• Improvements to mobility through the launch of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mobile
• Accessibility from additional browsers
• Extended social features and additional developments to the activity feeds
• Out-of-the box industry templates
• Performance improvements due to SQL Server 2012
• Product certifications to keep your business compliant

Let’s take a deeper look at what each of these elements means for a company using Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Mobility

This online service is available for an additional per user monthly subscription to users of either Dynamics CRM on-premise or CRM Online. Each Dynamics CRM Mobile user can roll out the solution on up to 3 devices and leverage 10 different languages.  Each user has administrative tools to personalize their own experience to see the most relevant data on their devices.  Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mobile will adopt the native capabilities of the device it is deployed on, meaning that it is optimized for touch and includes capabilities that you are accustomed to on your mobile devices, like auto-calling and one-click access to maps.

Additional Browsers

All Microsoft Dynamics solutions are developed to work the way that people work so that the users are empowered.  Microsoft Dynamics CRM is no exception.  With the Q2 2012 Update, you will be able to access the web client of Dynamics CRM on the following browsers:

Social Features

Building off of the social advancements made in the last release, Dynamics CRM will now include “Like/Dislike” buttons on Activity Feeds.  Additionally, Microsoft will be launching Social Customer Care within Dynamics CRM by the end of 2012.

Industry Templates

Continuing the theme of working the way you work, Dynamics CRM now provides out-of-the-box support of industry specific processes for the following niches:  Life Annuity Insurance Sales, Non-Profit, Health Plan Sales, and Wealth Management.  These templates will be available in the Microsoft MarketPlace which is accessible from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

SQL Server 2012

This update is developed on the emerging SQL Server 2012 technology, which will provide performance improvements and give users the ability to further leverage the Microsoft stack to get next generation business intelligence.

Certifications

By the time the Q2 2012 Update rolls out, Microsoft Dynamics CRM will be certified in the following areas:

• ISO 27001
• SAS70 Type II
• Sarbanes-Oxley

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Service

• Safe Harbor
• ISO 27001
• SSAE 16 SOCI (Type II)
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• EU Model Clauses
• Business Associates Agreement – enables a company to be Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant

This means that if your organization is required to comply with any of these regulations, your technical requirements have been met and you are free to focus on the business process elements of your certification.

Be poised to take advantage of all of these improvements by getting started with Microsoft Dynamics CRM today!  Start a free 30-day trial now and your business will be ready to start using these new features and functionality as soon as they are available!

By Socius, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

What’s Next for Microsoft Dynamics CRM? is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Choose a Proven Vendor:

When it comes to Software as a Service(SaaS) or cloud solutions, it is important to know and trust and the creator of the software solution.  Therefore, selecting a tool like Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, which is an industry leading crm system being offered in the cloud by an organization with proven cloud capabilities.  I think Satya Nadella, president of the Servers and Tools Business at Microsoft, put it well in a recent interview when he said, “I think it’s also about the business relationship our customers have with Microsoft … So as we move to the cloud we are working both as trusted advisors on the technology and trusted business partners to our customers.”

Choose a Trusted Partner:

If you are at all on the fence about whether or not a cloud CRM system is the right choice for your business, working with a trusted partner to assess your needs and provide you with an objective opinion can help you ensure you are making the best possible decision.  By choosing a solution like Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can choose whether you want to deploy it in the cloud or on premise, and you have the flexibility to change deployment methods down the road if your needs change.  However, not all Microsoft Dynamics CRM partners can offer you this choice.  Select a partner, like Socius, who offers both deployment types and has experience helping clients transition between them to feel truly confident that your needs will be supported for the entire time you are using the solution.

Choose Predictable Services:

One of the great benefits of having your CRM deployed in the cloud is that you don’t have to worry about routine maintenance and software updates – those are all handled automatically and included in your subscription plan.  However, you still need to take into consideration your initial implementation and training.  In order for your system to be effective and adopted by your users, you need solid implementation services to get you up and running right.  Socius offers rapid implementation services with predictable, packaged pricing so that you know up front what you’ll need to spend to start using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.  Get an instant quote for your cloud software and services for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online with Socius!

By Socius, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

3 Ways to Feel Secure Taking CRM to the Cloud is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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The graphic shows that while Microsoft Dynamics is the clear winner as the most usable CRM solution available, Salesforce.com and Oracle edge it out on functionality.  However, the picture doesn’t tell the whole story.

