Microsoft’s CRM Marketplace Challenges Salesforce.com

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In a move to compete against rival Salesforce.com, Microsoft is making some changes in its customer relationship management (CRM) approach, including a new version of its software and an app store. At the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference on Monday, Microsoft showcased the new bells and whistles in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. The public beta release is scheduled for September, beginning with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

Microsoft’s marketing theme around Dynamics CRM 2011 is “the power of productivity” through familiar, intelligent and connected experiences. Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, boldly declared that the product raises the bar in the CRM market with new levels of productivity for customers and new development opportunities for partners.

A CRM App Store

One of those opportunities is a store that makes it possible for independent software vendors, global systems integrators, value-added resellers, and other partners to create, package and distribute software extensions and custom solutions in a single environment so enterprises can discover and download them.

Launching in September, the store is called Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace. It’s an online catalog of solutions, including industry-specific applications and extensions from both Microsoft and its partners. Microsoft will integrate the marketplace into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 software for quick access. Salesforce.com already offers a marketplace.

“We are excited to get the new release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The new features will give us even more power and flexibility to create and easily customize CRM solutions to meet the unique business needs of our customers and help them be more productive,” said Jason Hunt, Avanade CRM and xRM evangelist. “We are also looking forward to the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, as it opens up new opportunities that will enable us to expand our reach and get our CRM solutions out to a broader, global audience.”

The CRM Bandwagon

Rob Enderle,…

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Tags: challenges, marketplace, Microsoft's, Salesforce.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 11:17 am and is filed under More Science/Tech News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.