REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 6, 2005 — Microsoft Corp. today announced details of its partner initiatives for the release of Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 3.0. The company has been working with a wide array of partners within the Microsoft® Partner Program over the past six months to bring solutions based on Microsoft CRM to market as soon as possible. Today, prospective Microsoft customers will find that their preferred partners are ready to deliver the value of this new generation of Microsoft CRM. In total, more than 2,500 partners organizations worldwide have participated in the Microsoft CRM Early Access and Microsoft CRM Showcase programs, which began in the summer of 2005.
“Our customers can leverage a global network of thousands of partners to deploy end-to-end business solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0,” said Brad Wilson, general manager for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “Microsoft works very closely with our partners to help them successfully engage with our customers and to deliver fast, flexible and affordable solutions that meet their specific business needs.”
Microsoft CRM is built to address the three key challenges that determine the success or failure of most CRM initiatives: user adoption, business fit and total cost of ownership. CRM-focused partners in the Microsoft Partner Program ensure the availability of complete Microsoft CRM-based business solutions tailored to meet the needs of small businesses, midsize companies and enterprise organizations around the world and will create additional opportunity for partners to grow their customer base with Microsoft CRM-based solutions. Partner types include independent software vendor (ISVs), value-added resellers (VARs) and systems integrators (SIs).
Microsoft CRM ISV partners deliver complementary applications and technology such as those for enterprise application integration, call center and computer telephony integration (CTI), and asset management. These applications are integrated with Microsoft CRM to offer a complete business or vertical solution for specific customer needs. Key ISV partners include Avaya Inc., Brimstone, Businesscale, c360 Solutions Inc., Client Profiles Inc., Compass Technology Inc., Endeavour Commerce LLC, Epicor Software Corp., Foliodev LLC, GaleForce Solutions Inc., Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc., K3 Business Technology Group plc, Neocase Inc., Protech Associates Inc. and Scribe Software Corp.
VAR partners provide customers with complete turnkey solutions to meet their specific requirements. Based on Microsoft CRM, these solutions address the end-to-end customer and business management needs of companies of all sizes. These partners include Ascentium Corp., Aspective, Dynamic Methods Inc., ePartners Inc., I.B.I.S. Inc., iFusion Solutions Inc., Inetium Inc., Interlink Group LLC, Invoke Systems, Integrated Systems & Services Group, itara GmbH, Neudesic LLC, Quilogy Inc., Resolute Inc., RockSolid Computing, SkyBow AG, Tectura Corp., The CRM Business, VOX Wireless and WolfBridge Solutions Corp.
SI partners specialize in providing enterprise customers with the customized business solutions they demand. These partners customize Microsoft CRM and integrate the product with complementary applications and back-end systems to deliver complete CRM solutions that support enterprise business processes. SI partners include Accenture, Avanade, Infosys Technologies Ltd., Satyam Computer Services Ltd., Sonata Software Ltd. and Sonoma Partners LLC.
Microsoft partners have hailed the newly released Microsoft CRM product, citing the usability of the native Microsoft® Office Outlook® interface, and the ease of customization, integration and implementation. Avanade, Scribe and VOX Wireless are among the many partners actively engaged in customer implementations.
“Enterprise customers have been embracing Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 3.0 because it allows them to work the way they do and supports the way they do business. With the launch of Microsoft CRM, Avanade is excited to be the leading global partner to deliver the intuitive CRM solutions that companies have been waiting for,” said Mike Pazak, vice president of Enterprise Business Solutions at Avanade. “We have already witnessed the positive impact Microsoft CRM has had for our early adopter customers globally. Building on these successful experiences, our worldwide team of experts is poised to support the strong demand for this robust suite of marketing, sales and customer service capabilities.”
“Our customers and partners have identified two key ingredients for successful CRM: First, provide the CRM functionality seamlessly within the desktop environment of sales users; and, second, deliver critical customer data that has traditionally been locked up in corporate systems to this CRM desktop,” said Peter Chase, executive vice president of Scribe Software. “The combination of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 and Scribe Insight delivers these critical capabilities.”
“The recent explosion of interest surrounding the new release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 is not surprising to us,” said Jim Heaton, president of VOX Wireless. “Microsoft has added significant new functionality to the 3.0 release, including more robust versions of the Marketing and Field Service capabilities. Most of our customers like the fact that it fits with the way they work, which is predominantly through the Microsoft Outlook interface. This makes their management of customer relationships completely seamless with the rest of their daily activities.”
“For professional and financial services companies that are frustrated with trying to maintain all client information on one database for regulatory or business reasons, we have developed industry-specific solutions coupled with Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 3.0 to provide our customers and partners with a usable and flexible integrated front-office and workflow system, allowing easy access to all client details and interactions,” said Johnny Dunne, chief executive officer of Businesscale. “For us, this is ensuring client retention and increased revenue, and at the same time increasing productivity and profitability while reducing operational costs. Unlike other CRM systems, with Microsoft CRM we now can have a tailored system for services firms providing complete visibility across marketing, sales, client service and scheduling.”
About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship and supply chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.
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.
Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics and Outlook are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
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