In Brief: Dynamics CRM Drops Anchor in U.S. Port, Helps Client "Buy Ugly Houses"; Microsoft Awards to Top Dynamics Partners

Port of Long Beach Adopts Dynamics CRM to Integrate Contacts Information

The second-busiest seaport in the United States recently selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 to create a single enterprise-wide database of information on 15,000 contacts from 5,000 companies. The Port of Long Beach, California, assembled a team of independent consultants that evaluated Salesforce.com and Maximizer CRM 10 before recommending Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and CRM OnTarget, the world's leading provider of hosted Microsoft CRM. The port selected Dynamics CRM 4.0 due to its tight integration with Outlook; external hosting (with the option to bring it in-house); Web interface for remote access, and ability to rapidly produce custom reports. The port has 375 employees and moves more than $100 billion worth of trade annually. The Microsoft solution will unify contacts information from various spreadsheets, desktop databases, and handwritten records previously maintained across 16 divisions.

Growing Real Estate Company "Buys Ugly Houses" and Microsoft Dynamics CRM

HomeVestors of America Inc., known for its slogan, "We Buy Ugly Houses," has adopted Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 to unite corporate and franchise applications. The company has 65 corporate employees and 240 franchisees, and will use Dynamics CRM to integrate Web-based applications to evaluate property, determine repair estimates, distribute leads, and track sales. HomeVestors and its consultant ultimately chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM over SugarCRM Inc. open source software, based on the need for a holistic solution to connect the franchisees.

HomeVestors franchisees buy homes in need of repair and rehabilitate homes for sale to consumers. The company tracks leads, the purchase of houses, the rehabilitation process, and sales to customers. The ...