Published on the 10/08/2015 | Written by Donovan Jackson

While Windows 10 upgrades are available for business users, those using Dynamics CRM should exercise caution…

Upgrading an operating system is fraught with uncertainty that not all applications will be supported on the new platform. Generally, concern is reserved for older applications or those from obscure vendors. However, it seems that Microsoft’s own Dynamics CRM solution isn’t yet supported on Windows 10.

This has emerged in posts on Microsoft Dynamics community messageboards, where users who have upgraded to Windows 10 are discovering to their dismay that Dynamics CRM won’t install. After an upgrade to Windows 10, one wrote, “Everything is fine and works great, but for the Outlook client for CRM, which won’t even install. During the ‘Preparing…’ phase, almost immediately a dialog box appears stating that ‘Microsoft Dynamics CRM has stopped working.’”

Another noted, “I did an upgrade installation over Windows 8.1 and it worked for nearly a week. This morning, the CRM client began crashing Outlook 2013. Re-installation would not complete on Windows 10.”

Wayne Walton, a software architect at Hitachi Solutions America, had this to say: “Dynamics CRM 2011 won’t ever be supported on Windows 10, as far as I know.  You’ll need to roll back to Windows 8.1 or plan to update to a newer version of CRM once support for Windows 10 is patched to CRM 2013 and 2015 in the next couple months.”

Microsoft support escalation engineer Aaron Richards bottom lined it: “Dynamics CRM 2011 will not be supported with Windows 10 at this time.” However, he did not respond to Walton’s contention that Dynamics 2011 ‘won’t ever’ be supported.

Technology commentator Ben Kepes said one of the biggest benefits that platform vendors can offer is the promise that all of their technology works together. “In its haste to get out what is admittedly a pretty awesome operating system, Microsoft has dropped the ball on this one. Its CRM competitors will be making great use of this slip to bemoan Dynamics’ ‘cloud readiness’.”

Another thread on the Dynamics CRM messageboard indicates that compatibility for Dynamics 2013 and 2015 may be introduced in due course, with the latter iteration awaiting ‘Update 0.02’. However, that update isn’t yet available and there is no firm date for its release.

Over the course of a week, Microsoft has been unable to answer these questions, submitted by iStart:

• What is the status of compatibility with Win 10 and Dynamics CRM?
• Will CRM 2011 ever be supported on Win 10? When will [Dynamics CRM] 2013 and 2015 be compatible with the new OS?
• Are there compatibility issues with other Microsoft products, especially in the Dynamics range?
• Customers seem surprised by this and there is little information available online re: compatibility issues with Win 10 and Dynamics CRM. Was Microsoft aware of the issue ahead of customers installing their upgrade and finding it is incompatible?
• What measures did MS take to advise Dynamics CRM customers about compatibility problems?
• Have any NZ customers experienced problems with Dynamics CRM after upgrading to Win 10?

However, in an emailed response to queries from iStart, Warren Fernandez, CRM and ERP product manager provided some insight. “Windows 10 OS is compatible with CRM 2015 Online with service update 1. Edge browser is compatible with CRM 2015 Online with service update 1.1. Microsoft has NOT released Service update 1 for CRM 2015 on-premise, hence at this point Windows 10 and Edge browser isn’t compatible with Dynamics CRM 2015 on-premise.”

In addition to its operating system and Office productivity software product lines, Microsoft provides a wide range of enterprise software under its Dynamics brand. Whether or not there are other compatibility issues with its new operating system isn’t clear, but questions (and eyebrows) are sure to be raised.