CRM Online Spring ‘14 (also known as Service Pack 1 for On Premises) is here, or will be here soon. Some Online environments are already upgraded, others will be soon.
How do I know if I have the update?
Spring ‘14 is a soft rollout for CRM Online. This means that, unlike the major updates like the Fall ‘13 update, this update will be installed automatically. There is no need to schedule the update.
Log in to CRM in a web browser. Click on the options gear in the upper right hand corner, then select “about.”
If you see this, your organization has not been updated.
If you see this, your organization has been updated.
Notice there are two numbers in parenthesis under “Microsoft Dynamics.” The first set of numbers indicates the version of the application, the second indicates the version of the database. You may see a brief time when these don’t match—this means that the server where the org is installed is updated, but your organization database has not been updated.
Dynamics CRM trivia: The first digit indicates the application version, the second digit indicates the service pack level, and the third digit indicates the update rollup. So the first image is from an organization on RTM 2013 update rollup 2, the second image is from 2013 SP1.
Update rollups will continue for both RTM and SP1, but they will be different update rollups. The next update rollup for CRM 2013 RTM will be UR3, the next update rollup for 2013 SP1 will be UR1.
Installing new features
Once your environment has been updated, you will receive the bug fixes automatically, but the new functionality (such as the updates to case management, SLA, new service area) is not enabled until you elect to install the new features.
To install the updates after your organization has been updated, go to Settings—>Administration—>System Settings and you should see a link to install product updates.
This will give you the new settings area for service management, the new SLA, entitlement, and case features.
Note, you don’t need to install product updates to get the other benefits of SP1. Things like bug fixes are enabled automatically, and new functionality enhancements to SharePoint and server synchronization are enabled without installing the updates.
Things to do before you are updated
Before your organization is updated, I recommend that you do the following:
- Back up your sitemap. The update makes changes to the application menus. Some users have reported that some links were missing from their sitemaps after the update. Backing up a solution with your sitemap now will make it easy to restore should the update make any unwanted modifications.
- Back up your case customization. Create a solution with the case entity and export. The case form is not updated before you install the product updates, but when you do, it will insert some new fields and sections in to the form. You will want to test the new form prior to deploying in your production environment.
An exciting time
Spring ‘14 is a fantastic update to an already great platform. it really makes Dynamics CRM best in class for case management. Get ready, it’s here.
by Customer Effective