This is adapted from the InfoStrat White Paper "Upgrading Dynamics CRM." Download the full whitepaper here: http://www.infostrat.com/#!upgrading-dynamics-crm/c15ht
Our
recommendation overall is to consider the option of redesigning your forms from
scratch and compare the level effort for this option vs. the merge after doing
some initial trials. There is no one
right answer to this question and the option you choose will depend on the
complexity and design history of your current forms. There are also significant advantages to some
of the new components which are included in the new default V6 forms which are
worth considering.
1. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=45022
2. http://survivingcrm.com/2014/10/dont-merge-forms-in-crm-2013/
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Upgrade Policy[1]
Recent
versions of CRM Online
Checklist
for the CRM Online update
Most of the update process is handled by Microsoft. However, there are a few things that you must do to prepare.
Once your organization is updated, you’ll receive a notification from CRM Online indicating that your organization is ready to use.
Conclusion
Because Microsoft provides major upgrades to Dynamics CRM every two years and minor upgrades every six months or more often, customers need to proactively manage their CRM systems and be aware of what is coming out and when and learn how it will affect their current systems. They must have policies and procedures in place to schedule, test, and deploy new versions on a regularly scheduled basis so they can benefit not only from the improved features and functionality but also to be fully supported by Microsoft.
Microsoft
provides a number of Migration Tools to assist you with the move to CRM 2015.
These include
both documentation and tooling available within the application. The
documentation can be found in the SDK and on the web and covers the process you
need to go through to upgrade forms and the design considerations related to how
your forms will appear on the mobile and outlook clients. The in-app tools are in the form
designer. The first thing you need to
understand is how to identify the CRM 2011 form and the CRM 2013 form. Many CRM 2011 forms are all labeled “Information”
since this was the name used for the default form prior to CRM 2013. In CRM 2103 a new set of V6 forms was created
which were labeled using the Entity name by default (e.g. “Contact”). You also
now have the ability to activate and deactivate forms.
If your goal is
to continue to use the CRM 2011 “Information” form style, you have multiple
options to get to that format in a CRM 2013 form. You can either create an entirely new form
with the same components or you can merge the CRM 2011 form contents into a new
2013 form. To use the merge method, you
would create a new CRM 2013 form, open
the CRM form editor and find the
button at the top of the screen called “Merge Form”. When you click that button, you are presented
with a Lookup dialog that allows you to select the 2011 form. When you choose a CRM 2011 form and import it,
your customizations from CRM 2011 will be added to the bottom of the 2013 form.
Note that issues have been reported
where the merge creates downstream problems due to duplicate Ids. The issues do not appear until you have to
export a CRM Solution and import it into another environment. If you intend to use the merge you should
test this scenario carefully before putting too much effort into upgrading
forms this way.
For more details see:
1. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=45022
2. http://survivingcrm.com/2014/10/dont-merge-forms-in-crm-2013/
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Upgrade Policy[1]
If you are using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, your
system will be automatically upgraded within set intervals. You do have some flexibility on scheduling
these updates and choosing which updates to apply but there are rigid rules in
place to help keep your Online instance in synch with the latest versions of
the software.
Microsoft delivers new features and improvements to the
CRM Online service twice a year through service updates. Microsoft advises customers to run the latest
version of the service. In early 2015 Microsoft offered customers the ability
to provide consent prior to updating their CRM organization. Customers today
have a wide choice of days to choose from to best suit their business, and we
will continue to provide that flexibility for service updates. In spring of
2015, customers will have the choice to take the two updates as they become
available, or take only one update per year. If a customer chooses to take only
one update per year, this update becomes mandatory and the customer will be
required to take the update during the available dates for that particular
release.
In other words,
at any given point a customer must be on the current version (n) or a version
prior (n-1). For example, if you are on CRM Online Spring ‘14 (n-2) and chose
not to take the available CRM Online 2015 Update (n-1), then you would need to
take CRM Online 2015 Update 1 (n) as a mandatory update.
Recent
versions of CRM Online
Version
|
Availability
|
| Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Spring ‘14 (6.1.0) |
June 2014 |
| Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update (7.0.0) |
December 2014 |
| Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1 (7.1.0) |
Second Quarter 2015 |
Checklist
for the CRM Online update
Most of the update process is handled by Microsoft. However, there are a few things that you must do to prepare.
- Know when your
update is scheduled.
You will be informed of a pending update in multiple ways. See How will I know my organization is ready to update? in this topic. - Involve your
Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner.
If you have a Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner of record, we strongly recommend that you contact them for guidance and assistance. If you do not have a partner, you may consult the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace to identify a partner. Please note that there may be charges from partners for their services. - Watch for
communications from Microsoft.
Microsoft will send you several communications about this subject to keep you informed about the update. They also display a notice to the users of your system in the CRM message bar. In addition, they send email communications to users that have the System Administrator role in CRM. Please make sure the email accounts associated with those user accounts are valid and being monitored. Communications will come from crmoln@microsoft.com, or for partners, you will also receive communications from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner Team: crmteam@microsoft.com. - Verify your
customizations are compatible.
You should take the time before your update to verify that customizations are compatible using the CRM Custom Code Validation Tool. You should do this early enough that you have time to fix any identified issues. Additionally, Microsoft will run a number of automated tests and if any of those tests fail in your instance, we will email the administrator a list of potential issues we have identified. - Create a
non-production (Sandbox) instance in which you can test your
customizations.
Ideally, you should test your customizations prior to update. This will also give you the opportunity to verify compatibility of any third-party customizations. If you identify any potential issues, please work with the solution provider to correct any issues that arise. More information: Manage CRM Online Sandbox instances - Notify your
users prior to the update of CRM.
It is a best practice to notify your users that the system will be unavailable during the update. To get more resources to prepare users for the update, please visit Microsoft Dynamics CRM Help & Training. - Watch for
Update Completion or Reschedule emails from Microsoft.
Once your organization is updated, you’ll receive a notification from CRM Online indicating that your organization is ready to use.
When
|
Recipient
|
In-product alert
|
Email
|
Admin Center
|
| Update scheduled |
All Admins |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| 90 days before update |
All Admins |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| 30 days before update |
All Admins |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| 15 days before update |
All Admins |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| 7 days before update |
All Admins |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| 7 days before update if Admin approved |
Users |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Schedule confirmed by Admin |
All Admins |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Update in progress |
All Admins and Users |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Update successful |
All Admins and Users |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Fallback to secondary update |
All Admins |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Update rescheduled |
All Admins |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
“All Admins” includes CRM system administrators and Office
365 Global administrators
|
Conclusion
Because Microsoft provides major upgrades to Dynamics CRM every two years and minor upgrades every six months or more often, customers need to proactively manage their CRM systems and be aware of what is coming out and when and learn how it will affect their current systems. They must have policies and procedures in place to schedule, test, and deploy new versions on a regularly scheduled basis so they can benefit not only from the improved features and functionality but also to be fully supported by Microsoft.
This is particularly important in the Microsoft Dynamics
CRM Online world where customers are required to be running the current version
of the product or the version immediately prior.
[1]
Much of the below information is taken from https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn308237.aspx