International Hosting Firms Support Microsoft Dynamics Strategy for Software Plus Services

At the Convergence 2007 Copenhagen customer event today, leading hosting firms from around the world committed to delivering on-demand customer relationship management (CRM) solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 4.0, formerly code-named “Titan,” due out later this year.

Partners building new on-demand solutions on Microsoft Dynamics CRM include Mondo A/S, a leading Danish IT services company; JayThom Pty Ltd., a hosted and on-premise Microsoft Dynamics CRM provider in Australia; EveryWare AG, a leading hosted business applications provider in Switzerland; and Increase Ltd., a U.K.-based hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution provider. These new partners join an extensive range of existing partners around the world that deliver on-demand solutions for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) products.

Microsoft Corp. also announced that it plans to lower the subscription licensing fees paid by its global hosting partners for Microsoft Dynamics CRM by approximately 40 percent. The lower licensing fees enable Microsoft’s hosting partners to invest more in building out their CRM offerings and growing their customer base. This price reduction is consistent with Microsoft’s long-standing strategy to deliver more affordable CRM technology through on-premise and partner-hosted deployments as well as the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live service.

“We’re committed to delivering the power of choice to our customers and to our partners,” said Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM at Microsoft. “With our global partner network and single Microsoft Dynamics CRM code base, we’re able to deliver the right combination of on-premise and on-demand solutions for customers of any size around the world.”

New CRM Release Delivers the Flexibility of Software Plus Services

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 offers a software platform that is fully multi-tenant and highly scalable, and supports multiple languages and currencies. By using a single code base for on-premise and on-demand deployments, customers are able to choose whichever model suits their business and IT needs, and to change their option over time if their needs or preferences change. In addition to a choice of deployment options, Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivers a highly productive, role-tailored user experience across a wide range of user interfaces, including Microsoft® Office Outlook®, Windows® Internet Explorer® and a broad range of mobile devices.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides a key aspect of Microsoft’s software plus services strategy. It delivers rich CRM capabilities that may be deployed as a traditional on-premise solution, as a Web-based on-demand solution, or as a flexible mix of on-premise software and on-demand services. This delivers unparalleled flexibility that allows businesses to get the most from their existing client and server systems while leveraging on-demand services where it makes sense for the business.

Partners such as Mondo, a listed international IT service company that delivers hosting and IT solutions and has switched from salesforce.com to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, clearly see business opportunities through a software plus services model. “We’re now 100 percent vested in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform,” said Lars Munch Johansen, vice president of sales and marketing at Mondo. “It wasn’t a difficult decision to switch to Microsoft Dynamics CRM; the rich feature set coupled with the power of choice to switch seamlessly between hosted and on-site deployments, and customers’ option to buy up front or pay as they go, squarely addresses our customers’ needs in a way no other company can rival.”

Global Reach for Microsoft Dynamics Hosted Solutions

Customers around the world have the flexibility to choose on-demand versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and ERP solutions that are now available from nearly 100 partners in 30 countries. They can choose solutions that are customized for a specific vertical industry or region, or client-specific solutions that are developed by partners. Partners that offer these types of on-demand Microsoft Dynamics CRM and ERP solutions include Affordable Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd., CRM OnTarget/TriVenture, CRM-Resultants, NextCorp Ltd. and Sandhills Publishing Co.

More insights into the success of partner-hosted Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions are available at PressPass (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2007/oct07/10-23dynamics.mspx) in an exclusive interview with TDC Hosting and e-know.net Ltd., both Microsoft Gold Certified suppliers of managed and hosted IT services that employ a subscription pricing model.