CRMUG UK Scotland and North of England Inaugural Meeting
November 25, 2014 Leave a comment
This post has been moved to the official CRMUG UK blog at: CRMUG.UK/20141120 (this page uses the meeting date in YYYYMMDD format as a permanent short URL).
Enlightenment for Dynamics CRM
November 25, 2014 Leave a comment
This post has been moved to the official CRMUG UK blog at: CRMUG.UK/20141120 (this page uses the meeting date in YYYYMMDD format as a permanent short URL).
November 20, 2014 Leave a comment
Today I am at the first CRMUG event in the UK “North of the border”. Yes, we have our first chapter meeting in Edinburgh, for members from Scotland and the north of England, on November 20th.
I travelled up here by train yesterday and took the opportunity to go through my slides for a quick intro session telling people all the great reasons to become full members of CRMUG (rather than Basic members, or “Subscribers” as they are now called). I wanted to mention how long I had been involved with CRMUG, and a quick look back in my Outlook calendar revealed the strange coincidence that it has been exactly two years to the day!
On 20th November 2012 I attended my first CRM User Group meeting at Microsoft’s UK headquarters in Reading. I had been meaning to go for a while but something (usually work) always got in the way. The meeting included a roadmap presentation from Microsoft – I think there must have been some stuff about the Polaris release in that one. There were also a couple of customer showcases, including a particularly memorable one from Mersey Travel who were using CRM with a portal built on ADX Studio to manage HR and training for about 4,500 employees of the various transport companies that come under their umbrella in the Liverpool metropolitan area and surroundings.
I won’t mention the name of the other customer showcase, but what stood out in my mind was they had loads of custom entities (many dozens, possibly over 100) – and none of them had a custom icon. A very complex system with some very clever automation and difficult reporting, but it must have been a nightmare for users to navigate.
We even got to meet the amazingly energetic and inimitable CRMUG Director Tony Stein, who flew in specially – he wrote about his take on the event on the CRMUG UK Community forum. When he asked if anyone could pitch in to help out with organising future events, I put up my hand – I don’t know if it was just Tony’s infectious enthusiasm for building a community or some kind of Jedi mind trick, but it worked!
Read about all the things I have had the opportunity to do in two years as a CRMUG member »
May 6, 2014 1 Comment
The next UK CRM User Group is in London in less than two months, on Thursday 17th July, and we will be focussing on using Dynamics CRM for managing services.
These might be traditional customer support services, fulfilment or project services, local government services to residents and businesses, or internal process management. The meeting is free to attend for all CRMUG members – and you can sign up for a Basic membership at no cost.
Join 100 or more fellow CRM users for the next UK CRM User Group Meeting at Microsoft Customer Centre at Cardinal Place, London (Victoria). Coffee and Reception start at 9:00 am. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience what the CRMUG has to offer you and other Dynamics CRM users!
Registration is now open for this event. Click here to register for this event for FREE
Click to add the CRMUG UK July 2014 meeting to your Outlook calendar
We will have multiple tracks for the middle part of the day, so you can choose the session that is of most interest and relevance. We will have a wide range of topics for everyone from business managers and project owners through administrators and functional consultants to the most technical system customisers and developers.
This agenda is subject to change (edit: updated 24th June with latest information), and we do expect to add one or two additional optional sessions to those described below. Also note our CRMUG UK Social Evening on July 16th.
09:30 | Welcome & CRMUG News |
09:45 | What’s New in CRM 2013 Spring’14 release (aka Service Pack 1, formerly "Leo"). Microsoft UK |
11:00 | Coffee and Networking |
11:15 3 Tracks |
Supporting a Changing Business One-Click Dynamics CRM Deployments Round Table – Using CRM for Public Sector services |
12:15 | 5 minutes to swap rooms |
12:20 3 Tracks |
Data Visualisation – Art or Science? CRM & BPM – Better Together! Dynamics CRM 2013 is fuelling interest in the potential to deliver new and innovative customer services from CRM. But without resorting to complex and costly XRM based coding projects, the scope is often limited. Business Process Management (BPM) tools such as PNMsoft Sequence, organisations can realise the full potential of CRM. Round Table – Charity Management using Dynamics CRM |
13:20 | Lunch and Networking |
14:00 2 tracks |
Stop, Collaborate and Listen! Demystifying CTI for the common good. |
15:00 | Ask the Experts A chance for more Q&A with today’s speakers and MVPs |
16:00 | Close |
This meeting will be at Microsoft’s Customer Centre in London
Cardinal Place
80-100 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5JL
That’s a 2 minute walk from Victoria tube station, serviced by the Victoria, Circle and District Lines.
