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Siebel was the undisputable CRM market leader before NASDAQ stock market crash in April 2001. Microsoft CRM, part of Microsoft Business Solutions,
has made significant inroads into the CRM marketplace since then. Microsoft CRM has been a choice for many small to mid-sized organizations.
There're many considerations when selecting Microsoft as your CRM vendor.
Operating Systems
Traditional CRM vendors, such as Siebel and Oracle, offer their CRM products for many different platforms whether it's Unix, Linux or Windows.
Microsoft, on the other hand, likes clients who have no UNIX, LINUX, or IBM. Microsoft CRM software runs better on Microsoft Windows 2003/2000/XP/Longhorn.
This isn't a surprise since Microsoft is in the arenas of Operating Systems and Business Software. CRM software from traditional vendors tends to
perform better on Unix than on NT. If you're a MS shop, Microsoft CRM is your choice, otherwise you should carefully evaluate your options.
Integration with ERP
CRM is an integral part of your overall enterprise software solution, and it is usually integrated with ERP systems. It is paramount to investigate
the implication of integrating a new CRM with enterprise ERP systems. The failure of the ERP integration will have a much large impact on the
enterprise beyond the customer relationship management. MS CRM, no doubt, works best with Microsoft ERP. If you have Microsoft Business Solutions
(Great Plains, Solomon, Envision or Small Business Manager) in place, you will benefit more from the implementation of Microsoft CRM.
Technology Support
Different CRM products require different degree and sophistication of in-house technology support. In the fact that MS CRM and ERP are tightly integrated
with MS operation systems and other technology (messaging, object distribution etc.), MS CRM requires you to have Microsoft Certified people in staff.
This isn't an issue if you're Microsoft shop of course.
Related Topics
Microsoft Great Plains as ERP and Microsoft CRM as CRM
Microsoft Great Plains Manufacturing - before you jump there - advices to IT specialist
Microsoft Great Plains migration from one SQL Server to another - overview for consultant
Microsoft Business Solutions: ERP, CRM, RMS for small and mid-size company - overview for Consultant
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