Microsoft jumps into CRM market
C|Net | at | by Mike
Microsoft tossed its hat into the growing customer relationship management ring when it previewed its first CRM product here Thursday. Due for release by the year's end, Microsoft Customer Relationship Management has two modules: one for sales people and the other for customer service representatives. The software will exchange data with Microsoft's desktop applications including its Outlook and Internet Explorer, as well as with its back-office applications, such as accounting and financial packages.
Branching out toward CRM is just one part of Microsoft's expansion into the business applications market, now dominated by SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft and Siebel. It started with Microsoft's acquisition of accounting applications company Great Plains last year. In May, the company agreed to acquire a Danish software company called Navision to increase its reach in that market in Europe.