Growing the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Opportunity, Part 1: Partners adapt to changing demands

There comes a time in every value-added reseller's life when the question of, "Should we add additional software platforms to our capabilities lineup?" comes into play. In this 2-part series we'll answer that question from the perspective of the partner that's already successfully added Microsoft Dynamics CRM to its own offerings, show the highs and lows of doing this, and hear what Microsoft has to say about the opportunity.

As we'll see in the second part of this series, Microsoft is using a range of programs and incentives to attract new CRM partners and get more performance out of existing value added resellers (VARs). Here, we will learn more about the experiences of three partners who have adopted Dynamics CRM in recent years.

From Waterfall to Agile

It's been about 18 months since Arbela Technologies of Irvine, Calif., added Dynamics CRM to its stable of software offerings. According to Tim Harris, vice president of strategy and solutions, the company made the move in response to customer inquiries for more robust CRM and marketing capabilities than were offered natively in Microsoft Dynamics AX. And at that point in time, they noted that the Dynamics CRM platform had matured to the point that made it "very attractive to the marketplace." That includes both the CRM and the XRM components, he notes, and the software's ability to "extend out" across different capabilities.  

"The online and offline capabilities and synchronization with Microsoft Outlook were also very attractive to a lot of our customers," says Harris, who immediately noticed the nuances between selling CRM versus selling ERP solutions. While the latter is more focused on operational efficiency, CRM is more ...