Ever since the announcement of Cortana support for Dynamics CRM phone app, I’ve been excited in learning more. The only problem is that this preview feature is currently only available to the North American market and not Australia. Never fear, there’s always a solution.
Here’s how to test the new Cortana to CRM integration with any Windows Phone device in Australia.
Configure Dynamics CRM Online for Cortana
First, enable Cortana for CRM from within Dynamics CRM by navigating to System Settings > Previews.
Then select “I have read and agree to the license terms” and click Yes under Cortana for CRM.
Change Region from Australia to United States
Then open your Windows Phone Device. You must be running at least Windows 8.1 Update to have Cortana installed. Next navigate to Settings -> System -> and change your region to United States, English (United States).
Change Speech to English (United States)
Next, change the Speech language from English (Australia) to English (United States) and restart your phone.
Download the CRM Phone app from your Windows Phone
Once restarted, download the Dynamics CRM for Windows Phones app.
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=519212
Connect to CRM Instance
Open the Dynamics for CRM App on your phone and configure for the first time, pointing to your service URL.
Use Cortana voice commands in CRM for phones
Now you’re ready to start using Cortana to issue voice commands on your Windows Phone.
The following commands are currently supported.
To do this in CRM | Say this |
Open an item | CRM open <item> called <item name>.
Example: “CRM open account called Contoso.” Variation: “CRM open account named Contoso.” |
Show a view | CRM show <view name>.
Example: “CRM show my active accounts.” Variation: “CRM show me my active accounts.” |
Search for an item | CRM find <item> called <name>.
Example: “CRM find account called Contoso.” Variation: “CRM find account named Contoso.” |
Create a new item | CRM create <item type> called <item name>.
Example: “CRM create contact called Maria Campbell.” Variation: “CRM add new contact named Maria Campbell.” |
Create a phone call activity | CRM remind me to call <call name>.
Example: “CRM remind me to call Maria Campbell to set up appointment.” |
Create an appointment | CRM schedule meeting to <subject>.
Example: “CRM schedule meeting to discuss quote with Maria Campbell.” |
Create a task | CRM remind me to <task name>.
Example: “CRM remind me to email Maria Campbell.” Variations: “CRM follow up Maria Campbell.” “CRM follow up with Maria Campbell.” “CRM follow up on Contoso.” |
Open task list | CRM what should I do next?
Example: “CRM what should I do next?” |
Note
The create commands work only with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update or later. The other commands work with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online as well as Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update or later. Source: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm-customer-center/use-cortana-voice-commands-in-crm-for-phones.aspx
My Thoughts about Cortana for CRM
I really like the direction Microsoft has taken by integrating Cortana with Microsoft Dynamics CRM app through deep-linking. This is a differentiating feature that Microsoft Dynamics CRM has over competitors at this point in time.
However, the implementation still needs some work. One of the issues I found was with Voice Recognition which may be an issue confined to Australian English speakers. I found 8 times out of 10 it would recognise CRM as two words, CR & M. I tried speaking slowly and quickly and it did not make any difference. The second issue I found was the time it took to open the Dynamics CRM app once a command was recognised. Even with the Dynamics CRM app running in the background, it took longer than I would have expected to resolve my query within Dynamics. Granted this wasn’t the latest phone, being a Nokia Lumia 520.
Other than that, I’m sure these issues can be fixed through software updates and I am grateful that another useful feature has been made available to the Dynamics Community.
I’m keen to hear your thoughts on Cortana for CRM, so please drop a message below.