• How much will it cost?
• What kind of return on investment can we expect?
• What is the total cost of ownership?
• How much will it save us over time?
• And more…

As with any business purchase, what you put into and what you get out of a CRM software purchase depends largely on your organizational needs and processes.  However, Forrester Research has provided a way for you to get an idea of the costs and expected financial results from implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

In order to complete “The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011” report, Forrester interviewed several companies implementing the new release of Dynamics CRM and conducting their own financial analysis on the information.  They then applied their research to a composite company and determined that an organization similar to their composite could anticipate:

• A ROI of 243%
• A payback period of only 4.1 months
• A three-year NPV of $665,086 (risk-adjusted net benefits)

In addition, they were able to quantify on a benefit-by-benefit basis the extent to which Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivers productivity gains and cost savings through both people and processes.  Throughout their findings, Forrester demonstrates how Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 can provide your organization with a solution that simplifies your processes and makes you more agile, all while delivering a great value.

For an in-depth look at this research and analysis, download “The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011” report here.

Microsoft made changes to their plans across the board, starting with name.  What had previously been known as CRM5 is now officially Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.  They also added 8 additional international markets to the 32 that had previously been announced where CRM 2011 will be available, bringing the total to 40 countries and 41 languages. 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 promises to deliver “The Power of Productivity” through familiar, intelligent and connected experiences for people inside and outside an organization. This release will also enable users to easily access Microsoft Dynamics CRM extensions and custom solutions from within their system through the integrated Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, which is being released in September 2010 along with the public beta of Dynamics CRM 2011 Online.

Learn more about what to expect in the release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011!

Cost:  In the CRM Software pricing competition, Maximizer wins.  Their per-user pricing starts at $499 where as the Microsoft Dynamics CRM pricing for a full user is $995 plus server costs.  With this gap in pricing, it is to be expected that there would be a significant difference in functionality. 

Sales Force Automation (SFA) Features 

Both products boast a complete set of lead, opportunity, and territory management tools including analytics, real-time offline and mobile access, forecasting and tracking, and email marketing tools. 

The largest different in SFA features comes at the point of integration.  While Microsoft Dynamics CRM has direct integrations with other Microsoft Dynamics software including accounting and financial management business solutions like Microsoft Dynamics GP, Maximizer ties-in to QuickBooks accounting software.  This is the first hint that Maximizer is geared towards smaller organizations while Dynamics CRM is better suited to fit the needs of a growing small to mid-sized business. 

Service and Support Features

Both Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Maximizer CRM contain very similar centrailized case management features.  Both provide automated creation, monitoring, and response mechanisms as well as searchable Knowledge bases and customized reporting. 

They both also have unique ways of streamlining service processes.  Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides team and group workflow so that customer data flows to the right people at the right time, while Maximizer provides an “at-a-glance dashboard” of service and support activity.  Both are viable ways of displaying this critical data; the question is: how do you want to see it?

Marketing Features

Both Maximizer and Dynamics CRM solutions contain similar marketing campaign planning, automation, and management tools.  At the center of Maximizer’s marketing functionality is email marketing automation including list and campaign management as well as anti-spam tools.  Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s email marketing functionality leverages elements of Microsoft Outlook, in which it is set.  

While Maximizer focuses on email functionality, Dynamics CRM focuses on workflow and connecting marketing to the rest of the organization.  The Microsoft Dynamics workflow model enables enhanced marketing and sales collaboration as well as automating information sharing through portals and reporting using other Microsoft applications. 

When you look at all of these functional areas together alongside cost, it appears that these two products are better suited for different types of organizations.  Maximizer has a slightly more limited feature set and integrates with small business tools.  Both of those facts, along with the lower user cost, indicate that it might be best suited for a smaller organization that does not have plans for significant growth.  On the other hand, Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s more robust feature set and direct integration with Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions make it a better solution for mid-sized businesses or small business gearing up for long-term growth. 

Find out first-hand which CRM solution is right for your business:  Try Microsoft Dynamics CRM for yourself for 30-days!

