Updated · Originally published
With 33 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth and close to 3 million users, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM business continues to experience tremendous success in the market. And just as exciting, Microsoft’s recently announced software acquisitions and product enhancements are a testament to the continued success and value Microsoft Dynamics CRM will bring to organizations for years to come.
Here is a summary of the areas ForgeXRM finds especially exciting:
- Yammer integration introduces new social collaboration experiences to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Yammer replaces the current Activity Feeds functionality and will offer much more robust collaboration capabilities. Imagine creating a record in CRM, for example, a sales ‘Opportunity’ record, and having a Yammer page automatically created where people across the organization can offer input, collaborate, and make decisions more quickly. Microsoft acquired Yammer for $1.2B just this year so you can be sure to expect even greater things to come down the road.
- Skype integration brings another ‘click to call’ option into the mix, and we’ll most likely see options for both Lync and Skype natively integrated into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5B late last year, so it will be very interesting to see how Skype’s functionality will expand into CRM.
- Cross-device, Multi-browser support is finally here! Delivering “CRM Anywhere” presents a whole new level of user productivity and adoption across multiple mobile devices. Our guess is that we’ll also see newly designed CRM forms that will be more mobile-friendly and require fewer clicks. This will be especially useful for road warriors requiring quick access to information from their phones or tablets.
- MarketingPilot integration will bring robust marketing automation capabilities natively into CRM. Having a marketing automation solution that is owned and supported by Microsoft introduces a whole new paradigm to Microsoft Dynamics CRM and will enable marketers to successfully optimize customer interactions across digital, social, and traditional channels – right in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Microsoft’s acquisition of marketing software company MarketingPilot is big news and a long time coming.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is well-positioned to continue to provide tremendous value to organizations of all sizes. The recently announced Statement of Direction, November 2012, is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the future direction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
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By Ryan Plourde, ForgeXRM,
