Microsoft CRM partners' hopes ride on V.2
eWeek | at | by Mike
Functionality holes and a slow product-upgrade cycle have created headaches and opportunities for Microsoft's CRM partners. Those partners are looking to the long-awaited Version 2 of Microsoft's customer relationship management suitescheduled to be released to manufacturing in Marchto plug the gaps in the product and make it easier to sell to their customers.
Microsoft, which has relied on partners and resellers to fill functionality gaps in its CRM offering since the product debuted in early 2003, will also rely on partners to build integrations with its back-office applicationsintegration that Microsoft had planned to deliver itself by this quarter. A Microsoft spokesperson said the reason for the shift is that most customers are buying Microsoft CRM as a stand-alone solution and don't require integration with ERP systems.