your own User Dashboards.

“Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011: Dashboards Cookbook” offers a range of practical recipes for mastering dashboard navigation, interaction, and building custom Dashboards in Dynamics CRM. You will immediately get to grips with essential tasks like changing Dashboard settings and sharing Dashboards with other members in the CRM team, as well as adding custom components like iFrames and Lists. Along the way you will also follow the creation of a simple HTML WebResouce that can be added to your Dashboard.

By the end of “Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011: Dashboards Cookbook”, you will be fully equipped to take advantage of the exciting new Dashboards features of Dynamics CRM 2011.

What you will learn from this book
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Book Description

Microsoft® Dynamics CRM 2011 Unleashed presents start-to-finish guidance for planning, customizing, deploying, integrating, managing, and securing the newest version of Dynamics CRM. Authored by three leading Microsoft Dynamics implementers, it illuminates new opportunities to deploy CRM as a hosted service (SaaS), integrate with Azure cloud services, and extend CRM through Microsoft’s new online service marketplace. The authors systematically explain how Dynamics CRM 2011 works, illuminating why it works that way, and how to drive maximum business value from it. Drawing on insider knowledge of Microsoft’s new product, they present clear examples, proven best practices, and pitfalls to avoid in using every significant Dynamics CRM capability. Their far-reaching coverage ranges from Dynamics CRM’s sales, marketing, and customer service features to its automated workflows; Outlook and Office integration to reporting and security. This edition’s extensive new coverage includes new chapters on Mobility, the Outlook Client, and Office 2010 integration, as well as greatly expanded coverage of CRM Online. It also contains new or expanded discussions of data visualization, SharePoint Foundation integration, user interface changes, inbuild charts, dashboards, IM and SMS communication support, auditing, no-code workflows, connections, queues, the new WCF-based programming model, UI scripting, and security.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1. New Features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011
Chapter 2. Why Business Needs a CRM System Download Now »

Book Description

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010 Unleashed is the 100% new, 100% practical developer’s guide to Microsoft’s most powerful version of BizTalk Server. Written by an expert team of Microsoft insiders and BizTalk MVPs, it reflects unsurpassed experience with all phases of BizTalk enterprise solutions development, from planning through deployment and administration.

The authors begin by introducing BizTalk Server’s architecture and key integration concepts. Next, they offer in-depth coverage of BizTalk’s foundational features, including schemas, maps, orchestrations, and pipelines. You’ll learn how to effectively utilize both standard and custom adapters; monitor integration services; leverage cloud computing via Windows Azure; implement operational BI solutions; and make the most of business rules and BizTalk’s Business Rules Engine (BRE).

The authors offer best practices and “in the trenches” tips for everything from managing deployments through implementing state-of-the-art mobile RFID solutions. No other book offers this much useful, pragmatic, and tested knowledge for successful BizTalk development.

Brian Loesgen is a Principal Architect Evangelist on Microsoft’s Azure ISV team. A six-time Microsoft MVP, he has extensive experience in building advanced enterprise, ESB, and SOA solutions. He has coauthored eight books, including SOA with .NET and Windows Azure. Charles Young, a principal consultant at Solidsoft, and Jan Eliasen, an IT architect at Logica, have each been honored repeatedly as BizTalk MVPs, and are highly respected bloggers in the BizTalk community. Download Now »

Book Description

If you were to analyze your team’s performance on a typical project, you’d be surprised how much time is wasted on non-productive tasks. This hands-on guide shows you how to work more efficiently by organizing and managing projects with SharePoint 2010. You’ll learn how to build a Project Management Information System (PMIS), customized to your project, that can effectively coordinate communication and collaboration among team members.

Written by a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Microsoft SharePoint MVP with 15 years of IT project management experience, each chapter includes step-by-step guides as well as workshops that help you practice what you learn.

• Build a SharePoint PMIS that requires little assistance from your IT/IS department
• Define access permissions for project stakeholders and team members
• Centralize project artifacts and keep track of document history with version control
• Track project schedules, control changes, and manage project risks
• Automate project reporting and use web parts to generate on-demand status reports
• Integrate project management tools such as Excel, Microsoft Project, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• Apply your knowledge of PMIS techniques by working with a case study throughout the book

“If you are a project manager looking for a technology-based, easily implemented, and usable solution for project communications, document management, and general project organization, this book is for you!” Download Now »

Book Description

Professional Visual Studio 2008

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 is the latest version in the ongoing evolution of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE), and this resource examines the diverse facets of the IDE—from common tasks to intricate functions to the powerful tools that accompany the main code editing and design windows. Written by a unique author duo and offering an in-depth look at the powerful and fascinating features and techniques of the IDE, this book explores each aspect of the development life cycle from the perspective of how Visual Studio 2008 can make your life easier.

Each chapter is packed with examples that illustrate uses for various tools, commands, and shortcuts of Visual Studio 2008. You will gradually learn to identify where a feature is used, conclude how you can use it to its fullest potential, and then seamlessly apply that feature to help solve real-world problems.

What you will learn from this book

• How to create project templates and wizards
• Methods for using IntelliSense, code refactoring, class modeling, and unit testing
• Tips for using DataSets, LINQ, and Synchronization Services for working with data
• How to build web applications using ASP.NET AJAX, Silverlight, and ASP.NET MVC
• Ideas for building Office and Mobile applications, WPF, WCF, and WF projects
• Ways to effectively analyze and identify bugs using the advanced debugging features
• How to automate repetitive tasks using the Visual Studio 2008 add-ins and macros Download Now »

Book Description

Leverage the power of the Azure Services Platform for cloud computing

With the Azure Services Platform, processing and storing data moves from individual corporate servers and Web sites to larger, more reliable, and more secure data centers. Roger Jennings, author of more than 30 books on Microsoft technologies, shows you how to leverage the power of Azure and its related services for cloud computing.

The book begins with a look at the differences between cloud computing and application hosting and examines the various issues that .NET developers and IT managers face in moving from on-premise to cloud-based applications, including security, privacy, regulatory compliance, backup and recovery, asset cataloging, and other common technical issues. The author then drills down, showing basic programming for individual Azure components, including storage, SQL Data Services, and .NET Services. He then moves on to cover more advanced programming challenges.

• Explains the benefits of using the Azure Services Platform for cloud computing
• Shows how to program with Windows Azure components, including Azure Table and Blob storage, .NET Services and SQL Azure
• Addresses advanced programming challenges of creating useful projects that combine cloud storage with Web applications or services
• Companion Web site features complete, finished applications that can be uploaded to jump start a Windows Azure project Download Now »