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CRM From Microsoft Updated After Four Months
 TMCnet Contributing Editor
Industry observer Chris Kanaracus has reported that Microsoft ( News - Alert) has added Internet marketing features to its Dynamics CRM Online software, described by company officials as "the first in a series of planned updates for the set of hosted applications that the company launched earlier this year."
Microsoft officials said its addition of the technology will enable Dynamics CRM Online users to create search-based marketing campaigns, according to Kanaracus, and "capture sales leads from corporate Web sites and weigh the effectiveness of marketing campaigns from the standpoint of click-through and conversion rates, among other capabilities."
This would be the first update since Dynamics CRM Online's coming out party four months ago. Enhancements will be available to customers at no extra charge.
According to Microsoft officials, users will be able to create and manage online campaigns and gain an idea of the profit they are generating with click-through and conversion rates.
Industry observer Rosalie Marshall said customers "can also test key words using search engine optimization, and capture sales leads from Web pages hosted by Microsoft or their own organization."
Noted CRM consultant Denis Pombriant, an analyst at Beagle Research Group, told Kanaracus that Microsoft must focus on features as well as cost as it tries to compete with Salesforce.com ( News - Alert) and other on-demand CRM sellers.
Microsoft's entry into Internet marketing "is very important for several reasons," Pombriant told Kanaracus: "First, it was a hole in the offering. And since big players like Salesforce have it and their customers depend on it for some of their market outreach, it would be impossible to pry customers away from Salesforce without such functionality."
Since September 1 customers have been able to move any of 41 Microsoft server applications between servers within a server farm as often as necessary without paying additional licensing fees, and can get expanded specialized technical support as well.
"Businesses are taking steps to make their IT operations more dynamic and are delving into virtualization as a cornerstone strategy," said Zane Adam, senior director of integrated virtualization in the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft.
Microsoft also will begin a worldwide series of "Get Virtual Now" events this month that will showcase Microsoft virtualization products and partner products, reaching more than 250,000 IT workers, the company said.
Microsoft said it is updating its software licensing terms for 41 server applications, including Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise edition, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Standard and Enterprise editions, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Enterprise and Professional editions, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, and Microsoft System Center products.
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David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of David's articles, please visit his columnist page. He also blogs for TMCnet here.
Edited by Mae Kowalke
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