All Dynamics CRM users are welcome. We also encourage you to invite your colleagues and other users – email to colleagues, tweet about it, mention it in your LinkedIn groups and other sites..
Partners are welcome to attend provided they are accompanied by a customer. Partners please bear in mind that the objective of regional events such as this is to exchange knowledge and Dynamics CRM experience. Partner personnel should possess deep CRM expertise and refrain from sales activities.
Hope to see you there!
Planning ahead, our next meeting will be on Thursday November 13th, at Microsoft’s UK HQ in Thames Valley Park, Reading.
Click to add the CRMUG UK November 2014 meeting to your Outlook calendar
We hope to have some more great content to share, including some possible encore sessions from CRMUG Summit 2014 which takes place in St Louis, Missouri. Members get $200 discount per person on their Summit passes, and staggered Early Bird rates also apply – for the best prices, register before the end of June.
January 30, 2014 Leave a comment
The next UK CRM User Group is in Reading in less than two months, on Thursday 20th March. We’re also getting together for a social evening on Wednesday March 19th.
We are getting together for an informal social and networking gathering on the evening before the main event . This will probably take place at the Pitcher and Piano, 18 Friar Street, Reading, RG1 1DB which is in central Reading within easy walking distance from railway station, TVP shuttle routes and plenty of hotels. Join us from 18:30 onwards for a few drinks, maybe a bite to eat (especially for those of you staying overnight in Reading), some networking, chit-chat and generally getting to know one another a bit better.
Try to get there before 8pm to take advantage of various 2 for 1 offers on cocktails and selected bottled beers, or glasses of house wine and pints of beer or cider for £2.50.
Join 100 or more fellow CRM users for the next UK CRM User Group Meeting at the Microsoft headquarters at Thames Valley Park in Reading. Coffee and Reception start at 8:30 am. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience what the CRMUG has to offer you and other Dynamics CRM users!
Registration is still open but places are filling up fast! Click here to register for this event for FREE
Click to add the CRMUG UK March 2014 meeting to your Outlook calendar
Based on feedback from previous events, we have made a few changes Most notably we will have two tracks for the middle part of the day, so you can choose the session that is of most interest and relevance. We will also officially finish at 3pm, slightly earlier than before, and then have an optional session to meet (some of) the speakers afterwards and ask questions (rather than the expert panel we used to have before the close).
09:15 | Introduction & CRMUG News |
09:30 | The X(RM) Factor – 5 tools and add-ons you might like to know more about |
10:35 | Track 1: Customer Showcase: CEGA Air Ambulance Track 2: Round Table – Share your tips or ask questions of your fellow CRM System Admins |
11:20 | Coffee and networking |
11:40 | Track 1: Managing Email with CRM – Top tips from MVP Feridun Kadir Track 2: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing and Social Listening – Cassandra Whobrey, Microsoft |
12:40 | Lunch |
13:25 | Customer Showcase: NCFE – Going Mobile |
14:25 | Microsoft Roadmap with Marco Amoedo |
14:55 | Close |
15:00 | Break |
15:05 | Meet the Speakers (optional Q&A session for those who want to stick around a little longer) |
15:35 | End |
This meeting will be at Microsoft’s UK HQ in Reading.
Microsoft Campus
Thames Valley Park
Reading
RG6 1WG
Who should attend? All Dynamics CRM users are welcome. We also encourage you to invite your colleagues and other users – email to colleagues, tweet about it, mention it in your LinkedIn groups and other sites..
Partners are welcome to attend provided they are accompanied by a customer. Partners please bear in mind that the objective of regional events such as this is to exchange knowledge and Dynamics CRM experience. Partner personnel should possess deep CRM expertise and refrain from sales activities.
Hope to see you there!
November 29, 2013 3 Comments
We have decided on the dates for the next two CRMUG UK meetings, so you can get these in your diaries now and save the dates. There will be more news and details nearer the time, but for now we wanted to get these announced so you can have the best chance to make sure you can attend.
This meeting will have a focus on “XRM” – using CRM for things outside the usual scope of sales, marketing and service, or using integrations to other systems, mobile platforms and so on.
Add the CRMUG UK March 2014 meeting to your calendar in Outlook (other systems might work too).
I will probably organise some kind of social event the night before, which will not be an official part of the CRMUG meeting, but a great opportunity to relax, socialise and network in an informal setting.
