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Microsoft Reports "Huge Huge Demand in the Pipeline" for CRM Live

by Jason Gumpert
Editor, MSDynamicsWorld.com

Microsoft currently has 500 organizations running its new CRM Live in beta version.

According to Bill Patterson, director of product management for CRM Live, "There is huge huge demand in the pipeline" for when CRM Live actually goes live in June.

He declined in an interview with MSDynamicsWorld.com at Convergence 2008  to project how many customers Microsoft might have for its potentially hot new product, but Patterson tried to set the bar low by pointing out that Salesforce.com had about 1,000 customers after its first year. "A year from now, we'll have at least that. I think we could have a lot more."

Why has it taken so long to get CRM Live into the marketplace, since Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer ballyhooed it at last year's Convergence show? "We didn't have enough time in our beta process," he said. "This is the first time we are building a business service."

He said that in its beta version, Microsoft restricted access to a maximum of 250 users in any single organization. That wasn't enough for everyone, he acknowledged. "I could not fulfill all the demand."

He added that CRM Live is most appropriate for companies with fewer than 1,000 users. For organizations with more than 1,000 users, a premises-based system is preferable.
Customer Relationship Mgmt Dynamics CRM
About Jason Gumpert

As the editor of MSDynamicsWorld.com, Jason oversees all editorial content on the site and at our events, as well as providing site management and strategy. He can be reached at jgumpert@msdynamicsworld.com.

Prior to co-founding MSDynamicsWorld.com, Jason was a Principal Software Consultant at Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), where he implemented solutions, trained customers, managed software development, and spent some time in the pre-sales engineering organization. He has also held consulting positions at CSC Consulting and Monitor Group.

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