Background and thoughts on the current state of CRM

I am currently a consultant specializing in Microsoft CRM and come to this position after previously working as a consultant implementing Salesforce.

At the moment my CRM certifications are:
Salesforce:
Certified Administrator
Certified Sales Cloud Consultant
Certified Service Cloud Consultant
Certified Force.com Developer

Microsoft CRM: 
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Application 2015

After a few months in this position I find myself missing the testing capabilities of Salesforce. I haven't spent much time developing plugin code yet, but from what I've seen Salesforce has a bit of an edge here.

I feel reporting is one area where Microsoft has an edge.  SQL Server Reporting Services, SSRS, is a better platform, and being able to include custom SQL queries within them is not supported by Salesforce solutions.

My intention for this site is to post issues I run across as well as the solutions that I come up with in hopes that I can save people from making the mistakes I know I will invariably make.