Touching on Microsoft CRM

When Microsoft announced it would enter the Customer Relationship Management software market, skeptics were everywhere. They were too late to market. Too big of an organization. They didn't get CRM as a product. During the first release, these critics were absolutely correct. Microsoft CRM 1.0 was terrible.

CRM Magazine in it's review of Microsoft Dynamics CRM explains:

"From a technical perspective, it simply did not work well in the customer's environment... The seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook was clunky at best.... The software required a fair amount of hardware... In addition, CRM 1.0 just didn't support remote access very well..."

"From a functionality perspective our customers complained that Microsoft CRM 1.0 didn't work as advertised. Toolbars would mysteriously disappear and reappear, and it wasn't easy to build key parent/child relationships... It was also difficult to modify an entity (e.g., a lead) to support effective lead tracking, or to create new entities... Most notably, the closed-loop capability that CRM applications traditionally offered was sorely lacking. In general, the Microsoft CRM 1.0 deployments we did on our customers' behalf required extensive customization to meet their basic needs."

Microsoft didn't take the failure lightly. They put a ton of developers behind the product and made CRM one of their top priorities for 2005. The result has been what should have been launched in the first place. Most of the issues above have been completely rectified and improvements made in other areas to improve the overall product. According to most people, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 has redeemed itself and is now a product that should be in the mix during any CRM evaluation.

We still have some reservations stemming from the fact that Microsoft CRM requires a fairly robust Microsoft enviornment. If you have the necessary Microsoft hardware in place (and most companies do), Microsoft CRM can be a great option. If you don't, you could face an expensive, uphill battle.

Microsoft is specifically addressing this issue, by relasing an on-demand version called Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live in the second half of 2007. The version is targeted specifically at the small to midsized business. CRM Daily has the scoop.

"The Redmond, Washington, company's decision to target the initial release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live at SMBs is a good thing", said Sheryl Kingstone, a Yankee Group analyst. "Microsoft's Dynamics CRM on-premise version is nice, she said, but it is not necessarily the best option for smaller businesses because it is still difficult to deploy and maintain."

"For an SMB that does not have an infrastructure," Kingstone said, "that's where this adds a lot of benefits for the SMB market because they don't have to worry about their infrastructure."

Should small businesses wait until 2007 for the hosted version? The answer depends on two things. "How pressing is your need for CRM?", and "Do you have the necessary hardware?" If you already have the hardware, you are fine to start. If you don't, but your lack of CRM is a big enough business issue, you may want to invest in the necessary components. Hosted CRM has the reputation of being cheaper, but this isn't necessarily true.

"Everyone thinks that on-demand is the less expensive way," Kingstone explained. "But it isn't unless you're [factoring in] all of the hidden costs. CRM is still CRM. Just because you can sign up and have it tomorrow does not necessarily make it the right way to deploy business applications."

Long story short, Microsoft CRM is here to stay. It has recovered from it's initial failure and with the weight of Microsoft behind it should be considered in any CRM implementation for years to come.

Comments

[Anthony ( KiBS CRM )]

I advise SMB to use KiBS CRM, as it is solid, UNIX based, AND UTLITY PRICING (PAY FOR WHAT YOU USE), no contracts..

Sincerely
Anthony