Microsoft Releases Dynamics CRM Online

April 22, 2008 from InformationWeek – “Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s been dabbling with on-demand software services for awhile, but the general availability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, beginning Tuesday, marks its most significant effort yet to provide the market with an alternative to Salesforce.com.

The software service for managing a business's customer contacts, sales information, and marketing efforts is available as a subscription and hosted from Microsoft's data centers using a multitenant architecture. General availability follows months of testing by 500 Microsoft customers.

Microsoft is trying to beat Salesforce.com on price and storage options. The base version, called Professional, costs $44 per month per user following a one-year introductory rate of $39 per month. That includes 5 GB of data storage per organization and the ability to customize workflows. The Professional Plus version costs $59 per user per month with 20 GB of storage, with more customization features and the ability to synchronize data contained in other systems with the service. Users access the service using Microsoft Outlook or a Web browser as an interface.

180 View – Microsoft is now fighting yet another war (with Salesforce.com), but it’s a war that they are well equipped to wage. But Salesforce.com has formidable allies especially in Google. Click here to see the April 15, 2008 from itWorldCanada entitled “Google, Salesforce.com partner on business apps”