Microsoft details CRM suite for .Net
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
Aiming to attract medium-sized business customers in the market for CRM (customer relationship management) software, Microsoft on Thursday detailed a plan to release a Web-based business application later this year based on its .Net platform. The software maker plans to ship what it calls Microsoft CRM in North America in the fourth quarter of 2002, the company said. The software suite will provide businesses with 25 to 500 employees with a Web-based system for managing their accounting, human resources, supply chain and customer relationships, Microsoft said. This mid-sized business market is one Microsoft calls "underserved."
The suite will be offered as both a hosted service and a product that companies can deploy internally on their own servers. Based on Microsoft's .Net technology, the software is designed to allow integration with external Web services offered by third parties, such as credit checking, mapping and marketing automation services, the company said. Microsoft first announced plans to offer the CRM offering in February.