CRM Microsoft Software
July 2, 2008
Microsoft CRM is CRM answer from Microsoft Business Solutions. If you compare it to other traditional CRM applications, such as Siebel - you will see that Microsoft CRM does use all the resent Microsoft technologies, that means that Microsoft targets its CRM to Windows market exclusively, plus this means that Microsoft CRM is more difficult in its installation. Microsoft doesn’t even have to care about other platforms, such as Linux/Unix or Apple.
ISV extensions pool for MS CRM. Before you go to implement your company custom solution, you should probably check if the product is available from third party ISV vendor for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
MS CRM Integration. As the task itself it is not difficult or challenging one. You can deploy MS SQL Server linked server to show your third party or even heterogeneous data on MS CRM screens. However, when we are talking about enabling working offline - we should get different approach. Your third party system should feed data into MS CRM database - through MS CRM SDK custom utility. In CRM itself you should stick to MS CRM user defined fields. If you take this direction - MS CRM custom features will be taken by Outlook client and synchronized with local machine. Your third party data could reside as it was mentioned in heterogeneous platforms: Oracle, DB 2, Sybase, Lotus Notes Domino, SAP, Pervasive SQL 2000, Ctree or any ODBC compliant database.
MS CRM Integration with SAP Business One. This is now becoming classical integrating routine. SAP B1 has SB1 SDK, which enables MS Visual Studio C# or VB developer to manipulate SB1 business objects, such as Sales Order or Invoice.
CRM Integration with legacy systems, such as Lotus Notes Domino. Lotus to some extent is ODBC compliant DB platform, and Microsoft SQL Server is very robust to treat IBM Lotus as ODBC linked server to give you initial hint.
Self Implementation. This was surprising discovery for us about 3 years ago. Microsoft CRM deploys all the spectrum of Microsoft technologies: MS Exchange, Active Directory, full-text search, BizTalk, XML streams, .Net - and we see that Microsoft-oriented IT departments take an initiative and implement MS CRM with minimal outside help
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