Going the other direction, from CRM to Outlook, tasks created in CRM automatically get pulled into Outlook with synchronization filter settings. And since Outlook is found on peoples’ phones and tablets, the task is synchronized two-ways here as well. So, if the task is updated in CRM, it would be updated in Outlook as well, and vice versa. CRM creates a copy of the task and places it into CRM where it still remains connected to the task in Outlook. If someone chooses to “track” a task from Outlook into CRM, they would simply click a button in the ribbon of their Outlook. Outlook and CRM offers native two-way integration with the addition of the “CRM for Outlook Add-In” into Outlook and a setting of the synchronization filters in CRM.
Task management is stand alone, but can be made relational to any of the other bits of sales, marketing, customer service, and customized work that is found in the system. One of the sets within this lego box is task management. When companies get Microsoft Dynamics CRM and start to gain proficiency with it, they soon realize that getting this product is like obtaining a big box of lego. It is a CRM system that essentially provides an organization with a rapid database development tool with a pre-defined set of tables for sales, marketing, and customer service. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a customizable customer relationship management system. In addition to being in context of the collaborative work area they are under, additional custom field (I.e., meta data) can be placed against tasks to store additional items against each task.
These “tasks” are contextual in terms that they are in reference to the collaborative work area they have been placed under. One of the items that SharePoint allows placed onto its’ customized collaborative work areas are “task list” components that hold tasks. SharePoint is Microsoft’s entry into the collaborations and document management arena thru a customizable web application platform. So, Outlook is good at taking care of both the basics of personal and the basics of business task management. Now since most businesses use Outlook for their employees in the office, many employees mix and mingle their personal email, tasks, contacts, and appointments with work email, tasks, contacts, and appointments. Since Outlook is a PIM which organizes your email, tasks, contacts, and appointments, it is used by many people to manage their personal tasks.
To do this, I want to start from the premise the Microsoft Outlook is a PIM (I.e., a personal information manager).
Lets first look at what tasks in Outlook are good for. So, I decided to hunker down and write a quick blog post on the differences, similarities, and when & where Outlook, SharePoint, and/or CRM should hold tasks. And as I do Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementations, I am also asked whether tasks should be held in SharePoint or CRM on projects. As consultant, I am in and out of many different organizations that use Microsoft products and I am often asked how tasks in Outlook work in conjunction with tasks in SharePoint. Microsoft currently has a 51% worldwide market share of the business email and collaboration market according to the Radicati Group and, I would be willing to wager that the percentage is much, much higher in the North American market.
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