Many people think of Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a customer relationship tool, which it is. But it has been developed in such a way that it is not just an application, but rather a platform. What do I mean by this? Well, consider the house you live in. You have the foundations that support the entire house, then you have a number of rooms built on top, each serving a different purpose. CRM is the foundation, which you can use to build on top according to what you need.
In some ways your business is a little like a house too, with different departments all built on the same foundation, but performing different roles. So it makes sense that the software you use across the entire organisation reflects this.
That is why Microsoft Dynamics CRM is such a good fit for so many different organisations. It lays the foundation to which you can add different applications you need on top, according to the size of your organization, your industry, and what you do. Add on applications are substantially cheaper than buying a whole new separate application for each of your departments, and there are so many to choose from, so you’re guaranteed to find something that suits. And if you don’t, there are always ways to to fit your needs.
For example, we recently spoke to a company interested in , IPM Project Management. They needed something to help manage all the aspects of their projects from RFIs to subcontracts, change orders and timesheets. But as part of their projects, they also have a lab which tests each segment of road they build to ensure it meets strict standards. They were initially going to purchase a whole separate application in order to store and report on the lab results, but when they saw the combination of IPM and CRM, they realised a few tweaks could create a place to store that information within IPM. What’s more, all the data would stay in one application, so users could access information about the job and the lab results from the one screen.
So far I’ve just talked about a project management add on, but the possibilities don’t end there. There 1s an abundance of other good quality add on products out there to enhance your CRM foundation, making CRM suitable for many different companies, organizations, and industries. And the benefits you receive from having the same platform across your whole organization are huge. Everyone in your organization is working from the same base, which means data is shared, there is no duplication, and users who may work across a number of different departments don’t have to switch in and out of different software.
The malleability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM means you are not simply getting the one application. We can help you with a tool to manage your projects, but you can also , the list is endless! So unlike other project management offerings out there, with IPM you can extend the functionality as far across your organization as you need, all because of its Microsoft CRM foundation.
If you would like to find out more about our project management add on for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, please do not hesitate to contact .
By Reef Fielding, IPM Global: the creators of IPM –
