One important thing to bear in mind while choosing software is to make sure you will have the capability of customizing it later. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is programmable and changeable at a core level and it will come in handy when you need to do modifications to help the everyday users. For example: the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Ribbon – which is the central area for control –can actually be configured and customized to your liking.
The ribbon was first introduced in MS Dynamics CRM 2011, but has been available in other Microsoft products for some time. While being very familiar to many of us, it can be helpful to step back and take a higher level look at it. The ribbon is divided into tabs, the tabs are broken up into groups, and the groups themselves have the basic control buttons. So, for example, the “Process” group typically contains the workflow buttons.
Now to change the ribbon normally requires a tech savvy person who understands the underlying XML files, which specifies the layout and buttons of the ribbon. But Microsoft has an easier-to-use visual editor that makes this job much simple: download the Microsoft Ribbon Editor here.
While you’ll probably need a Dynamics CRM administrator to do the final implementation and rollout, you can still use the somewhat friendly editing software to work out new designs and groupings of buttons. And you won’t need to know a stitch of XML to configure the ribbon.
By the way, the editor won’t allow you to add new tabs — you work with existing ones. In any case, the Ribbon Editor is a powerful tool that will give average users a good feel for the incredible flexibility of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.