Just below the image, Nucleus Researchers note that Dynamics CRM’s functional position will improve in future Matrices in light of the addition of new social collaboration tools including support for:

• Activity feeds
• Microblogging
• Conversations
• Automated activity updates

However, these new functional developments are NOT forthcoming for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, they are already available!  They were included in the recent service update, but they were not taken into consideration for placement on this Technology Value Matrix.  That means that Microsoft Dynamics CRM users are taking advantage of the most user-friendly and highly functional CRM solution available today.

Try it out for yourself free for 30 days!

By Socius, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

Usability and Functionality – How Does Microsoft Dynamics CRM Measure Up? is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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However, critics of Dynamics CRM have perennially passed it over in discussions of leading enterprise level CRM solutions, focusing instead on the traditional players, like Oracle Siebel CRM.  These critics have failed to see how Dynamics CRM addresses enterprise specific business and IT requirements through its:

• Role-tailored user experience
• Easy configuration of screens, workflow, and data model
• Web services integration
• Flexible SOA platform
• Enterprise scalability

Microsoft has hundreds of enterprise customers world-wide using Dynamics CRM to enhance their relationship-driven business processes.  However, there is one that they are particularly excited about.  This organization is a global enterprise, with more than 40,000 sales, marketing and service professionals in more than 100 countries around the world managing relationships with more than 145,000 business customers and partners.  They were running an outdated Siebel solution that was difficult to use, required excessive time to input information, allowed data to get lost and, because users disliked the system, adoption was dismal, leading to overall lost productivity for the company.

Like most organizations considering a new business management solution, this company wanted a CRM system that could be used enterprise-wide, provide flexibility to customize to the needs of various business groups, be easy to deploy and, most of all, would deliver measurable value.  They used traditional criteria to assess their options and decided to implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  Now that the implementation is complete and they are free of Siebel CRM, user satisfaction is at an all-time high with 90 percent adoption in the first 30 business days. Additionally, the company has saved $10 million a year in reduced operations and support costs and has realized more than $80 million in sales productivity gains.

So who is this satisfied Dynamics CRM customer?

It’s Microsoft.

Read more about how Microsoft Dynamics CRM stacks up against Oracle Siebel CRM to see if it is a better fit for your enterprise organization.

By Socius, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

Dynamics CRM for the Enterprise? Guess Who is Proving This Really Works! is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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These capabilities, combined with the proven ROI of Dynamics CRM Online, have given Microsoft the differentiation it needs to take an aggressive cloud message to the marketplace.  Part of that plan includes financially assisting companies interested switching cloud CRM vendors to begin using Dynamics CRM Online.

“There are some hard costs associated for customers that decide to move vendors. As customers are evaluating their options, we want to make it easier for them to make a move should they choose to do so,” said Michael Park, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Business Solutions Sales, Marketing, and Operations.

That is why Microsoft is offering $150 (USD) cash for each Dynamics CRM Online user license purchased between now and March 31, 2012.  Each user license costs only $44 per month!  With the cash incentive, an organization that buys 50 seats, gets $7,500; one that buys 500 seats, gets $75,000!

Learn more and take advantage of this great offer today!

According to Park, this offer is just one aspect of Microsoft’s strategy to “enable our customers to build a cloud on their terms that will deliver improved agility and responsiveness, increased business alignment, and higher ROI for the long term.”

By Socius, a Cloud CRM Partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

Microsoft’s Aggressive Cloud CRM Strategy Pays Off for Adopters is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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In my opinion…

While her assessment of the benefits of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online covered the highlights of what makes it a competitive hosted CRM solution, she failed to mention one thing that I think is a key difference between Dynamics CRM and SalesForce.com.  That difference would be the deployment flexibility that the Microsoft solution offers.  With Dynamics CRM, you own your data; so if you start out with the hosted CRM Online solution and down the road, your business needs change and an on-premise deployment would be preferable, you can switch quickly and easily.  On the other hand, if you start out with SalesForce.com and eventually want your data stored on your own servers, you will have to find a new CRM solution, which can result in a tremendous increase in time and cost, a learning curve for your employees, the challenge of promoting user adoption of a new solution, and the potential for data loss or corruption.

Aside from this omission, I think that Lauren Carlson does a good job of highlighting the strengths of Microsoft Dynamics CRM as an alternative to SFDC without glossing over some issues that would affect potential users’ choices.

Below is the Microsoft Dynamics CRM portion of her post:

Salesforce Alternatives | 5 Cloud CRM Systems to Consider

Salesforce.com is the recognized leader in cloud CRM solutions — and for good reason. One of the first SaaS-based customer relationship management (CRM) products on the market, Salesforce offers an easy-to-use tool with deep sales force automation (SFA) functionality. It’s a great solution for many companies, but buyers like options. So what other systems should you add to your CRM shortlist?

