Microsoft Business Solutions CRM Community Shows Rapid Growth

REDMOND, Wash., July 14, 2004 — Microsoft Business Solutions CRM has been recognized in the industry as one of the fastest growing small and midmarket customer relationship management solutions. More than 2,500 organizations have acquired Microsoft CRM, representing a community of more than 100,000 unique users since the product’s launch in January 2003. Microsoft CRM helps both product- and services-based organizations automate their sales, marketing, customer service and reporting strategy and is delivered through a global community of local reselling partners.

In a recent AMR Research Inc. report (“The Customer Management Applications Report, 2003-2008”), AMR analyst Laura Preslan said, “Microsoft CRM saw amazing growth in 2003, topping the charts with a 94 percent growth rate. Customer references cite three top reasons for why they invest in Microsoft CRM: viability, Outlook integration and ease of use.”

“We are pleased that the growth and rapid adoption rate Microsoft CRM is experiencing is being recognized by independent industry experts, and continue to see this as evidence that Microsoft CRM is a solid investment for businesses that want to automate their strategy for building and maintaining profitable relationships with customers,” said David Thacher, general manager of Customer Relationship Management at Microsoft Business Solutions. “The feedback we are hearing from our customers mirrors the AMR findings. Customers are choosing Microsoft CRM for ease of use and lower costs, its potential to integrate with other systems – specifically Microsoft Office – and the trust they have in the Microsoft brand. Along with our partners, we’ll continue to provide the solutions customers need to help ensure they remain better than the competition at what’s important to their customers.”

An example of a customer satisfied with their Microsoft CRM deployment is a leading provider of panregional marketing communications management solutions based in the United Kingdom. Freedman International chose Microsoft CRM to manage increased sales activity in 2004.

“We have been delighted with the Microsoft CRM system that was installed by Erudite Systems,” said Kevin Freedman, chief executive of Freedman International. “It has given Freedman International a new level of customer-lead-tracking ability and is proving to be an invaluable component in our continued growth.”

Bailiwick Data Systems Inc., a Minnesota-based systems integration and IT professional services organization, turned to Microsoft CRM to help centralize sales data and standardize workflows across the business. Bailiwick was looking to move from a mix of multiple legacy systems used for customer relationship management and project management to a single CRM solution with a centralized database to facilitate the lead-management process and present a single, consistent face to the customer.

“We have a very large database of contractors that work with our customers, and Microsoft CRM significantly improved our management of these resources and eased the administrative burden,” said Missy Carbonneau, IT administrator at Bailiwick Data Systems. “With Microsoft CRM, we now have easy access to information such as our contractors’ skill sets, ensuring that only the most-qualified contractors are matched with our customers. It’s no longer a nightmare to oversee things such as insurance coverage and master agreements for our contractors. We’ve really benefited from Microsoft CRM’s ease of customization.”

Linfox, an Australian transportation and supply chain management-focused company, needed to consolidate its business development and customer information after an acquisition in early 2003 doubled its customer base. Information was spread among multiple systems, and there was no uniform way to access account and contact management systems. Linfox chose Microsoft CRM to consolidate multiple contact sources in a centralized database and to track and report on customer sales activities.

“Microsoft CRM allows us to identify new business opportunities and better manage our customer information,” said Will Arnott, executive general manager for supply chain, business development and marketing at Linfox Australia. “We can now view the history of our customer relationships – both the good and the bad – so business units know whether a relationship exists before visiting existing customers.”

Availability

In the 18 months since its launch Microsoft CRM has extended its international reach and is currently available in nine languages and more than 53 countries. The Microsoft CRM 1.2 feature pack – including tighter integration with Microsoft Office, Microsoft CRM Mobile for sales functionality on the Pocket PC 2003, and additional product enhancements – will be available to download in August. In the fourth quarter of this calendar year Microsoft CRM will be available in an additional five languages. Microsoft CRM is available through a global network of local Microsoft partner organizations that can deliver the software and associated services to help ensure a rapid return on investment.

About Microsoft Business Solutions

Microsoft Business Solutions offers integrated business applications and services that allow small and midsize organizations and divisions of large enterprises to connect employees, customers and suppliers for improved efficiency. The financial management, customer relationship management, supply chain management and analytics applications work with Microsoft products such as Office and Windows to streamline processes across an entire organization, giving businesses insight to respond rapidly, plan strategically and execute quickly. Microsoft Business Solutions applications are delivered through a worldwide network of channel partners that provide specialized services and local support tailored to a company’s needs.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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