Microsoft Dynamics CRM still a leader in latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for SFA

In its latest Magic Quadrant for sales force automation (SFA), Gartner separates out Microsoft Dynamics CRM on-premise and CRM Online, placing them both in its leader quadrant. On-premise rates higher in the "ability to execute" dimension and leads all solutions with the exception of Salesforce.com.

The  new report keeps Microsoft's second overall position behind Salesforce.com as compared with past reports including 2012 and the Magic Quadrant for SFA 2010 report.

Strengths of Dynamics CRM on-premise remain almost unchanged in Gartner's eyes, like its integration to the Microsoft technology stack including SharePoint, Lync, Visual Studio, and Outlook. The new 'process UI', which is not fully released yet, has already won praise from the analyst firm for improving user experience.

One caution of note for Dynamics CRM on-premise, according to the report's authors, is Microsoft's ability to deliver on its smartphone plans both in terms of hitting the planned dates and delivering real value on those platforms.  Beyond that, Microsoft's weakness in its "ability to directly sell value to the VP of sales" drew a note, perhaps in reference to the report's focus on evaluating sales performance management.

CRM Online has actually risen into the leaders quadrant from just below the "ability to execute" threshold in 2012.  It loses points in the "ability to execute" dimensions due to the comparative lack of flexibility in reporting and analytics compared to Dynamics CRM on-premise. Gartner notes that "[m]ost customers with complex reporting and analytics needs will bring the data on-premises and use SQL Server Reporting Services."

The authors also note that "Microsoft does not provide a development sandbox, ...