How to send something from Dynamics CRM

Question

I would like to develop a way for sending text messages (SMS) from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

For example: clicking a button will open a window where I can enter my message. Clicking send will send a request to the SOAP XML Web Service I'm working with containing the contact's cell number and my text. I also want to be able to install it on some of my customers' CRM servers.

What would be the best way to do this? Should I develop a plug-in or use JScript and integrate it to the workflow?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I'll assume you want to store the message in CRM. You can create a text message custom entity or modify one of the activity entities to store that data.

From there it depends on what you are most comfortable with. You can call web services from either javascript or a custom workflow. A custom workflow tends to allow for better testability and debugging, but is more work to set up and install (not hard, just more work). However, using javascript to communicate with web services can be tedious without some kind of framework (JQuery, Prototype).

My opinion: use a custom workflow.

Answer 2

One of the best ways to do this would be to use Microsoft Biztalk Server