Bryan Van Antwerp
Crowe Chizek and Company LLC
October 1st, 2007
http://www.crowecrm.com
Microsoft Dynamics CRM users with the CRM Laptop Client (often referred to as the offline client) installed have the capability to download CRM data locally to their laptop. This is extremely helpful for disconnected users such as people in sales who are routinely travelling with limited connections to the the company network.
Regarding the CRM Laptop Client, a topic I have heard raised several times is the concern over a laptop being stolen with CRM data on the laptop – think of all those clients and prospects, pricelists, etc. that exist in the typical CRM database. If a competitor or an unscrupulous party were to get their hands on your data, how harmful could that be?
The likelihood of a laptop, or other mobile device, being stolen and the data actually being scavenged is low (rather than the hard drive just being reformatted and the device reused). However this does not mean that it should not be of concern. In late June, Microsoft released a whitepaper, Using Encrypting File System to Protect Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data on a V3c Client Running Windows XP Professional , describing how to secure your CRM data (and the general process may be used for other files as well). Many will find the aforementioned article very useful; however, companies may want to research this concept more extensively. I firmly believe that securing CRM data is very important, but what about that client list in Excel, the pricelist in Word, quarterly financial presentations in PowerPoint, etc. that exist on the typical hard drive – are these any less important?
Numerous applications exist today that can be used to encrypt mobile devices and accessories, including hard drives, writeable CD’s, USB devices, etc. These applications will not only protect CRM data, but all other files as well, such as the client list in Excel, the price list in Word, the quarterly financial presentation in PowerPoint and many others. I would strongly recommend reading the Microsoft whitepaper on securing Dynamics CRM data and consider implementing it as well as encourage thought to be put into securing any/all data that would be detrimental if in the wrong hands.
Bryan Van Antwerp, is a Senior Manager at Crowe Chizek (www.crowecrm.com). Bryan currently focuses on CRM Analytics, Business Process Improvement, CRM Tool Selection, and System Implementation including the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 platform.
