Microsoft shares roadmap for Dynamics CRM through first half of 2014 and other plans beyond the frontier

Microsoft Dynamics CRM still can still throw around some impressive and interesting statistics.  Wayne Morris, CVP for MBS marketing, updated the audience of over 400 at the Dynamics CRM Vision session at WPC 2013 with the latest numbers.  Dynamics CRM now has 3.5 million users, almost 40,000 customers, and Q3 of FY2013 was the product's 35th quarter of successive double digit growth.  And two-thirds of new Dynamics CRM customers are now deploying with CRM Online.

After the CRM 2013 release, planned for October, the CRM roadmap calls for two Online-only releases - Mira, scheduled for the first quarter of calendar year 2014 with a focus on the next version of MarketingPilot (and presumably its integration), and Leo in the second quarter of 2014, with a focus on updates on customer service scenarios.

Missing from the roadmap still is a firm plan on delivering Microsoft's own mobile clients for Dynamics CRM. While the tablet form factor is getting plenty of attention, Microsoft-built mobile phone interface only got a mention on the "Next Frontier" slide presented by Dynamics CRM program manager Reuben Krippner, along with several other areas:

• enhanced sales planning & analytics
• enhanced search marketing
• lync & skype integration
• integrated social
  • brand mgmt
  • social care - tweets, blogs, social posts to convert to leads, cases
• mobile client app - extended device support
• customer service enhancements - state of the art case mgmt awith SLA and Entitlement compliance

Krippner noted after the session that the major mobile app vendors in the Dynamics space continue to engage with the Dynamics CRM team as they develop and market their products, and that extensibility will be a guiding factor for ...