Microsoft cloud CRM takes on Salesforce, Siebel
January 18, 2011
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online – the cloud version of Dynamics CRM 2011 – is now available. The on-premise and partner-hosted versions won’t be released until the end of February.
Microsoft is using the launch of Dynamics CRM Online to go after Salesforce.com and Oracle customers.
This starts with an promotional price of $A42.25 per user per month (available until June 30, and applying only to the first 12 months of service).
There’s also a bounty of up to $A249 per user for Salesforce.com and Oracle customers who switch to Dynamics CRM Online. (This is one situation where you can’t accuse an IT vendor of using an exchange rate that works against the customer’s interest – US customers only get $US200.)
The fine print is that customers must license at least 15 seats and the bounty ends with the 250th seat, they must commit to Dynamics CRM Online for at least two years, and the qualifying products are Salesforce.com Professional, Enterprise and Unlimited, and Oracle’s Siebel CRM and CRM On-Demand.
The idea is that the bounty can be used to help pay for data migration or customisation. It might have been more convincing if Microsoft had offered to perform the migration and deliver any necessary customisation and retraining.
Our approach to cloud computing brings new opportunities for our business partners. This includes independent software vendors such as Connect2Field, global system integrators including Avanade and HP, large national system integrators like CSG and Oakton, and CRM centric value-added resellers such as eSavvy and JayThom, to name just a few," said Ross Dembecki, Microsoft Australia’s lead product manager for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
One local early adopter is ‘daily deals’ site Cudo. CTO Greg Willis said "To support our growth and agility we need to build our business on platforms that give us on-demand scale, the ability to pay as we grow and a familiar, rich set of functionality for our teams to use wherever they are.
"The combination of a cloud deployment option and the seamless integration with Microsoft Office Outlook 2010 made this new version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM an ideal choice for our development – even during the beta."
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is now available in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 will be globally available on February 28.