Microsoft picks CRM partners

Trade

Microsoft Ireland has picked five partners to work with the company in launching its latest product, Microsoft CRM.  Fujitsu, Mentec, Sysco, Capricorn and Ventis will be helping the vendor to penetrate the all-important SME market for the new product, which
was launched in Ireland on 20th April.

The company has already recruited 60 partners to sell Microsoft CRM in the Irish market, but the five launch partners have undergone the requisite training and certification to enable them to implement the product straightaway. The remaining 55 are currently
undergoing the accreditation process, which involves three separate modules of training.

Speaking at a pre-launch briefing, Neil Tanner, Business Solutions group manager (who joined Microsoft three months ago from Sage Ireland) said some of the 60 partners were new to CRM, while others were new to Microsoft. All of these partners attended a
Microsoft pre-launch event held in mid-April.

Tanner cites analysis from IDC and Gartner which underlines the importance of companies taking a structured approach to implementing CRM. ‘They must come up with a CRM strategy and engage with a partner who understands CRM,’ he said. He added
that one inhibitor to growth, according to Gartner, was the quality of business partners, but the combination of Microsoft’s partner model and the ease of implementation of the new product would help to boost sales.

He estimates that it would take on average three months to implement the new product in a company with approximately 15 employees. Tanner said the company was confident of winning between 150 and 200 Irish customers for the product by this time next year. This is out of the 500-700 companies based in
Ireland that Tanner estimates will be investing in CRM in the next 12 months. Microsoft Ireland’s own research suggested that only about six per cent of Irish SMEs currently use CRM. This is fairly close to findings from research firm Gartner that SME CRM usage
across EMEA averages about 10 per cent. The firm also predicts that 100,000 SMEs in EMEA will invest in CRM over the next 18 months.

A key selling point of Microsoft CRM is that it integrates seamlessly with MS Outlook, which Tanner says is used by a large percentage of US customers to do basic CRM-related functions like contact management and sales management. In the US, 1,500
customers have so far acquired Microsoft CRM.

The new product has two modules, a sales module and a customer management module that can be bought together or separately. There is also a choice of Standard and Professional editions. In what is a clear response to the popularity of hosted CRM from the likes of
Salesforce.com, the company is also planning to launch a hosted version of the new product and is currently evaluating partners who could provide this, said Tanner.

The product costs €300 per user for a Standard edition sales model rising to €1,000 for the Professional suite edition.  The application is designed to run off Microsoft’s Small Business Server 2003, but Win 2K infrastructure can also run the application.  Tanner revealed that there would be a special promotion whereby customers who invest in SBS 2003 will obtain an 80 per cent discount on Microsoft CRM.

Tanner is responsible for new Irish division of Microsoft Business Solutions that will eventually comprise three people by 2005, including himself, a technical specialist and a marketing manager.
Meanwhile, Microsoft Ireland has launched a price promotion targeted at the SMB sector that will run until June 30th. The scheme will allow customers who are looking to upgrade
their software applications to avail of a 15 per cent discount on open and open subscription licences for a range of Microsoft software offerings, including Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Windows XP Professional upgrade.

24/05/04

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