An Introduction to Office 365 Groups for Dynamics CRM

An Introduction to Office 365 Groups for Dynamics CRM

Office 365 Groups were unveiled for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 Update 1 (preview mode), but what are they? Basically, they take existing Microsoft Office 365 products such as Outlook, OneNote, and OneDrive, and integrates them with Dynamics CRM. Integrating Office 365 Groups with Dynamics CRM greatly increases team collaboration. Office 365 Groups interface through any record you have in Dynamics CRM, an account, contact, lead, or even custom entities like projects. Team members have access to content and documentation, including a team calendar, within records in CRM. In today’s blog, we’ll be showing you how to get started!

An additional benefit of Office 365 Groups is that non CRM users can access CRM information without having an actual CRM license assigned to themselves. Since Office 365 features Microsoft Office 365 products interfaced through Dynamics CRM, if a CRM user accesses Office 365 Groups through CRM, attaches a document, posts a note to the conversation board, or creates a calendar appointment, a non CRM user can see this information in Outlook or OneDrive.

Step 1: First, login to the Microsoft Office 365 Admin Portal.

Step 2: From the Office 365 Admin Portal, click on the CRM Admin Portal.

Step 3: In the CRM Admin Portal, click Solutions.

Step 4: Select the option and then click Install. Once you accept the terms, the solution will import into your Dynamics CRM account. This may take a few minutes.

Step 5: Once Office 365 Groups are installed, launch Dynamics CRM and navigate to any record. Drop down the Common section and you will see Office 365 Groups. If a group has not been created for this record yet, you will be prompted to create a group.

Now that you have Office 365 Groups integrated with Dynamics CRM, you can collaborate with your coworkers more effectively and bridge the gap between your non CRM users. For more information on how your team can use Office 365 Groups within Dynamics CRM, watch the webinar: Office 365 Groups in Dynamics CRM.