Workflows with Dynamics CRM

Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides you with many tools to automate many business processes within your organization.  One of the most common is the workflow.  Utilizing a simple and easy to use interface you can set up these automation rules for many standard day-to-day tasks.
Depending upon your type of organization you could utilize workflows in many different ways.  In a sales-oriented environment workflows could be used to:

• Notify the sales manager anytime an opportunity is entered with a projected sales goal of your choosing
• Automatically generate follow up reminders for the sales people managing a given account
• Send notifications when the account status is changed
• Automatically update account statuses or set ownership when certain criteria are met

Workflows can be triggered by many events within your system such as record creation, specific field edits, even the passage of time.
Below is an example of the workflow screen.  This example is configured to send an email to the account manager whenever the status of an account is changed.  All the functionality necessary to create, manage and utilize this workflow is provided “out of the box” with Dynamics CRM.

To define the business logic within a workflow, you add steps which can include conditions, actions like updating the current record or a related record, or even call custom workflows written in Microsoft Visual C# or Microsoft Visual Basic .NET to perform more sophisticated processes.

One of the many advantages of workflows is that they can be configured to run in the background or on demand.  Should your organization require it, the actions available to be executed can be extended using custom workflow actions, which can also be defined within a similar interface, or, if necessary, with the assistance of software developer.
Workflows can certainly help your organization increase productivity and ensure the following of established business processes.

About Anexinet

Anexinet is a leading professional consulting and services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions around digital disruption, analytics (and big data), and hybrid and private cloud strategies. Anexinet brings insight into how technology will impact how business decisions will be made and how our clients interact with their customers in the future.
Ted White, [email protected]