If your Microsoft Dynamics CRM system doesn’t work on your remote users’ preferred devices, you’re severely limiting their ability to access the system. Couple this with one of the top reasons why people don’t use CRM – because it takes too long, and you may have uncovered two of the most common excuses why your workforce is resisting it. By eliminating these excuses, your organization will start to see a better ROI on your CRM investment.

Internet Facing Deployment (IFD) is a method of deploying an on-premise CRM system so that remote users can connect to the application from the Internet without being on the company network. This means no more hassling with a VPN. If remote users want to work from the road, without being tethered to the network, setting up the IFD for the Dynamics CRM 2013 on-premise application will enable them to do so with ease.

IFD lets remote users access Dynamics CRM through Microsoft’s free mobile application available for the Windows Phone 8, Surface tablet, iPhone, iPad and Android devices. These applications make mobile workers more productive by giving them the ability to enter data and important information into CRM on their mobile device while on the road or at a client’s site. In addition to time savings and removing duplication of effort for mobile workers, the added benefit to the organization is that important information is instantly captured in the CRM system for other sales and support team members to access.

Another large benefit of IFD is the ability to use the CRM Outlook client seamlessly. A large hurdle in most deployments of CRM is the CRM Outlook client setup. A typical deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows the use of the Outlook client only if specific requirements are met. The Outlook client typically requires you to be on the same network as the CRM server in order to connect. With IFD in place, you are able to connect from anywhere. Remote users will enjoy all of the benefits of an on-premise CRM system with access options similar to if the system was hosted in the cloud.

When our clients ask if it’s worth the time to configure IFD for CRM, we say absolutely! Installing IFD does not require a lot of effort and can be done after Microsoft Dynamics CRM has been configured and is in use. If you have Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 and you are not taking advantage of these features feel free to reach out to BDO Digital. We would be happy to help your company achieve this boost in productivity.