Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 |
Are you interested in improving productivity and strengthening your customer relationships? Then you won’t want to miss PowerObjects’ free upcoming Microsoft Dynamics CRM (customer relationship management) learning opportunities!
Contact Management vs. Customer Relationship Management Webinar
Limited by your existing Contact Management System (CMS)? Join PowerObjects for an informational webinar and learn how Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the best solution for companies to create and easily maintain a clear picture of customers, from first contact through to purchase and post-sales. We will discuss the benefits of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 vs. other Contact Management Solutions (CMS). This webinar is hosted by Doug Greiner, CRM consultant with PowerObjects.
Attend this webinar and learn how:
- Contact Management differs from a CRM solution
- A full CRM solution can enable your entire organization to access information from one centralized location
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers a variety of deployment options
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM is easy to use and integrates with familiar software such as Microsoft Office and Outlook
Join us on September 25th from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CST.
To register online, please follow: http://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=131174
Posted in Announcements, CRM Competitors, Dynamic CRM 3.0, Dynamic CRM 4.0, Dynamic Online CRM | No Comments »
Monday, August 11th, 2008 |
Salesforce.com’s rise to prominence within the CRM industry has been a study in the meteoric rise from small start-up to globe-trotting goliath. Originally started in 1999 by a former Oracle executive (Marc Benioff), Salesforce today boasts revenues of nearly $750 million and a large market share in the on-demand segment of the CRM spectrum. Many observers feels that Salesforce’s on-demand, Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings are the wave of the future when it comes to CRM. Microsoft has recognized the desire by some organizations for this type of implementation and team CRM Dev team at Microsoft has responded with features that rival SF.com with the latest edition of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
While it would be easy to dismiss our analysis of the pros and cons of Salesforce.com -v- Dynamics CRM 4.0 as simple “propaganda” from over-zealous Gold-Ceritifed Microsoft partners, the cold-hard facts do not have any bias. The product from salesforce.com has a number of limitations, and the limitations of salesforce.com have become increasingly glaring, especially since the release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. The goal of this blog is to give an even handed look at the main differences between these two competing systems. As stated above, while we are Microsoft Gold Certified Partners, we do believe in advising our clients of ALL their options…Here is a look at salesforce.com:
CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
Salesforce.com: On-Demand Only (SaaS).
MSCRM: On-Demand, On-Premise and Partner Hosted Available.
COST
Saleforce.com: Group Edition (5 users): $1,200/month , Unlimited Edition: $195 per user/month, Enterprise Edition: $125 per user/month, Standard Edition: $65 per user/month
MSCRM: CRM Live Professional Plus Edition: $59 per user/month, CRM Live Professional Edition: $44 per user/month. ((Keep in mind that there are On-Premise and Partner-Hosted solutions available as well. Also, the primary difference between Professional Plus and Professional is the ability to use offline access. It is is included with Professional Plus, but not with Professional.))
INTERFACE:
Salesforce.com: Web Based Access Only
MSCRM: Web Based Access AND Native Access Through Microsoft Office Outlook
OFF-LINE ACCESS
Salesforce.com: Only available in Unlimited and Enterpise Editions
MSCRM: Included via the Microsoft Office Outlook Client (for CRM Live Professional Plus, Partner-Hosted and On-Premise Installations)
DATABASES
Salesforce.com: No Dedicated Database. Storage limited to 1GB or 120MB/user for all versions.
MSCRM: Dedicated Databases. Storage varies from 20GB to 5GB depending on installation
WEB SERVICES INTEGRATION
Salesforce.com: Only Available in Unlimited and Enterprise Editions
MSCRM: Supported by ALL versions.
SECURITY ISSUES:
Salesforce.com: Salesforce has tried to keep this under wraps, but in November 2007 Salesforce’s databases were infiltrated as a result of a phishing scam on a Salesforce employee. There is no way to know how much customer data was compromised, as the company has been tight-lipped about the leak, but the compromised accounts were used in subsequent “spear phishing” attacks on Bank of America and other Salesforce customers. The company has not revealed whether any financial damage was done as a result of the attack and has remainded mum when pressed for details. This is an inherent problem with Salesforce.com; as much as the company attempts to secure their data, ALL of their customer data is available in one easy location for unscrupulous hackers to obtain.
MSCRM: Decentralized Data Storage. With Salesforce, one attack exposed every customer to a potential security threat. With the variety of installations available for MSCRM, there can be a higher degree of concern placed upon security. Integrate into your existing security framework via On-Premise solutions, or be certain of security on the web via HTTPS access and Windows Live ID sign ins.
While this list is certainly not intended to be an exhaustive analysis of Salesforce.com versus MSCRM, I feel that the above issues are some of the biggest “talking points” when it comes to these two competing products. While Salesforce.com may’ve had an advantage in previous years due to the inadequacies of previous versions of Dynamics CRM, the newest version of MSCRM has truly set Microsoft appart from the competition. Many of these features must be seen to be believed!
As always, you can request a free demo of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 directly from the CRM experts at PowerObjects by clicking this link. We can have a demo site deployed to you in short order, and our friendly staff of dedicated professionals is standing by, waiting to answer any questions you may have. Finally, keep in mind that we offer customized solutions to meet a variety of unique business needs. Please feel free to contact us and we will gladly chat about what CRM can do for your business!
Posted in CRM Competitors, Dynamic CRM 4.0, Dynamic Online CRM | 3 Comments »
