New CRM Server Planned

A new server product will help businesses track existing and prospective customers and respond to customer service requests. Microsoft Customer Relationship Management (MSCRM), from Microsoft’s Great Plains division, is designed for mid-sized businesses, and Microsoft insists that it has no plans to enter the enterprise customer relationship management (CRM) space currently served by partners such as Onyx, Pivotal, and Siebel. Nonetheless, the MSCRM announcement is a clear indication that Microsoft will compete aggressively in the packaged business applications space—a market that Microsoft primarily left to partners until its Dec. 2000 acquisition of Great Plains.

MSCRM Tracks Prospects, Customer Requests

Slated for release by the end of 2002, MSCRM is a server application for mid-sized businesses to manage their sales force and customer service representatives. It runs on Windows 2000 or later and features a browser-based interface, although users can also use Outlook to access certain information stored in the application (such as contacts and meetings). It requires SQL Server 2000 and Exchange 2000 (which requires Active Directory) for storing and retrieving data and messages; Microsoft also plans to release a connector for Lotus Notes.