SQL Server 2008, the latest release of Microsoft SQL Server, provides a comprehensive data platform. Books Online is the primary documentation for SQL Server 2008. 

Books Online includes the following types of information: 

• Setup and upgrade instructions.
  
• Information about new features and backward compatibility.
  
• Conceptual descriptions of the technologies and features in SQL Server 2008.
  
• Procedural topics describing how to use the various features in SQL Server 2008.
  
• Tutorials that guide you through common tasks.
  
• Reference documentation for the graphical tools, command prompt utilities, programming languages, and application programming interfaces (APIs) that are supported by SQL Server 2008.
  
• Descriptions of the sample databases and applications that are available with SQL Server 2008. You can download the sample databases from the SQL Server Community Projects and Samples page on CodePlex.

• Easily manage and administer SQL Server 2008 Express with a easy-to-use graphical management tool - SQL Server 2008 Management Studio Basic.
  
  
• Issue full-text queries against plain character-based data in SQL Server tables. Full-text queries can include words and phrases, or multiple forms of a word or phrase.
  
  
• Run SQL Server Reporting Services reports on local relational data.

• A Report Viewer Web Part that provides report viewing capability, export to other rendering formats, page navigation, search, print, and zoom.
• Web application pages so that you can create subscriptions and schedules, and manage reports, models, and data sources.
• Support for using standard Windows SharePoint Services features including document management, collaboration, security, and deployment with report server content types.

• Synchronization from the SharePoint content database to the report server database.
• A custom security extension that uses SharePoint permissions to control access to report server operations.
• A delivery extension that you can use in subscriptions to deliver reports to SharePoint libraries.
• A revised Reporting Services Configuration tool that you can use to configure a report server for SharePoint integrated operations.
• A SOAP endpoint for managing report server content in SharePoint integrated mode.
• Support for new data-driven subscriptions and URL parameters.
• In-place upgrade of the Reporting Services Add-in.

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning is an agentless toolkit that will find computers on a network and perform a detailed inventory of the computers using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), the Remote Registry Service, or the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). The data and analysis provided by this toolkit can significantly simplify the planning process for migrating to Windows Vista®, Microsoft Office 2007, Windows Server® 2008, Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 (formerly SoftGrid), Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Online Services, Forefront and Network Access Protection, Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, and Virtual Server 2005 R2. Assessments for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista also include device driver availability and recommendations for hardware upgrades that may be required.

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http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=67240b76-3148-4e49-943d-4d9ea7f77730&DisplayLang=en

I read Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Step by Step book over the last month and It was nice experience as I was searching for key concepts about the CRM that I know that the business users whom are trying to learn Microsoft Dynamics CRM will seek and gladly I found them listed in there in a simple and easy way to understand.

Audience

1. Business users who want to learn how to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM in this Areas (Sales, Marketing and Service)

2. The book is not targeting developers or technical gurus as it's not talking about development or customization.

3. The book is focusing on the following parts:

Part 1 Overview

1. Introduction to Microsoft CRM Dynamics

It lists the following :

• key concepts in Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• The deployment models for Microsoft Dynamics
• How other Microsoft Software Products integrate with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• Log on to Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• Log on to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
• Access Microsoft Dynamics CRM by using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook
  

2. Getting Around Microsoft Dynamics CRM

it's very nice chapter that will take you in quick tour around the Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the nice thing the author mentioned in this Chapter was the use of the Resource Center as it is very important resource to learn more about Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

It lists the following:

• Understand and work with the components of the user interface.
• Use Microsoft Dynamics CRM views to work with records.
• Use Quick Find to search for records in a view
• Modify your personal options to suit your individual preferences.
• Work with lookup fields and use the automatic resolution feature
• Use the Resource Center to learn more about Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
• Access software help within the system.

3. Working with Accounts and Contacts

This chapter is very important to beginners and business users as it shows you how to handle the core of any CRM system; the Customers and the Author went through all the Tips and tricks in this area.

It lists the following:

• Create an account.
• Link accounts to sub-accounts.
• Create a contact.
• Create links between accounts and contacts.
• Create additional relationships between accounts and contacts.
• Attach files to accounts and contacts.
• Share accounts and contacts with other users.
• Assign accounts and contacts to other users.
• Merge account or contact records.

4. Working with Activities and Notes

This chapter too holds very important Tips and tricks that are not explained in a lot of books talking about Microsoft CRM.

It lists the following:

• Understand different activity types.
• Understand the Regarding field.
• Create follow-up activities.
• View open and completed activities.
• Create a note.
• Manage your activities.
• Send direct e-mail.

5. Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook

This chapter is very important to a lot of customers and business users as most of the users like to work from their outlook as they are familiar with everything in it and this chapter explains a lot of features and functionality that the user will encounter in his work.

It lists the following:

• Access Microsoft Dynamics CRM records within Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook.
• Synchronize contacts, tasks, and appointments between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Outlook.
• Create and track Microsoft Dynamics CRM contacts, tasks and appointments in Outlook.
• Send and track e-email messages in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook.
• Delete records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook.
• Go offline with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook.
• Configure a local data group.

Part II Sales

This part is targeting the sales people as it walks through the whole sales automation cycle.

6 . Working with Leads and Opportunities

It lists the following:

• Understand the difference between leads and opportunities.
• Create a lead
• Qualify a lead
• Create an opportunity.
• Use opportunities to forecast potential sales.
• Close an opportunity.
• Reopen an opportunity.
• Convert an e-mail message to a lead

7. Working with Quotes

It lists the following:

• Understand quotes, orders, and invoices.
• Create a quote.
• Add bill-to and ship-to addresses to a quote.
• Add products to a quote.
• Activate and revise a quote.
• Create an order.

Part III Marketing

This part is targeting the Marketing people as it walks through the Marketing cycle starting from creating Marketing lists ending to working on the campaign activities and analyzing the customer responses.

8. Using Marketing Lists

It lists the following:

• Create a marketing list.
• Add members to a list by using a lookup.
• Add members to a list by using Advanced Find.
• Remove members from a list by using Advanced Find.
• Evaluate members included in a list by using Advanced Find.
• Remove selected members from a list.
• Copy members to another marketing list.
• Create opportunities for list members.
• Use mail merge to generate a Word document that include list member information.

9. Managing Campaigns and Quick Campaigns

It lists the following:

• Create a campaign.
• Add planning tasks.
• Select target marketing lists.
• Add target products and sales literature.
• Relate campaigns.
• Create campaign templates.
• Copy campaign records.
• Use quick campaigns.

10. Working with Campaign Activities and Responses

It lists the following:

• Create campaign activities.
• Associate marketing lists with campaign activities.
• Distribute campaign activities.
• Record campaign responses
• Convert campaign responses to other record types.
• View campaign results.

Part IV Service

This part is targeting the Helpdesk and the service providers business users.

11. Tracking Service Requests

It lists the following:

• Create and assign a service request case.
• Manage Service request activities.
• Resolve a service request case.
• Cancel and reopen a service request case.

12. Using the Knowledge Base

It lists the following:

• Create and submit a knowledge base article.
• Publish a knowledge base article.
• Search for a knowledge base article.
• Remove an article from the knowledge base.
• Create and modify a knowledge base article template.

13. Working with Contracts and Queues

It lists the following:

• Create a contract template.
• Create a service contract with a contract line.
• Activate and renew a contract.
• Create a queue and assign a case to it.
• Accept a case from a queue.

Part V Data Management

This part is targeting the Administrators and the business users of the system as it shows you how to create rule to duplicate detect records, how to use the advanced Find and How to use the report wizard to create reports on the CRM and very nice feature which is Reporting with Microsoft Office Excel which a lot of customers ask for.

14. Detecting Duplicate Records

It lists the following:

• Create duplicate detection rules.
• Use the Duplicate Detection Wizard.
• View the results of a duplicate detection job.
• Resolve duplicate records.
• Create advanced duplicate detection rules.

15. Using Advanced Find

It lists the following:

• Perform ad hoc queries by using Advanced Find.
• Organize and format Advanced Find results.
• Create a saved view.
• Use saved views to share your queries with other users.
• Build a complex query to search data.
• Use bulk edit and bulk assign to take action on query results.

16. Using the Report Wizard

It lists the following:

• Create a report with the Report Wizard.
• Modify a report.
• Share a report.
• Schedule a report.
• Categorize a report.

17. Reporting with Microsoft Office Excel

It lists the following:

• Export static data to Excel worksheets.
• Export dynamic data to Excel worksheets.
• Export dynamics data to Excel PivotTables.
• Upload Excel reports to the Reports list in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

18. Importing Data

It lists the following:

• Create data maps.
• Import records by using the Import Data Wizard.
• Map data automatically in the Import Data Wizard.
• View the results of an import.
• Resolve import errors.

The book is well organized and presents the data in systematic way and it listed the most important things for different categories of users whether to sales people or marketing or Service and call center users, although the book is very good but it didn't describe very important part of Microsoft CRM which is the CRM Workflow Engine which I'll publish very soon a detailed article on how to create workflow using the workflow engine in CRM and custom workflow using Workflow foundation and Visual Studio  in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and it didn't talk about the customization in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.