Last month Microsoft Corp. announced that Microsoft Dynamics CRM has been placed in the Leaders quadrant of the .
By looking at and assessing CRM software, the Magic Quadrant is a research report that places the software into certain categories according to how well suited it is for the service industry. Gartner defines the Leaders category as software with market-defining vision and solid new references for multiple geographies and vertical industries.
To be placed in this category by an independent research report is very exciting for both Microsoft and its Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) who have developed software on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM framework. It lets us know that Dynamics CRM is not only considered one of the best CRM systems for customer service, but that it is also leading the way in development and innovation.
For an ISV product like IPM, which is mostly concerned with , Microsoft CRM’s placement as a leader in the service industry is still big news. Having recently extended some of the customer service functions of Dynamics CRM in order to make IPM more relevant for companies in the AEC industries, it’s comforting to know the platform we’re working on is solid and innovative.
This innovation has allowed us to use the Service section of Dynamics CRM in a slightly different way from a strictly customer service perspective. By creating a link from a service job through to an IPM project, the customer service features of Dynamics CRM are now even more relevant to the construction industry. This link allows IPM users to schedule technicians on site and update the service calendar to provide a comprehensive display of all the scheduled service activities for each technician. Another added functionality is that the newly created service job can either be added to an existing IPM project for the purposes of costing it against the project, or used to create an entirely new IPM project for companies specifically concerned with service work.
The ability to in slightly different ways in order to extend its relevance to other industries is also one of the reasons the software was placed in the Leaders quadrant of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. And by building a project management solution on top of a platform such as this, IPM is not only relevant for companies managing projects, but also for those managing and scheduling services.
To find out more about how your project management needs can benefit from the combination of a CRM system and a project management solution, contact .
By Reef Fielding, IPM Global: the creators of IPM –
