Microsoft Looks To Boost Dynamics CRM Adoption with Gamification Acquisition, FantasySalesTeam

Microsoft announced it has acquired Incent Games LLC, the developer and owner of gamification platform FantasySalesTeam. The move will add tools that Microsoft expects will boost adoption of CRM solutions.

Integration of FantasySalesTeam with Dynamics CRM will arrive "in the coming months," according to Dynamics CRMCVP Bob Stutz in a blog post announcing the acquisition.

Stutz points to the product's ability to blend typical gamification concepts with fantasy sports themes for sales settings. He explains:

"Through team-based competition and involvement of non-sales employees (such as managers, service, operations, marketing and finance) employees "draft" teams and become truly invested in each other's success. Individual and team results become highly visible, driving both competition as well as collaboration and creating positive, impactful cultural change."

Incent Games has taken on $1.4M in funding over three rounds since its founding in 2012, according to CrunchBase. The product reportedly has hundreds of customers. The product integrates with Dynamics CRM, as well other major CRMs like Salesforce, SAP, Oracle, and Zoho, as well as homegrown systems, according to the company.

Gamification was a fairly hot topic in the 2012 and 2013 time frame when FantasySalesTeam launched. Several vendors have targeted the Dynamics CRM space with gamification solutions in the last few years, and this move by Microsoft could give competing ISVs a reason to rethink their future prospects in this space. ...