Agenda is yet to be confirmed, but will be a 9:00 registration and coffee for a 9:30 start.
After a mid-morning coffee break we plan to have two parallel speaker sessions for people to choose the topic of most interest to them. We are also hoping to have a separate room for “round table” discussions for you to share your knowledge and experiences.
After lunch we will have a further general session before “The Cass and Marco Show™” – also known as the Microsoft CRM Roadmap presentation. Given the planned release time frame for “Orion” this session alone is probably enough reason to travel all the way to London for this CRMUG meeting.
We will round the day off with an Experts Panel to try and answer any questions which have occurred to you during the earlier sessions, before closing at approximately 4pm.
This meeting will be at Microsoft’s UK HQ in Reading.
Microsoft Campus
Thames Valley Park
Reading
RG6 1WG
We realise some people would prefer us to hold the meetings in London but there are no rooms available on dates that we could fit in with, so we’ll alternate venues for the moment. We are grateful that Microsoft are able to provide us with a venue and lunch so that we can keep the meetings free to attend, but we have to work around their availability.
This meeting will have a focus on the Service area of CRM, whether for Customer Service, Public Sector Services or any other ways you can use CRM to manage how you deliver the things your organisation does. There should be some news on improvements to a number of aspects of CRM for Service as well, so the regular update from Microsoft should have lots of positive things.
This meeting will also be a 9:00 registration and coffee for a 9:30 start.
Add the CRMUG UK July 2014 meeting to your calendar in Outlook (other systems might work too).
Microsoft UK
Cardinal Place
80-100 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5JL
That’s a 2 minute walk from Victoria tube station, serviced by the Victoria, Circle and District Lines.
Registration is not yet open for these events; I’ll be sure to post again when it is. Please do register so we have a good idea in advance how many are coming and to make sure we can prepare for any special dietary needs (we can probably cover most requirements, but only if we know in advance).
June 21, 2013 Leave a comment
CRMUG Summit is only four months away now, so it’s time to get yourself a place before the early bird discount period runs out on June 31st.
If you are not already a Premium Member, join today to save $200 then get a further $200 off by registering before the end of June.
If you have fewer than 10 users, these saving pay for Premium membership on their own, if you have 10-99 users and send two attendees, you will save more than the membership costs you! If you miss the June cut-off date, prices go up, but is then steady until September 15th.
The Summit schedule from Tuesday October 22nd to Thursday 24th, and will be jam packed with loads of great sessions led by people from other organisations just like yours, using CRM to run their businesses, manage their processes and measure their outcomes.
There will of course be plenty of discussion and content around the new “Orion” release (whether it has actually taken place by then, if on schedule, or if not then the air will be even more buzzing in anticipation!), both from Microsoft themselves and from your colleagues and industry experts.
If you are not sure if there will be something for you, read “Why should I attend CRMUG Summit 2013?”
In addition, why not use this as an opportunity to top up your skills at one of the CRMUG Academy training sessions on Monday 21st October (additional fees apply).
Have you signed up yet? Let me know in the comments below
June 13, 2013 Leave a comment
Registration is not open yet, but as advance warning, the next CRM User Group meeting for the UK is planned for:
Click to add the next CRMUG meeting to your Outlook calendar
Agenda is yet to be confirmed, but loosely speaking will be a 9:15 registration and coffee for a 9:45 start.
After a mid-morning coffee break we plan to have two parallel speaker sessions for people to choose the topic of most interest to them. At least one of these will be followed by a related “round table” discussion of Q&A and audience participation.
After lunch we will all get back together for a further general session before “The Marco and Cass Show™” – also known as the Microsoft CRM Roadmap presentation. Given the planned release time frame for “Orion” this session alone is probably enough reason to travel all the way to London for this CRMUG meeting.
We will round the day off with an Experts Panel to try and answer any questions which have occurred to you during the earlier sessions, before closing at approximately 4pm.
Microsoft UK
Cardinal Place
80-100 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5JL
That’s a 2 minute walk from Victoria tube station, serviced by the Victoria, Circle and District Lines.
Of course I will post once the official page for registrations goes live.
Following our recent CRMUG UK committee meeting, I took on the role of “Vice Chair for Programme” so I need to figure out what things our members want to get out of our events, what sessions will be of most interest, general applicability and so on.
What do you want to “share and learn” at the CRM User Group? Are there any topics you particularly want to hear about?
