Most of us know that Microsoft has made life easy for those on the cloud. They never have to wonder what rollup they are on, if they need one, or scheduling it. Unfortunately for those that have Microsoft Dynamics CRM on premise, it takes a little more work to stay current. While most large organizations have a great IT department that keeps on track of rollups and service packs, those smaller organizations rely on someone that has their regular job duties plus the addition of being a CRM Administrator. This article is geared to help them determine what rollup they are on, how to find the most recent release and determine if they should install the rollup themselves or schedule it with their favorite CRM Consultant.
So now you might be wondering what the difference is between a service pack and a rollup. Service Pack is generally done quarterly and includes new features, while rollups are released more frequently, typically every eight weeks, and address problems discovered in the application.
Now the first thing we need to do is determine what version you have. To do this it will depend on what version of CRM you have. If you are on CRM 4.0 they are no longer releasing rollups or services packs so no need to check. For CRM 2011 and 2013:
1) For CRM 2011 click on File > Help > About Microsoft Dynamics CRM;
2) For CRM 2013 click on the cog wheel in the upper left corner > About
3) If you utilize Outlook open Outlook with the CRM Client installed > File tab > CRM side tab > About Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Any of these steps will lead you to the following screen. What you care about are the numbers listed (ie. 6.1.1.132), this is the version number that will refer to the rollup once you translate it, aka Google it. Looking at the image you can see that there are two sets of numbers, in this case the same except one is prefixed with DB, which stands for database. The first number represents the version your CRM is running and the second number represents the version the database is on. It is important to realize that the DB number can reference a rollup lower than the CRM rollup. This implies that the CRM server installation was updated and the older database was compatible without requiring the update.
Once you have your version number, simply type it into Google and it will pop up with the version details and name. Otherwise you can go directly to the source by first going to Microsoft (http://support.microsoft.com) and then typing your version number in the search box. If you just want to compare numbers or read about what is being released in the most current service pack or rollup you can visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2555051.
Now that you know what version you are on and you have compared to determine if you are on the latest, the next step is to determine if you want or need to do the rollup. One of the most common reasons we encourage our clients to stay current with the rollups is that it often helps prevent issues. A perfect example is if you recently upgraded your computers and now you are having problems with displaying a form or CRM page in CRM correctly. This could be related to Microsoft releasing code that helps CRM be compatible with the latest and greatest releases of web browsers. Microsoft has each version broken down detailing what is in the latest version, whether is it fixing a common problem, and if you require any addition rollups (if you were behind).
So you have determined you want to update your system to the latest version? You will need to do a little more research and decision making. Often times it is extremely beneficial, as well as much safer, to do a database backup before implementing any changes to your CRM. You will have to ask yourself a series of question:
1) Are you comfortable doing a backup?
2) OR Do you know how frequently your system is backed up?
3) When will ALL of your staff be out of CRM? You want to make sure that you do this update when users are not logged in so there is no interruption to their work and no data is lost.
4) Are you comfortable installing an update?
5) Are you comfortable validating and testing the new update and how it is reacting in your system?
6) Are you comfortable, and is it a release, that allows you to remove the update if there is a negative impact to your data or system?
With data being the currency of success, if you were to answer no to any of those questions it is strongly recommended that you reach out to your Altai Consultant. After talking with you, Altai will be able to help you determine if the update is in your best interest, the impact it may have on your end users and business, as well as an estimate of time and cost to safely rollout the upgrade. Feel free to call us at 888.631.8992.
Today’s blog contributor is Brandi Bozek, one of Altai Systems phenomenal CRM Consultants.
Most of us know that Microsoft has made life easy for those on the cloud. They never have to wonder what rollup they are on, if they need one, or scheduling it. Unfortunately for those that have Microsoft Dynamics CRM on premise, it takes a little more work to stay current. While most large organizations have a great IT department that keeps on track of rollups and service packs, those smaller organizations rely on someone that has their regular job duties plus the addition of being a CRM Administrator. This article is geared to help them determine what rollup they are on, how to find the most recent release and determine if they should install the rollup themselves or schedule it with their favorite CRM Consultant.
So now you might be wondering what the difference is between a service pack and a rollup. Service Pack is generally done quarterly and includes new features, while rollups are released more frequently, typically every eight weeks, and address problems discovered in the application.
Now the first thing we need to do is determine what version you have. To do this it will depend on what version of CRM you have. If you are on CRM 4.0 they are no longer releasing rollups or services packs so no need to check. For CRM 2011 and 2013:
1) For CRM 2011 click on File > Help > About Microsoft Dynamics CRM;
2) For CRM 2013 click on the cog wheel in the upper left corner > About
3) If you utilize Outlook open Outlook with the CRM Client installed > File tab > CRM side tab > About Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Any of these steps will lead you to the following screen. What you care about are the numbers listed (ie. 6.1.1.132), this is the version number that will refer to the rollup once you translate it, aka Google it. Looking at the image you can see that there are two sets of numbers, in this case the same except one is prefixed with DB, which stands for database. The first number represents the version your CRM is running and the second number represents the version the database is on. It is important to realize that the DB number can reference a rollup lower than the CRM rollup. This implies that the CRM server installation was updated and the older database was compatible without requiring the update.
Once you have your version number, simply type it into Google and it will pop up with the version details and name. Otherwise you can go directly to the source by first going to Microsoft (http://support.microsoft.com) and then typing your version number in the search box. If you just want to compare numbers or read about what is being released in the most current service pack or rollup you can visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2555051.
Now that you know what version you are on and you have compared to determine if you are on the latest, the next step is to determine if you want or need to do the rollup. One of the most common reasons we encourage our clients to stay current with the rollups is that it often helps prevent issues. A perfect example is if you recently upgraded your computers and now you are having problems with displaying a form or CRM page in CRM correctly. This could be related to Microsoft releasing code that helps CRM be compatible with the latest and greatest releases of web browsers. Microsoft has each version broken down detailing what is in the latest version, whether is it fixing a common problem, and if you require any addition rollups (if you were behind).
So you have determined you want to update your system to the latest version? You will need to do a little more research and decision making. Often times it is extremely beneficial, as well as much safer, to do a database backup before implementing any changes to your CRM. You will have to ask yourself a series of question:
1) Are you comfortable doing a backup?
2) OR Do you know how frequently your system is backed up?
3) When will ALL of your staff be out of CRM? You want to make sure that you do this update when users are not logged in so there is no interruption to their work and no data is lost.
4) Are you comfortable installing an update?
5) Are you comfortable validating and testing the new update and how it is reacting in your system?
6) Are you comfortable, and is it a release, that allows you to remove the update if there is a negative impact to your data or system?
With data being the currency of success, if you were to answer no to any of those questions it is strongly recommended that you reach out to your Altai Consultant. After talking with you, Altai will be able to help you determine if the update is in your best interest, the impact it may have on your end users and business, as well as an estimate of time and cost to safely rollout the upgrade. Feel free to call us at 888.631.8992.
If you are interested in learning how Altai can leverage the Cloud to help your organization digitally transform and enhance your mission, click the link below:
