InterDyn Artis would like to share with you Forrester Consulting’s study, The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. This study has provided our clients with the framework they need to evaluate the potential financial impact of deploying .
The fundamental business needs that drive the requirement for effective and efficient customer management practices remain unchanged:
- Acquiring new customers
- Building tighter bonds of loyalty
- Reducing the costs of marketing, selling, and servicing
As a consequence, interest in investing in and deploying solutions to improve customer-facing business processes remains strong. Indeed, 55 percent of the 455 large organizations that Forrester surveyed in late 2010 in North America and Europe have already implemented a customer relationship management (CRM) solution—and many of these are investing more to upgrade their tool set. An additional 19 percent have plans to buy a CRM solution for the first time within the next 12 to 24 months. The pattern for midsize organizations is similar. CRM solutions are widely deployed, and interest in expanding their use is high. However, given the continuing uncertainty in the current economic climate, organizations are looking for flexible and extensible solutions that provide the required functionality at the lowest cost.
is a solution designed to boost the personal and team productivity of customer-facing workers by offering a full set of functionality with a familiar desktop user interface (UI) through integration with the Microsoft® Outlook® messaging and collaboration client. The product offers deployment flexibility by being available in two versions:
- Traditional perpetual license, on-premises solution
- Software-as-a Service (SaaS) subscription service version
In January 2011, Microsoft commissioned Forrester Consulting to examine the economic impact and potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Forrester conducted in-depth interviews with executives from nine Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 customers who are now in the early phases of implementing the solution. Forrester then compiled the interview results, including forward-looking expectations, into a composite case study of a 2,000-employee organization with an initial deployment of 50 users.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Optimizes Business Productivity
Summary - Overall the study concluded that the composite organization achieved a three-year net present value (NPV) of U.S. $471,218 (risk-adjusted net benefits) as a result of deploying Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for an initial team of 50 users. The payback period was approximately four months with an average NPV per user of $9,424 over three years.
Benefits - following are a few of the benefits achieved by the companies:
- Increased sales productivity by 5 percent with the ease of use of Microsoft Dynamics CRM software and integration with Outlook leading to higher adoption, improved opportunity and lead tracking and routing, and a more accurate picture of its sales pipeline. The interviewed companies improved their sales reporting and better managed their customer database and achieved faster and more efficient processes for sales forecasting.
- Customer service productivity savings from a better user interface (UI) and documented processes. The composite organization avoided hiring 1.5 full time equivalents (FTE) for its 10-person customer service team even as its division grew. Customer service agents improved issue resolution as new processes were implemented, and agents had access to all the customer information they needed to resolve cases quickly and with precision.
- Acceleration of sales conversion cycle by 50 percent and corresponding revenue gain as teams worked better together across different business systems, processes, and geographies.
- Marketing cost savings of more than $200,000 (risk-adjusted over three years) due to more real-time insights and improved campaign management from better analytics.
- Ease of integration with other business technology systems, improving process efficiencies.
Cost – The organizations Forrester Consulting interviewed incurred the following cost:
- Vendor software license fees or subscription fees.
- Professional fees paid to a Microsoft partner for implementation.
- Internal labor costs for planning, design, and implementation.
- User training costs.
- Ongoing administrative support costs.
The data collected in this study indicates that deploying Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 has the potential to provide a solid ROI through quantifiable productivity benefits for people and processes. The risk-adjusted ROI of 243 percent, along with a rapid payback period (breakeven point), raises confidence that the investment is likely to produce a positive outcome, especially after the risks and uncertainty that may affect the project have been considered, quantified, and incorporated into the business case.
In interviews with Microsoft customers, Forrester found that organizations can realize benefits in the form of:
- Increased sales productivity with the ease of use of the CRM software and improved opportunity/deal tracking and routing through integration with Outlook.
- Customer service productivity savings from a better UI, documented processes, a holistic customer view, and faster case resolution.
- Streamlined processes and operations leading to lower cost of sales.
- Shortened sales and conversion cycle and corresponding revenue gain as teams are better connected across systems.
- Marketing cost savings due to more real-time insights from better analytics.
- Productivity savings due to better reporting tools.
- Improved collaboration within sales and customer service teams.
- Lower costs and effort to customize the solution for unique requirements, including extended CRM scenarios.
- Ease of integration with other systems improving to process efficiencies.
Based on this study, companies looking to implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 can anticipate significant productivity gains and cost savings. .
30-Day Trial of Microsoft Dynamics CRM
InterDyn Artis personally invites you to attend our three (3) hour Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 hands-on training workshop to enhance your 30-day trial experience. How often do you sign up for FREE software trials only to learn that you do not know how to use the software?
When: Friday, August 26, 2011
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: InterDyn Artis Corporate Training Facility
8100 Tower Point Drive, Charlotte, NC 28227
Registration: Call - Judy 704.321.3881
Email – [email protected]
Online –
InterDyn Artis will help you get the most out of your 30-Day CRM trial experience by:
- Helping you Sign Up for your 30-day trial several days before attending the hands-on lab
- Providing each attendee access to their personal CRM trial system on computers at our training facility
- Training from a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) on Microsoft CRM functionality
- Providing hands-on instructions on how to import your organization's data into CRM
- Giving you the opportunity to navigate around your CRM trial while having access to a Microsoft CRM certified consultant to ask questions
- Showing you how to access CustomerSource - Microsoft's powerful knowledge base for online training, fresh updates, information and resources 24 hours a day
After attending this workshop we will help you determine if Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is right for your organization.
InterDyn Artis established in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1989, is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner dedicated to the implementation, training and support of the Microsoft Dynamics line of products including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains), SharePoint, and Business Intelligence.
By InterDyn Artis, North Carolina Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner
