Full Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 functionalities for mobile devices without third-party solutions

As many of you are aware, running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 on mobile device does not offer you the full experience compared to running in IE on your desktop computer. You can definitely download third-party solutions such as Resco Mobile CRM and CWR Mobility to get full functionalities, but they come at a cost.

However, in this post I will explain how you can get almost full functionalities running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 on mobile devices for FREE.

Recently we discovered that if you run Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 in Chrome browser on your iPad and adjust a little bit of the settings, then you will get a very close to full experience running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

So, the main question is how did we get it to work? It was quite simple, please follow the steps below to get full functionalities on your iPad.

1. Download the Chrome browser app from the App Store.
2. Launch Chrome from your iPad, then put in your CRM website.
3. Click on the 3 small lines icon on the right and click on “Request Desktop Site”
4. This will bring up the mobile form site, so delete “/m/default” and replace it with “/main”

So, my CRM website is > https://mcgladrey123.crm.dynamics.com/m/default.aspx Should be changed to > https://mcgladrey123.crm.dynamics.com/main.aspx

You should get full web browser CRM site similar to this
After doing some extensive testing running CRM in Chrome on my iPad, I noticed several things.

What you CAN do

• You can read, create, write, and delete any entity record type in Dynamics CRM.
• You can run Advanced Find on any entity type.
• You can assign records, create charts and dashboards as well as view them.
• You can run JavaScript custom codes on your forms.
• You can execute Workflows automatically (not on demand workflows).
• You can run custom ribbon buttons (assuming your Jscript/codes support cross-browser).
• Mostly all basic end-user functionalities.

What you CANNOT do:

• You cannot run workflow manually (on-demand) or create Workflow.
• You cannot customize the entity form by adding new fields.
• You cannot add security role to a User.
• You cannot customize the entity views.

In essence, you do have some limitations from a Dynamics CRM administration perspective. However, from a user’s perspective, this is great for viewing records, creating records and managing the other daily end-user tasks in Dynamics CRM. While this is not 100% similar experience to the full web browser interface on your desktop, it comes very close.

Again, the above method is free and does not require you to download any third-party solutions to make it work. Also, this method works on iPhone and Android mobile devices.

If you are considering various ways to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 on your mobile devices, contact RSM to discuss your options. We offer a full range of services from implementation and optimization to development and support. Contact our professionals for more information on our services at 855.437.7202 or crm@mcgladrey.com.

By: Hien Tieu – New Jersey Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

Hien Tieu