First we will create an Event in Eventbrite. We will provide the Event Name, Title, Start Date, End Date and Location. Although not all the fields will be populated back into CDS, we can decide what fields we want to capture.

 * Note: This is a fake event and is not sponsored by or affiliated to Microsoft in any way.

After the event has been created, we can navigate to our flow and view the execution history. The screenshot below shows the successful flow execution.

We can then navigate to the model-driven app that we created and that the record for the event from Eventbrite was created.

We can now run the same by registering an attendee and making sure that the contact record is also created.
1 – PREREQUISITES | 2 – EVENTBRITE SETTINGS | 3 – CUSTOM CONNECTOR | 4 – EVENT FLOW | 5 – ATTENDEE FLOW | 6 – TESTING

The post Eventbrite to CDS Integration – Part 6 (Testing) appeared first on Aric Levin's Digital Transformation Blog.

As Windows 10 starts being rolled oup, Microsoft is empowering their customers to do great things in four key ways:

1. Windows 10 is fast and familiar, and includes the familiar Start Menu, Taskbar and Desktop that we are all familiar with, and the addition of Live Tiles which provide streaming updates from what matters most to us instantly.

2. Windows 10 is the most secure Windows ever offering enhanced protection with Windows Defender and Smart Screen. Windows Hello provides a fast and secure password-free way to log in.

3. Windows 10 is more personal and productive with Voice, Pen and Gesture input methods to interact with the PC. Cortana makes it easy to find the right information at the right time, you can easily switch between apps and stay organized with Snap and Task View, and Continuum optimizes your apps and experience across touch and desktop modes.

4. Windows 10 Offers innovatives experiences and new devices with the introduction of the new Microsoft Edge browser, integrated XBox App, Companion Phone app and additional built in apps that come with it.

The post Windows 10. Available Today. Upgrade for Free appeared first on Aric Levin's Digital Transformation Blog.

The Professional Edition will cost $65/user/month and will allow users to access the full capabilities of Dynamics CRM. Per Microsoft, this is the licensing option that will best fit most of the users’ needs.

The next version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Dynamics CRM 2013, scheduled to be released this fall will include a new licensing scheme.
The hosted product is scheduled for release with three licensing options.

The Professional Edition will cost $65/user/month and will allow users to access the full capabilities of Dynamics CRM. Per Microsoft, this is the licensing option that will best fit most of the users’ needs.

The Basic Edition will cost $30/user/month. This edition is aimed at the Sales, Service and Marketing users who need to manage accounts, contacts, leads, cases and access custom applications as well as business analysts that require reporting capabilities.

The Essential Edition will cost $15/user/month, and will provide access to custom (xRM) applications.

Users will be able to mix and match between the three license editions.

The post Microsoft Dynamics Online Fall ’13 Licenses appeared first on Aric Levin's Digital Transformation Blog.

In such case, we would have to use the Request.UrlReferrer property in order to retrieve the Query String of the parent page and manipulate the data using a Custom “Get Query String” method that we create.

There are many times that we create a SharePoint web part in which we have to pass query string parameters to it from the main page, or possibly use an aspx page. If the web part that we create resides inside a Page Viewer Control, we are unable to use the Request.QueryString method in order to retrieve those values.

In such case, we would have to use the Request.UrlReferrer property in order to retrieve the Query String of the parent page and manipulate the data using a Custom “Get Query String” method that we create.

The first code sample below shows how to use the Request.UrlReferrer.Query property to retrieve the Query String of the SharePoint page in the Page Load method of the SharePoint web part.

        protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            if (!IsPostBack)
            {
                if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(Request.UrlReferrer.Query))
                {
                    Guid eId = Guid.Empty; int ec = 0;
                    if (GetQueryString(Request.UrlReferrer.Query, ref eId, ref ec))
                    {
                        PreloadData(eId, ec);
                    }
                }
            }
        }

The second code sample below show how to use the custom GetQueryString method to retrieve the values from the Query string.

        private bool GetQueryString(string query, ref Guid entityId, ref int etc)
        {
            int iPos = query.IndexOf('?');
            if (iPos == -1)
            {
                return false;
            }
            else if (iPos >=0)
            {
                query = (iPos < query.Length - 1) ? query.Substring(iPos + 1) : string.Empty;
            }

            NameValueCollection coll = HttpUtility.ParseQueryString(query);
            foreach (string s in coll.AllKeys)
            {
                string key = s;
                string value = coll[s];
                switch(key)
                {
                    case "eid":
                        entityId = new Guid(value);
                        break;
                    case "ec":
                        etc = Convert.ToInt32(value);
                        break;
                    default:
                        break;
                }
            }

            return true;
        }

The post Retrieve Query String in Page Viewer Web Part appeared first on Aric Levin's Digital Transformation Blog.

The ISV, Web Development and Software Development Competencies have been merged to form a new competency called Application Development.

