Improving the Usefulness of Sales Info: Microsoft Dynamics CRM Add-Ons Offer New Data Services

Whoever said "information is power" was probably ahead of his time. This old adage is more relevant today than ever before for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM community. There seems to be a mini trend developing that might lead many Dynamics CRM customers to start ditching their legacy data in favor of more reliable, single source, actively cleansed, updated and targeted information.

There have long been companies like Hoover's and OneSource that peddle corporate data, but with the advent of the internet and the maturity of sales and marketing technologies, companies are not only demanding information that is up-to-date, accurate and actionable, but also information that works and fits seamlessly with other existing systems and technologies.

There have been several announcements in recent weeks from companies providing solutions related to Dynamics CRM and third party data. Companies such as Insideview.com, CRM Innovation LLC and Jigsaw.com are among those companies making news recently with their Dynamics CRM related solutions.

InsideView recently demonstrated its SalesView sales intelligence solution at Microsoft PDC09. According to its web site, SalesView "continuously aggregates and analyzes relevant executive and corporate data from thousands of content sources to uncover new sales opportunities. SalesView delivers this intelligence natively within CRMs and mobile devices for optimum usability." SalesView is an example of how xRM solutions are being developed that do not to disrupt, remove, or over-write unrelated customizations or configurations already made to a CRM system.

Another ISV developing related solutions is CRM Innovation LLC, whose products are aimed at making the importing of data ...