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    We have multiple organizations at multiple sites and are planning to use Dynamics CRM in the cloud.  Can anyone point me to information on the pros and cons of multi vs single instance deployments.

    What are the reasons for using multiple instances?

    If we use multiple instances:

    Can we see data, worflows, actions for multiple instances on one screen?

    Can we easily colaborate with people on other instances?

    Can we create workflows that span instances?

    How will the outlook plugin work with multiple instances.

    Any personal experiences would be great to know about.

    Thanks!

    Chris

    Tuesday, June 17, 2014 8:16 PM

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    Each instance is independent, can have its own customisatoins, and has its own data.

    There is no effective way to share or collate data across instances, especially not if using Crm Online, as the reporting tools can only access data in the one instance

    Microsoft CRM MVP - http://mscrmuk.blogspot.com/ http://www.excitation.co.uk

    Wednesday, June 18, 2014 8:35 AM
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    Thanks for the reply.

    I don't believe this answers my question because I did not ask about reporting.  I am talking about collaboratiing across instances.  We do not all have the same email servers and we collaborate now.  I can schedule meeting with people on different servers. I can have multiple calendars from different servers in exchange.  I can even see email from different email servers in the same outlook window.

    I am wondering how well I can collaborate with mutliple CRM instances.

    I am windering if anyone has worked with multiple instances.

    Also, since I posted this I found there is something called CRM instance adapter that allows you to share data between instances. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35385

    Thanks,

    Chris

    Wednesday, June 18, 2014 2:14 PM
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    None of the CRM clients (browser, Outlook, mobile) can display data from multiple CRM instances in the same window, so the answer to all your initial questions is 'No'. CRM has a very difference data and server architecture from Exchange Server.

    The instance adapter does all copying of data between instances, but this requires thought as to what data to copy, which instance owns the data, and frequency of updates. I much prefer a reporting approach to collate data from multiple original sources, hence my reference to this in the earlier post

    The major reason for using multiple instances is if there is significant latency in accessing one central instance. However, if using Crm Online, then there are only the 3 worldwide regions (Americas, EMEA and APAC), so this only makes a difference if you have users across more than one region.

    Microsoft CRM MVP - http://mscrmuk.blogspot.com/ http://www.excitation.co.uk

    Thursday, June 19, 2014 9:15 AM
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