Bcm 2013?

[Audrey Quick]

Is there any news as to what Microsoft plans to do with BCM with Office 2013? I have been searching, but haven't found any mention of it.

Thanks,

Audrey

 

[Diane Poremsky]

They are being very tight lipped. I haven't had any official word but believe they are working on something, possibly with BCM 2010. If so, it's does not look good for the future - they made BCM 2010 hard to get now they are making it work with 2013 rather than releasing a new version.

Maybe it's like calendar printing assistant and it just needs tweaked to work with the newer version, but I'm still leery. (No word on CPAO for 2013 either.)

 

[obristra]

I have discovered that BCM dows seem to be an application in SharePoint 2013 in Office 365 ProPlus. I have an active trial with a Microsoft developed App by the name OF Business Contact Manager in my Office 365 ProPlus trial.

Unfortunately is the databse now an Access databas! I thought they would use SQL Azure instead but no they reverted back to Access, I thought Access was not used for new solutions.

I have been working with BCM since version 2003 and serving customers in Sweden with the solution, I now have to move users to other CRM solutions. I have a solution that is SharePoint based but using the SQL server of SharePoint for storage.

Please feel free to connect with me if anyone has more updated info or if you are troubled what to do.

Best regards,

Ove Bristrand

ICT-Advisor

 

[Forum Admin]

It makes no sense to use Access DB in Sharepoint (at least not to me) - I'll take a look at it. The information i have is that there will be a compatibility pack type update, where BCM 2010 is made to work with 2013. The SPS solution may be for people who don't have BCM 2010 and want to begin using it.

 

[Diane Poremsky]

I'm trying to find out more about that app but I don't think its going to replace Outlook BCM - yet. IMHO, it lacks features. It also doesn't integrate with Outlook that i could see. I think its a solution for people who want SPS or online CRM more than Outlook based. It may be a sample app that demonstrates what you can do with sps.

I haven't had a chance to look at the backend - are you sure it uses an Access db? You can use Access as a front end to SQL and I'm assuming they are doing that here. When you do this, you have a local access db linked to sql db.

My "yet" in the first sentence reflects my feeling that Outlook BCM is probably on its last legs.

 

[DavidN]

FYI: BCM Update - Business Contact Manager Team Blog - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

 

[obristra]

Thanks David,

I forgot to post the answer here, I have tried to communicate it with as many as possible, firstly with my customers. Having spent almost 30 years in the ICT industry am I cautiosly expecting some more input. i beleive it when I see it.

Best regards,

Ove Bristrand

 

[Diane Poremsky]

Thanks. I've been busy with a lot of other things and missed it. My concern is this:

There will be a migration path, provided by Microsoft, for customers of prior versions of BCM using a compatibility pack.

While I believe a compatibility pack of some sort would have worked in past versions too, instead of completely new versions (therefore possibly negating the rest of my comment), I'm concerned that it probably means the end of BCM. They've never had an income stream for it (most won't upgrade to their CRM) and made it harder than heck for anyone new to get BCM the last two versions. If new users can't get a copy of BCM, the installed base isn't going to grow... if this version of BCM is limited to people who already have it, i don't see much of a future for it.

We invite you to check back in the new year when we will have more details to share.

Looks like BCM 2013 won't be out until Office 2013 retail availability. While they haven't announced when Office 2013 will be released to the masses, I expect an RTM announcement this week or next. (They announced a few weeks ago that office 2010 purchases after Oct 19 get a free year of Office 365/Office2013 subscription - that date is a clue that it won't be long). It typically takes a few months to package and ship disks but downloads will be available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers within days of the announcement. There is no reason for a subscription offering to be delayed until the new year - they should be able to begin offering it within days of the RTM announcement too. (I don't know if they will.)

If BCM won't work with the subscription model (no idea if it will or won't at this point), it's another blow to it because they are pushing the subscription model.

I'm with Ove, I'm waiting for more information.

 

[Tommy22]

Hello, is there any new information regarding BCM in Office/Outlook 2013?

 

[Diane Poremsky]

Nope - we're in a waiting game. It's not expected to be available until the official release after the first of the year.

 

[Diane Poremsky]

BCM 2013 is now available.

Download: Download BCM for Microsoft Outlook from Official Microsoft Download Center

Announcing Business Contact Manager for Outlook Compatibility Update - Business Contact Manager Team Blog - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

 

[vze2mp9g]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum, but not with Outlook. I just downloaded BCM for Outlook 2013. There were no instructions on how to install it. So, I'm asking how do I install BCM for Outlook 2013? Do I first install BCM for Outlook 2010, then install the Compatibility Pack for BCM for Outlook 2013?
Lastly, instead of going through all that, is there a FULL installation file for BCM for Outlook 2013? That would make it allot easier and less confusing. I appreciate any and all help concerning this matter.

Thank You.

 

[Diane Poremsky]

If you got the full file (350+ MB) you do not need to install BCM2010 first.

Download BCM for Microsoft Outlook from Official Microsoft Download Center

Close Outlook, run the exe... it will likely want to reboot once. Then when you first start outlook, it will guide you through setup.

 

[vze2mp9g]

Thank you!!! I didn't want to screw up my installation of Outlook 2013 because it took me a little time to set it up correctly the way I wanted it.