Here I recommend five alternative cloud CRM products that are worth testing out.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Analysts and end-users alike consistently rank Dynamics CRM among the top products available on the market. With the latest release of Dynamics CRM 2011, Microsoft has made a credible move onto Salesforce’s turf.

Dynamics CRM is a flexible system built on the .Net platform. It’s great for companies already committed to the Microsoft stack. The system has a familiar Outlook-like interface and can be easily customized to fit the needs of your organization. Also, Microsoft has an extensive network of partners, resellers and ISVs with expertise in developing customized and vertical solutions for specific industries.

Dynamics CRM 2011 makes some notable improvements over previous versions. My favorites include the improved UI and customizable dashboards. Users can navigate the system with fewer clicks and can personalize their view based on their role. The update also includes the built-in Dynamics Marketplace, a network of vendors that provides more than 1,400 add-on products and services.

One concern with Dynamics CRM used to be that updates only came out every three years. No longer. Microsoft recently announced bi-annual updates.

Read more: http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/crm/salesforce-alternatives-5-systems-to-consider-1052011/#ixzz1TX2yMxPb

By Socius, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

Software Advice Talks SalesForce.com Alternatives is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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This may be a good time to take a closer look at how to increase profits from your existing customer base and RFM scoring can help. RFM (Recency, Frequency and Monetary) value is a methodology that gives you a quantifiable analysis of your customer’s purchasing behavior through a simple numeric score.

• How recently has a customer purchased?
• How frequently does a customer purchase?
• What is the monetary value of a customer’s purchases?
• What is a given customer’s velocity (+ or -) relative to the collective base?

RFM scoring is generated by attributing a value to each parameter. Velocity is calculated to show a given customer’s trend, up or down, relative to the midpoint RFM score for all customers. The scores give simple quantitative indicators to identify and segment your customers by their historic buying behavior and trend direction.

You can use this information to create unique marketing messages designed to prompt purchasing behavior of customers with similar scores, for example, an offer of bundled products or quantity incentives targeted at customers with low monetary but high frequency scores. For retention control initiatives, filter on low (-xxx) velocity scores which indicate customers you’re at risk of losing. Those with high monetary scores you might task Account Mangers to follow-up with directly and for midlevel monetary scores, a customized email, call down, or mailing campaign might be appropriate to reengage and generate new interest.

RFM scoring is a great tool for the Marketing department, but should be shared among other departments too. Customer facing employees who have been instructed on what the score values mean to your business can use the information to turn otherwise general customer interactions into new opportunities.

Take for example a scenario where a customer who made a significant purchase long ago but has not been engaged with your organization since, suddenly contacts your Customer Service department. A customer service representative should be able to look up the customer account record in your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system and quickly see their RFM score which would indicate both risk and opportunity. Along with taking care of the support request, the service rep would know to proactively inform the customer about new products, listen for indications the customer may be shopping for additional products you offer and perhaps find out about new BDM (Business Decision Maker) contacts for Sales to reach out to.

At Axonom, we typically find that most businesses have the data for RFM scoring; it’s just a matter of using the right software to generate the scores. Find out how you can easily segment, rank, and score your customers using RFM scoring to track trends over time to see which customers are growing or shrinking in value.

By Axonom – Global ISV for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

CRM’s Hidden Gem = RFM Scoring is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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In order to give you a big picture idea of how Microsoft Dynamics CRM compares with the CRM products from Oracle, let’s look at how each product stacked up in each of these market segments:

Sales Force Automation: (Based on the Gartner Magic Quadrant released August 2010)

Oracle’s Siebel CRM and Oracle CRM On Demand both ranked just below Microsoft Dynamics CRM on their “ability to execute”, which means that with Dynamics CRM the overall product is stronger, the strategy is more viable, the pricing is more competitive, and the customers are more satisfied.  Whereas both Oracle products were ranked slightly higher than Dynamics on “completeness of vision” for innovative product and business strategy.  Keep in mind, however, that this Magic Quadrant was published before full details about the then forthcoming release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 were made public. 

Customer Service: (Based on the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Customer Service Contact Centers from April 2011 and the Forrester Wave™: CRM Suites Customer Service Solutions, Q3 ’10)

While both analyst agencies agree that Oracle’s Siebel CRM currently offers stronger functionality for customer service organizations than does Dynamics CRM, they differ on their perspective of the products’ vision and strategy.  Gartner ranks them about even on completeness of vision while Forrester puts Microsoft ahead of Oracle’s Siebel CRM in terms of their customer service strategy.  Forrester alone ranked Oracle CRM On Demand in this category, placing them on pace with Microsoft’s strategy, but far below them in terms of current product functionality.  Forrester ranked Oracle E-Business Suite CRM and Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM in their “strong performers” category, while Gartner placed the E-Business Suite in their “niche players” quadrant, giving them the lowest ranking on “completeness of vision” of any product included in the study. 

