Microsoft Ships Belated CRM Update

Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. last week began shipping Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0, the first major update to the CRM software Microsoft launched three years ago.
The new version fills functionality gaps that had left Microsoft lagging behind its midmarket CRM rivals.
Customers who bought Microsoft CRM soon after its launch have had a long, often frustrating wait for substantive improvements.
Microsoft put out a point release in December 2003, to fix glitches and add a few features, but it scrapped a planned 2.0 version to focus on developing 3.0.
Door maker Designer Doors Inc. bought and deployed Microsoft CRM several years ago but put the software back on the shelf after running into a host of problems. The most painful were synchronization glitches that kept the software's features from being available to remote workers.
"We had put a lot of effort into making this our centerpiece for sales and marketing," said Michael Kruger, information systems manager at the River Falls, Wis.-based company. "It's been expensive for us to find work-arounds."
Kruger plans to spend at least six months testing CRM 3.0 before redeploying Microsoft CRM. Meanwhile, Designer Doors is making do with homegrown applications.
"We intend to evaluate it carefully to see if the changes that we need have been made," he said. "We have attended some preliminary demos, and the issues that we had appear to have been addressed."
Glitches Fixed
The update adds an automation module for direct marketing and a service module to coordinate staff schedules. It also fixes glitches that had frustrated customers, such as the synchronization technology for remote users.
Microsoft partner Mike Snyder, principal at Chicago services firm Sonoma Partners LLC, cited improved Outlook and Office integration and the ability to add custom entities to Microsoft CRM as two of the most useful enhancements.
The new CRM software and Outlook share a nearly identical look and feel, according to those who have seen early demonstrations of Version 3.0, Snyder said.
"You really can't tell where one ends and the other begins," added Bruce Richardson, an analyst at Boston-based AMR Research Inc.
Microsoft is tweaking its packaging for this release, offering Small Business and Professional Editions. The Small Business Edition is designed to run on Microsoft's Windows Small Business Server, which has a 75-user cap and offers tools for migrating from Microsoft's Business Contact Manager software.
Microsoft sells Dynamics CRM through its Volume Licensing program, with prices ranging from $440 per user for the Small Business Edition to $1,761 per server for the Professional Edition.

Cowley is a reporter for the IDG News Service.