Future Directions

Dynamics CRM 4.0 adds new features for hosters and large organizations and plugs many minor product gaps. However, some obvious gaps remain and customers may have to rely on custom code or third-party add-ons to fill them. Microsoft’s top near-term priority will be rolling out an online service based on the most recent version of the product, and the next full version is unlikely to appear before 2009.

Gaps for Migration, Connectors in 4.0

Custom development will still likely be required for deployments of significant scale because some important gaps remain in CRM 4.0.

Learning curve for workflow engine. Users of the legacy Dynamics CRM workflow engine will need time to learn the more powerful and complex Workflow Foundation. Furthermore, although CRM 4.0 will upgrade most CRM 3.0 workflows, some may need to be rewritten to work with the new version. Specifically, workflows that use the Post URL action, which was deprecated in CRM 3.0 and eliminated in CRM 4.0, will need to be rewritten.