Dynamics CRM Entities Customization Training September 2023

Magnify your capacity to adapt and respond to ever-evolving business needs and learn how to leverage Dataverse and Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform together with modern D365 CRM Training in September 2023, August 2023, July 2023, October 2023 and all throughout 2023 by enrolling in our Dynamics Edge CRM training courses. Dynamics CRM is an abbreviation that means Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management, a system designed to orchestrate, manage, and optimize customer interactions throughout their journey with your organization.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is an integrated, data-driven software solution that improves how you interact with your customers. It offers tools to manage and maintain customer relationships, track sales leads, conduct and measure marketing campaigns, and deliver actionable data. It empowers you to optimize operations, transform marketing, care everywhere, and enables sales productivity.

Now what is Dataverse exactly? Well, Dataverse is a key component in the Microsoft Power Platform. Dataverse was formerly known as the Common Data Service. It serves as a unified data schema that enables management and integration of data across business applications. It is a cloud-based, scalable data service and app platform that enables security, business logic, and data storage capabilities.

As for the Dataverse Web API, it serves as a development tool that allows you to interact with the power of Dataverse using HTTP requests. Through the Dataverse Web API, you can perform Create, Read, Update, and Delete operations from your business applications, which is essentially how CRM systems work.

In the world of Dataverse, the term ‘entities’ has now been replaced by ‘tables’. This shift in nomenclature is designed to make the model more intuitive and in line with standard database terminologies. Therefore, when we speak of ‘tables’, we mean what was traditionally referred to as ‘entities’.

Tables (or entities), fields, forms, and views form the building blocks of Dynamics CRM. Tables are like templates that define the attributes of the data you want to store. Fields are individual containers for each piece of data collected. Forms act as user interfaces where data can be entered and read. Views allow you to create custom presentations of your data for various purposes, like analytics, reporting, or task management.

Take an example of an electronic retail outlet selling computers and computer parts. Dynamics CRM EntityType, through its range of tables like customers, products, sales, and customer service incidents, enables the business to efficiently store and manipulate data for customer management, sales forecasting, and after-sales service. Further customization can help tailor Dynamics CRM to the unique needs of this retail outlet. It could be as simple as adding a new field for warranty tracking or as complex as creating a new table for tracking frequent buyers and their preferences. This targeted customization can make a real difference, impacting profits and business outcomes significantly by enabling the business to serve customers better and more efficiently.

Now, you may be wondering, what exactly is an EntityType? An EntityType is a representation of an entity in Dynamics CRM. It contains the metadata about the entity and is used to interact with the data in an entity.

Following the flow, the entity EntityType then forms a really important part of the Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM namespace. This namespace contains all the entities, fields, relationships, and metadata that form the backbone of the CRM system.

Within the structure of Dynamics CRM, the Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.lookuplogicalname serves as a property of the lookup attribute metadata, indicating the logical name of the target entity that the lookup refers to. This information is essential when creating relationships between tables.

The term ‘expando EntityType’, while it may or may not directly fit within the Dynamics CRM schema, may be clearer when we consider it in the broader .NET ecosystem, ‘expando’ usually refers to ExpandoObject, a class that allows dynamic binding of properties. Therefore, an expando EntityType might refer to an entity type that has dynamic properties in Dynamics CRM.

The Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.msdyn_projecttask is an EntityType related to Project Service in Dynamics CRM. Using Project Schedule APIs, it allows users to manage project tasks in Dynamics CRM, thus facilitating project management within the application.

Let’s now consider the PicklistAttributeMetadata EntityType. This metadata class is part of the Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Metadata namespace and defines the metadata for an attribute of type Picklist. This class encapsulates the metadata needed for dropdown menus or other picklist components in CRM.

On to the Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.picklist attributemetadata, it is associated with the option sets or choices in Dynamics CRM. It describes the metadata for attributes that provide a set of options. Using such picklist attributes, we can customize our CRM to suit specific business needs, like defining a list of product categories or service types.

Understanding the Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Metadata.EntityMetadata means you know how this defines the metadata for an entity. It includes properties such as the entity’s name, its primary and secondary attributes, and other metadata details that describe the entity’s characteristics.

Now, onto PrincipalObjectAccess. In Dynamics CRM, this is a table that maintains the access rights a security principal (user or team) has with respect to a specific record. This table is crucial to implementing record-based security in the system.

In Dynamics CRM, each EntityType has a corresponding number known as its entity ID. For example, the entity id of 2 corresponds to a Contact, 3 to Opportunity, 4 to Lead, 8 to SystemUser, 10 to BusinessUnit, and 11 to PrincipalObjectAccess. These numbers provide a standardized way of referring to specific types of records in the CRM system.

Moving to applications of Dynamics CRM in various industries, let’s start with retail. A clothing store could employ Dynamics CRM to track customer purchases, preferences, and feedback. It could then personalize marketing campaigns to individual customers, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, thus boosting sales.

In the food services industry, a restaurant could use Dynamics CRM to manage reservations, track customer dining preferences, and send targeted offers to frequent customers. This could increase customer retention and the overall customer dining experience, leading to increased patronage and profitability.

In a college or higher education institution, Dynamics CRM can provide a centralized system for tracking student progress, managing alumni relations, and even recruiting new students. Customization could allow the CRM to accommodate the unique processes and data requirements of an educational institution.

A government agency can benefit from Dynamics CRM by employing it to manage citizen complaints, queries, and requests for service. Customized workflows can automate processes, speeding up response times, and improving service levels.

A federal government agency can use Dynamics CRM to manage large datasets, streamline processes, and enhance collaboration across different departments. Customizing the CRM to cater to the agency’s unique needs would ensure better data accuracy and accountability, promoting operational efficiency.

Dynamics CRM is truly a transformative platform that adapts to the unique needs of your organization. With its advanced customization capabilities, you can shape your CRM to reflect your business model, creating efficiencies, improving customer relationships, and driving profits. By leveraging Dynamics CRM customization, you can truly unleash the power of your organization.