Do you have a great customer story to tell, with some inspiration or ideas for others to take away and use to get more out of their CRM system? Could you / would you speak for 30 – 45 minutes about your CRM deployment project and what you got out of it?
If you have something to share, or want to find out about a particular aspect of using Dynamics CRM, please let me know in the comments so I can start to assimilate ideas to put together another great event, for users, by users!
March 6, 2013 2 Comments
It’s now just 10 weeks to go until the next UK CRM User Group meeting. We have another great agenda full of shared experiences and tips from your fellow Dynamics CRM users across a range of different sectors.
Join us for the next UK CRM User Group Meeting at the Microsoft headquarters in Reading. Coffee and Reception start at 9:30 am. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience what the CRMUG has to offer you and other Dynamics CRM users!
Registration is now open! Click here to register for this event for FREE
All Dynamics CRM users are welcome. We also encourage you to invite your colleagues and other users – email to colleagues, tweet about it, mention it in your LinkedIn groups and other sites..
Partners are welcome to attend provided they are accompanied by a customer. Partners please bear in mind that the objective of regional events such as this is to exchange knowledge and Dynamics CRM experience. Partner personnel should possess deep CRM expertise and refrain from sales activities.
Hope to see you there!
We are talking about getting together for an informal social and networking event on the evening of 15th May before the main event . This would be at a venue in central Reading within walking distance from railway station, TVP shuttle routes and plenty of hotels. Plans are coming together so we should be able to announce more details soon. Whatever we do it will definitely be free to come and join in, and we’ll be trying to get a deal wherever we go to try and keep your food and drinks bills as low as possible.
I’ll post an update once we get a plan together. <edit – see this post about the CRM User Group Social Evening May 15th in Reading />
December 7, 2012 Leave a comment
The CRMUG Event in Rome on January 31st to February 1st is a great opportunity for Dynamics CRM users from loads of different countries to come together and share experiences and ideas that they can take back and use to get even more out of their own CRM projects.
There will be plenty of opportunity to mingle with your peers and discuss how you are getting value out of your system, share tips, suggestions, good practices and maybe recommendations for third party add-ons which have filled a gap you could not have built in-house.
The main sessions will be split into tracks to suit end users / business managers, system customisers and administrators, and developers. Formats will vary between sessions to use the most appropriate way to cover different topics, from workshops to round-tables to deep-dive presentations.
All for only €199 + VAT before December 15th, €249 thereafter.
As an added bonus, your registration for the CRMUG Event also includes a free 6-month Premium CRMUG membership!
Not only will you get to take part in this great learning and networking event, but you’ll also have access to CRMUG’s full range of benefits, including webinars, CRMUG Collaborate (our online community), special interest groups, CRMUG Academy training courses, Global Branch meetings, and more!
What are you waiting for? Find out more and register now:
January 2, 2007
Registration is not open yet, but as advance warning, the next CRM User Group meeting for the UK is planned for:
Click to add the next CRMUG meeting to your Outlook calendar
Agenda is yet to be confirmed, but loosely speaking will be a 9:15 registration and coffee for a 9:45 start.
After a mid-morning coffee break we plan to have two parallel speaker sessions for people to choose the topic of most interest to them. At least one of these will be followed by a related “round table” discussion of Q&A and audience participation.
After lunch we will all get back together for a further general session before “The Marco and Cass Show™” – also known as the Microsoft CRM Roadmap presentation. Given the planned release time frame for “Orion” this session alone is probably enough reason to travel all the way to London for this CRMUG meeting.
We will round the day off with an Experts Panel to try and answer any questions which have occurred to you during the earlier sessions, before closing at approximately 4pm.
Microsoft UK
Cardinal Place
80-100 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5JL
That’s a 2 minute walk from Victoria tube station, serviced by the Victoria, Circle and District Lines.
Of course I will post once the official page for registrations goes live.
Following our recent CRMUG UK committee meeting, I took on the role of “Vice Chair for Programme” so I need to figure out what things our members want to get out of our events, what sessions will be of most interest, general applicability and so on.
What do you want to “share and learn” at the CRM User Group? Are there any topics you particularly want to hear about?
Do you have a great customer story to tell, with some inspiration or ideas for others to take away and use to get more out of their CRM system? Could you / would you speak for 30 – 45 minutes about your CRM deployment project and what you got out of it?
If you have something to share, or want to find out about a particular aspect of using Dynamics CRM, please let me know in the comments so I can start to assimilate ideas to put together another great event, for users, by users!