For Midsized Organizations: (Based on the Forrester Wave™: CRM Suites For Midsized Organizations, Q2 ’10)

For midsized organizations, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and its SaaS version, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, were the obvious leaders in all areas, thanks to their advanced functionality while retaining an ease of use, rapid deployment and time-to-value, competitive pricing structure, native integration with Microsoft Outlook and inter-operability within the Microsoft stack.  As an affordable SaaS solution, Oracle CRM On Demand was close behind Microsoft and the only Oracle owned CRM product that was deemed a “leader” in this market segment.  Oracle’s Siebel CRM is functionally adequate for midsized businesses but is often too costly to be deployed.  Oracle’s E-Business Suite CRM and PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM were only deemed “strong performers” for organizations already using the corresponding ERP solutions. 

For Large Organizations: (Based on the Forrester Wave™: CRM Suites For Large Organizations, Q2 ’10)

While Oracle’s Siebel CRM narrowly beat out Microsoft’s current offer usability, Dynamics CRM’s strategy was ranked significantly more suited for large organizations than Oracle’s.   Oracle CRM On Demand lagged behind Microsoft in both areas, but also beat out its Siebel counterpart in terms of product strategy.  While E-Business Suite CRM and PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM were both considered to have strategies better suited for large organizations than midsized, they both still only ranked as “strong performers” recommended only to organizations currently using the appropriate Oracle ERP suites.

To read the in-depth reports that correspond with each of these comparative analyses, view each of these Forrester Wave and Gartner Magic Quadrants today!

If you are currently using an Oracle CRM product and are considering a switch to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, do so before June 30, 2011 to pay only $34 per user per month and also receive a $200 per user pay-out for each Dynamics CRM Online user purchased (regardless of how many Oracle user licenses you own). 

By Socius, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs. Oracle: According to the Analysts is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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As you can probably guess, the two CRM software solutions that ended up in the leader’s quadrant of the matrix are Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SalesForce.com.  While both solutions’ functionality outranked the rest of the CRM software marketplace, Microsoft Dynamics CRM beat-out SalesForce.com in usability. 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM proves to be more user friendly than any other CRM solution on the market, including SalesForce.com, because of its:

• Integration with familiar Microsoft Office products
• Functional environment being integrated with and available within Microsoft Outlook
• Role-based views that streamline data so each individual user sees the information most relevant to him/her
• Familiar Office-like user interface with extensive personalization options

The recent release of Dynamics CRM 2011 helped support Nucleus’ ranking of the Microsoft product as a Leader by extending its functionality and making it a truly globally accessible CRM application. 

To see how other CRM solutions rank compared to Microsoft Dynamics CRM on the Technology Value Matrix, download the complete “Research Note” from Nucleus. 

By Socius, a CRM solutions partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

Dynamics CRM More User Friendly than SalesForce.com – Independent Research Study is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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• Save you time and money because of its familiar user interface
• Enhance collaboration and reduce errors by streamlining processes across your organization
• Grow with your business by giving you the power to choose an online or on-premise deployment (or switch between the two if your needs change)
• Connect your sales, marketing, and customer service staff with the information and people they need to make better business decisions and work more efficiently
• And so many more…

But we know that all of that doesn’t matter much to you unless we can put some dollars and cents behind it. 

Fortunately, Forrester Research recently conducted an independent study to quantify the benefits of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.  By interviewing several companies implementing the new release of Dynamics CRM and conducting their own financial analysis on the information, Forrester has prepared a composite case study of the potential Total Economic Impact of the solution on an organization.   Within the parameters of their composite company, Forrester found that an organization could expect from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011:

• A ROI of 243%
• A payback period of only 4.1 months
• A three-year NPV of $665,086 (risk-adjusted net benefits)

 “The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011” report takes you point-by-point through the benefits that real companies are receiving from this solution and quantifies what each of these benefits means financially to the composite organization.  According to Forrester’s research and analysis, companies looking to implement CRM 2011 can anticipate significant productivity gains and cost savings. 

To learn how all of the benefits of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 together provide companies with tremendous value and ROI, download the full report here.

By Socius, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

Dynamics CRM 2011 Offers Big ROI in Short Time is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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