ERP Support, CRM, and Retail

The Microsoft Business Portal (MBP), FRx financial reporting, Forecaster budgeting, customer relationship management (CRM), and retail management solutions will all be incrementally updated at least once before the end of 2006. Though not as well known as Microsoft’s main enterprise resource planning (ERP) products, such as Axapta and Great Plains, these products round out the Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) portfolio and help position it as a one-stop shop for business management software for small and mid-size companies. However, while some of these supplemental products appear to be on well-defined release tracks, several others have delayed or scrapped planned releases, suggesting their strategies are still under development.

MBS’s additional products fall into three general product categories:

ERP support products. Several products supplement the capabilities of the MBS suite of ERP products. The MBP adds intranet-based access for Great Plains and Solomon. FRx offers financial reporting and analysis capabilities for Axapta, Great Plains, and Solomon, while Forecaster supports budgeting and forecasting.