CRM for Outlook – FAQ

Compatibility and requirements (Client)

Q: What are the SAP and Outlook requirements?
A: Requires SBO 10.0 and Outlook 2013/2016/2019/Office365 for Windows (older Outlook versions are not supported).

Q: Does this work with Office 365?
A: Yes (through the Windows Outlook Client; Web-based Outlook does not support such complex add-ons.).

Q: Does this work with Office for Mac?
A: No, Only the Windows Client is Supported

Q: Does CRM for Outlook works with Gmail / Inbox interface?
A: No.

Q: Does this work with multiple SAP databases?
A: Yes.

Q: Do you support proxy servers?
A: No.

Q: Does this product only work when I'm on my domain?
A: No, all that is required is an internet connection

Compatibility and requirements (Server/Hosting)

Q: What are the Server Component Requirements?
A: Please see the Server install Guide for details, but overall a Windows Based server with SAP DI-API (64-bit) and access to the SAP Database server should do it.

Q: Can the Server Component be hosted in Azure/AWS?
A: Virtual Machines hosted in such platforms should be able to run it as long as they are Windows Based and Can access the SAP Business One database server, have correct ports open, and have the DI-API like any other server

Q: Does this work with SAP Business One On-Demand?
A: Yes.

Q: Does this work with Cloud Hosted SAP (SAP Cloud)?
A: No (SAP does not allow Server Components in such Environments)

Q: Does this work with other companies offering SAP Business One Hosting (Example Cloudiax)?
A: From a technical perspective there should be an issue as such, but it is ultimately the Hosting Partner that decides if they allow it or not, so please contact your hosting partner.

Q: Does this use the Service Layer from SAP?
A: No, it uses SAP DI-API via a Server Component?

Q: Does  CRM for Outlook compatibility with Azure/Office 365
A: Yes, CRMFO can run via the O365 Outlook client for Windows, It needs to be the Windows version of Outlook (Normally accessed via own machine or RDP/RDS)

As for Azure, can be install the Server Component in an Azure Virtual Machine.

Q: What ports do I need to open on the server/client?
A: See the list here.

Installation

Q: Where can I find the Installation Guide?
A: It is part of the download package.

Q: Do you provide MSI files for command-line install automation?
A: No, but the setup.exe for both server and client support a "/quiet" command-line argument to give the same functionality as an MSI

Features, Incompatibilities, and Missing Fields

Q: It seems CRM for Outlook is missing a feature I need that the normal B1 Client can do. What to do?
A: The CRM for Outlook screens that mimic SAP Functionality will always be a subset of the B1 Client Functionality. There are 3 reasons for this:
1. The goal of the product is to offer a more streamlined version of the SAP Screens with the most common fields (it has never been the intention to 100% mimick SAP Screens)
2. Sometimes features come in a new version of SAP that introduces new fields and functions. The product however always tries to support the last 2-3 releases so a brand new feature can't always be added as soon as SAP offers it as this would break backward compatibility
3. Sometimes a feature in the B1 Client is not exposed in the SAP SDK so it is not possible to support it.

Q: What should I do if some feature I need is missing?
A: Please post it in the community section of the help center (https://support.boyum-it.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/200115256-B1-CRM-for-Outlook-Feature-Requests). We are then notified of the missing feature if:
1. It gets enough votes and makes sense for the product
2. If it is a high-value feature/bug that does not break backward compatibility

Q: If I ask for the feature, when will it be included in the product?
A: There is no single answer to this as it can only be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. So it might be the next release, it might be in years, or in some cases it might never happen 

Q: Does the product have an offline mode?
A: No, and the complex nature of SAP B1 makes offline somewhat pointless anyway. But we do offer an encrypted cloud-based connection, that will allow access while on the road as long as you can get a 3G/4G/5G/WiFi/other connection, which given the rapidly expanding coverage of such technologies should suffice in most cases.

Q: Are SAP Branches supported?
A: No; If Branches is enabled Documents can only be viewed and not created or updated as SAP will not save a document that is not assigned to an active branch. The feature request topic is here. Please go there to vote for this feature if it's important to you.

Q: Is Data Ownership supported?
A: No, Currently, there is no support for Data Ownership in CRM for Outlook (The multi-database system prevents us from adding it). The feature request topic is here. Please go there to vote for this feature if it's important to you.

Q: Does CRM for Outlook support highly localized feature link features in India and Brazil?
A: Currently, there is no support for highly localized features like India and Brazil in particular require.

Q: Do you accept custom development jobs (aka can I pay you to add the feature I need)?
A: While we did this in the past, we have recently decided not to do any sort of custom development anymore as it does not follow the strategy of a standard product.

Q: That's dumb (not accepting custom development)! Don't you want my money?
A: While it might sound counter-intuitive, as a high-volume general product, custom development is a bad practice: 
1. Our main goal is to offer what gives more value to most customers and custom development tends to be used by only a few and increases the overall complexity of the product.
2. It is not really fair to take away resources from the overall product and the most requested  features (that all the customers on maintenance are paying for in terms of maintenance)
3. It is not common practice for standard products - Example: You can't contact a company like Microsoft or Apple and have them change a feature in Windows/iOS (but you see that if enough people ask for a feature they might add it).

Licencing and pricing

Q: Does this product require B1UP?
A: No, CRM for Outlook is a standalone product but in the future, certain additional features will light up when you have both

Q: What is the sap licensing implication?
A: All that is needed is some sort of SAP license. This can be a Pro, Limited, or Indirect Access (user-based) license.

Q: I'm an End User, can I buy this directly from Boyum?
A: No, we only sell through our partner channel so please contact your SAP Partner for purchase and trial.

Q: How can I become a reseller?
A: Please contact sales@boyum-it.com
Q: What are the prices for this product?
A: Please contact sales@boyum-it.com

Security Questions

Q: How do settings in authorizations in SAP influence what you can see in the ribbon in outlook?   A: CRM for Outlook has its own permission tree controlled in the cloud (The SAP permissions do not fit well enough).

Q: Does Boyum store any of my business data?
A: No, our cloud component is only a transfer layer of the business data.

Q: Is my data secure while being transferred?
A: Yes, everything is sent via SSL (HTTPS://) so all data is encrypted going from the server to the client.

SAP Busines One Client Interaction Options

Q: Do I need the SAP B1 Client on the machine in order for the Add-on to work?
A: No, but if you do options to open the same data in the B1 Client become available

Q: My Outlook is running 32-bit. Can I interact with my 64-bit SAP Business One Client
A: No, The two programs need to be the same bit-version in order to interact with each other.