There are countless benefits to attending Convergence 2010 in Atlanta, April 24-27th, but for Microsoft Dynamics CRM users, there are 63 big ones! 

63 is the number of sessions currently listed in the Convergence Session Catalog geared specifically to Dynamics CRM.  To help you better understand what kind of fantastic content these sessions will provide you with, we ran the numbers.  There are:

7 User Group Breakouts focused on…

• Promoting user adoption
• Data management techniques
• Troubleshooting
• Integration options and third-party partner solutions

14 Hands on Lab opportunities to explore…

• Workflow building
• Marketing automation
• Industry solutions for government, professional services, manufacturing, and wealth management
• The benefits and resources of CustomerSource

25 Concurrent Sessions featuring…

• Accellerators
• xRM
• Industry Solutions for financial services, insurance, manufacturing, and the public sector
• Business Intelligence and Integrations

16 Interactive Discussions focused on…

• Social Media
• Tips and Tricks
• Customization and Integration
• Marketing and Sales Force Automation

Add to these 63 sessions the executive keynote presentations, networking opportunities, free technical support, volunteer activities, and fantastic receptions available exclusively to InterDyn clients and it’s hard to think of a reason why you would NOT want to attend Convergence 2010!

Date: October 13, 2009
4:15-5:30 p.m.

Location:

The Conference Center at NorthPointe
9243 Columbus Pike
Lewis Center, OH 43035

Join Socius and Axonom for a complimentary seminar as we uncover the depth of XRM, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform component that manages relationships with vendors, employees, prospects, dealers, as well as interactions with projects, equipment, properties, grants, legislation, and more.

We’ll give you ideas for leveraging the flexible XRM platform for things like:

• Complex quoting and ordering of products
• Handling incoming customer service calls and outbound telemarketing calls
• Automating collaboration with external parties through web self-service components using portal technologies

Registration is complimentary (a $250 value)
Cancellations within 7 days of the event or no-shows will incur a $25 fee.

The Finding the Hidden Treasure within your Company by Better Managing ALL of your Relationships with XRM seminar is taking place during Aspire 2009, Socius annual conference.

By attending this seminar, you will have access to the entire Aspire conference including an inspirational keynote address on Innovation in a Changing World, networking opportunities with professionals from across the Midwest, and 24 additional breakout sessions on software and business issues.

Choose a session to attend during Breakout Session 1
Choose a session to attend during Breakout Session 2

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online vs. SalesForce.com Enterprise Edition

Sales Force Automation:

• Both have the typical sales-force management tools and opportunity tracking, analytics and forecasting tools.
• SalesForce focuses on the strength of their built-in mobility features, while Microsoft Dynamics enables mobility as an add-on where needed.
• Microsoft also boasts a complex quote generation tool as well as sales literature generation from within the system and direct email marketing.
• While SalesForce is integrated with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Dynamics CRM is built directly into Outlook for expedited email management.

Service and Support:

• SalesForce and Microsoft CRM Online are very similar in this area with automated email management, customer access to knowledge bases, case management and resolution analytics.
• SalesForce also Computerized Telephony Integration and a self-service customer portal, both of which can be integrated into Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, but aren’t readily available.

Marketing Automation: These products are almost identical in their marketing automation features.  They both include:

• Campaign planning, automation, and management
• List management
• Email marketing management and automation
• Workflow customization
• Reporting, Analytics and Dashboards

Price:  When it comes to price, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is the clear winner.  The Microsoft Dynamics Pricing is almost 1/3rd that of SalesForce.com.

Microsoft = $44 to $59 per user per month
SalesForce = $125 per user per month

“Microsoft Dynamics CRM offered the functionality we were looking for and the familiar Outlook-style interface, for about one-third the cost of SalesForce.com.” – Clint Brown, President and CEO of the Florence Freedom baseball team, a client of Socius, an Ohio CRM Online provider and Ohio Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner.  Read more about the Florence Freedom’s success with Microsoft Dynamics CRM !

Try Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online with a Free Software Trial for 30 Days!