The Application Development competency is aimed to differentiate the company’s expertise in developing application on Windows 8, Windows Server or Windows Azure, or leveraging the power of Visual Studio 2012.

The Portals and Collaboration, Content Management and Search Competencies have been merged to form a new competency called Collaboration and Content.

The new Collaboration and Content competency is aimed to highlight Microsoft Partners with the skills to provide Collaboration and Content expertise.

The post Microsoft Competency Changes appeared first on Aric Levin's Digital Transformation Blog.

One of the challenges of many organizations is the ability to migrate data from one CRM Organization to another. This challenge occurs when working in a hybrid environment or when trying to update development, test and production environments.

The post Microsoft Dynamics CRM Instance Adapter appeared first on Aric Levin's Digital Transformation Blog.

Microsoft Office 2013 along with the other branded 2013 applications and server products have been release to manufacturing and are now available for download from the MSDN, Technet or Microsoft Partner web site.

According to Microsoft, the 2013-branded products are expected to hit “general availability” in the first quarter of 2013. Microsoft currently has a promotional offer for those buying Office 2010 to receive the upgrade to Office 2013 at no charge.

The post Office 2013, SharePoint 2013 and Exchange 2013 Released to Manufacturing appeared first on Aric Levin's Digital Transformation Blog.

Microsoft Partners with Gold Competencies represent organizations that have demonstrated the highest, most consistent capability and commitment with a specific Microsoft Business Solutions area. Achieve a Gold Competency helps indicate our best-in-class capabilities to our customers. By earning this distinction of a Gold Competency, Brite Global receives unique benefits designed to support our business objectives. As a Microsoft Partner, we have earned a combination of both Gold and Silver competencies.

Brite Global attains the Gold Customer Relationship Management competency.

Microsoft Partners with Gold Competencies represent organizations that have demonstrated the highest, most consistent capability and commitment with a specific Microsoft Business Solutions area. Achieve a Gold Competency helps indicate our best-in-class capabilities to our customers. By earning this distinction of a Gold Competency, Brite Global receives unique benefits designed to support our business objectives. As a Microsoft Partner, we have earned a combination of both Gold and Silver competencies.

Brite Global has been a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for a number of years, but recently Microsoft has made substantial changes to the Partner Program. These changes encourage specialization with a particular focus and ensure that organizations that are awarded the new Gold Competency have the highest focus and expertise with specific Microsoft Technologies.

Being a Gold CRM Competency partner demonstrates our quality of standards and work supporting our CRM customers and delivering new projects, so we are thrilled to have met Microsoft’s stringent new criteria.

Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM and we are able to leverage the power of a packaged solution with the possibilities of customer developed software for our customers. This allows them to get the best of both worlds with a flexible platform that rapidly accelerates application delivery.

In addition, Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides us with the ability to deliver our solutions with a flexible deployment option – hosted, on-premises or the combination of both (hybrid).

In addition to the newly attained Gold Customer Relationship Management Competency, Brite Global has already attained 5 other competencies:

The post Brite Global attains Gold Customer Relationship Management Competency appeared first on Aric Levin's Digital Transformation Blog.

Brite Global attains the Silver Portals and Collaboration competency.
By attaining he Portals and Collaboration competency, we have now demonstrated that we have the skills and proven experience in meeting team and organizational collaboration and connectivity needs across intranets, extranets and internet applications. This will help our customers build rich collaboration solutions that connect teams, improve access to information and increase productivity.

Microsoft Competency Partners represent Organizations that have demonstrated the highest level of expertise and capabilities within a specific Microsoft solution area.

Using Microsoft SharePoint 2010 technology (and Microsoft SharePoint 2013 in the coming months), we provide a single solution that meets our customers’ website requirements. We also increase our sales opportunities by leveraging the power of Office 365 (formerly Business Productivity Online Suite) technologies, and by expanding our offerings – backed by the resources we need to set our company apart from the competition.

In addition to the Portals and Collaboration Competency, Brite Global has already attained 5 other competencies which include:

• Customer Relationship Management
• Content Management
• Software Development
• Web Development
• Midmarket Solution Provider
• 

The post Brite Global attains Portals and Collaboration Competency appeared first on Aric Levin's Digital Transformation Blog.

Microsoft has released the much awaited Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 public beta, formerly known as V.Next today. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 was a huge jump in enterprise scalability, performance and a true multi-tenant architecture. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 takes that release and builds in usability, a ribbon like interface, more of a flat User Interface that requires fewer clicks and better visualizations.

The main key features include:

• Familiar experiences through a next-generation native Outlook client, Microsoft Office contextual ribbon, role tailored design and user personalization.
• Intelligent experiences through guided process dialogs, inline data visualizations, performance and goal management and real-time dashboards.
• Connected experiences through cloud development, Windows Azure integration, contextual SharePoint document repositories, teamwork and collaboration and the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace.

The post Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Public Beta Released appeared first on Aric Levin's Digital Transformation Blog.