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Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s enhanced capabilities not only simplify customization but also allow developers to build custom solutions on its development platform. Microsoft recognized the concept of creating custom lines of business applications (LOB) on top of the CRM Platform resulting in a rapid development ‘xRM’ platform.

The primary advantage of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform is the number of in-the-box entities and applications which are immediately usable.  For example, Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes helpdesk (or case management), service scheduling, activity tracking, e-commerce, marketing campaigns, and sales-force-automation. Regardless of which applications or Microsoft Dynamics CRM entities you use, there are many additional features which Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivers for your custom xRM application.

The following diagram illustrates the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 architecture.

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Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes the following features for xRM applications:

• Security: Microsoft Dynamics CRM has a strong security model baked into the platform including a concept of ownership and sharing of records (record-level security), roles, business units, and a permission model.
• Workflow & Dialogs: Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s workflow model includes an end-user interface which allows business users to manage workflows or dialogs on any entity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  This workflow model includes conditions, branching, and custom actions, in addition to sending e-mails and creating additional Microsoft Dynamics CRM records.
• Reporting: Microsoft Dynamics CRM uses both Microsoft Office Excel and Reporting Services for reporting and dash boarding. The reporting wizard simplifies the creation of reports for interpreting Microsoft Dynamics CRM data.
• User Interface: When customizing entities within Microsoft Dynamics CRM for your xRM application, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM system will automatically generate a GUI for your users to interact with the data. Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes a primary console interface customized for your xRM application. The user interfaces include lists with customizable views, find and advanced find, editors for all entities, lookup dialogs, multiple user interfaces, and more. Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivers these user interfaces with no programming required.
• Office Integration: Microsoft Dynamics CRM is tightly integrated with Microsoft Office; the online and offline client can be installed on a workstation. The Microsoft Dynamics CRM user interface is brought into Microsoft Office Outlook,allowing users to interact with the CRM system directly in the familiar Outlook ribbon interface.
• Data modeling: Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows users to create custom entities which can have attributes, forms and views, and relationships with other entities.
• Web Services: Microsoft Dynamics CRM exposes a set of SOAP-based APIs which provide access to the core CRM data model and business objects. Developers then leverage existing CRM functionality with their own custom solutions. The CRM services support both object-based and role-based security allowing the core model to be exposed in a secure fashion.