Dynamics CRM 2011 offers significant new and enhanced features that can increase effectiveness and productivity in your organization. This article will highlight Inline Data Visualization, one of the many enhancements delivered with the new version. To .
Versions of Dynamics CRM previous to 2011 provided users with the ability to visualize their data with charts and graphs. List views of CRM data could be dynamically exported to Excel where the information could be visualized with powerful graphs and pivot tables. The Report Wizard could be used to build reports that graphed information to make it easier for users to picture and understand. Dynamics CRM 2011 introduces new features to make easier to design and display interactive charts and graphs within the CRM application, making it even simpler for users to understand and act on their information.
In Dynamics CRM 2011, users and administrators can easily create charts that graphically display their data. Users choose the data they wish to chart (ex: estimated revenue, cases closed, time to resolution) and how they would like to aggregate the data (ex: sum, average, count) and how to slice the data (ex: by customer, by salesperson, by month). The November 2011 update added the ability to aggregate and slice the data multiple ways in the same chart. Lastly, the user chooses the type of chart that best presents the data (column, bar, area, line, pie, funnel, and goal progress). These charts can then be shared with all users, specific teams, or individual users to tailor a user’s experience to his/her job role.
These charts can be accessed from list views in Dynamics CRM. List views present multiple records in a grid format with one record per row and each column representing a field from the record form. List views are normally filtered to present a relevant subset of all of the records. For example, the ‘My Active Cases’ view is filtered to just show cases belonging to the current user which have an Active status. When viewing a chart in conjunction with a list view, the chart will automatically display information from the records in the list view. When a user chooses a different list view, the chart will automatically refresh to present the new data set. Users can also drill down on a segment of the chart (number of cases closed for a particular agent for example) and the list view will automatically filter itself and present just the data selected on the chart. Charts can also be embedded in record forms where list views of related records are displayed.
For example, we recently worked with a partner organization to design a prototype system for medical monitoring. The Dynamics CRM system captures daily medical test results for patients in the monitoring program. The results for each patient are then presented in a list view on each patient record with a line chart graphically displaying the results for that patient. This provides the caregivers with a quick visual view of how the patient is trending
If your organization could benefit from the power of Microsoft Dynamics CRM for inline data visualization or to address any other business objectives you might have, please contact NexusTek at 303.773.6464 or sales@nexustek.com.
by Nexus Tek,
