This chapter will help you understand the basics of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015. We will be discussing an overview of the new features released in CRM 2015 and also we will be discussing the upcoming features of CRM 2015 Update 1. In a later chapter, we will work on these features in detail and will see how we can use them for implementing different requirements. We will discuss the following topics in this chapter:

Based on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM road map presented in Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2014, Microsoft announced general availability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 code name "Vega" on November 30, 2014. This is a major release for Microsoft Dynamics CRM after Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 release. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 introduced many new exciting features for every type of CRM users such as Administrators, Functional and Technical Consultants, and Developers. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 also enhanced some of the features that were released in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013. After the CRM 2015 release, another release that is lined up is CRM 2015 Update 1, which will introduce another set of exciting features. We will be discussing more on these features in a later topic.

Similar to the earlier version, this time, the Microsoft CRM development team did not redesign the Microsoft Dynamics CRM interface. All the UI and navigation is the same as that of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, except the new navigation group added with the advance find button and global search box on the top navigation bar. The new navigation group has also added for accessing security features:

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 mainly added features to Sales with the Dynamics Marketing and Social Listening components. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 also supports accessing its records using voice commands. Cortana, an intelligent personal assistant, which is a part of Windows Phone 8.1, can be used for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015. So, the customers who use Windows Phone 8.1 can use voice commands to create activity records, such as appointments, tasks, phone, search and navigate to entity records.