MSDynamicsWorld.com

By averaging the results of a dozen analyst reports, CIO, a leading business technology magazine determined that around one third of CRM projects fizzle out. At the same time, The Harvard Business Review, anecdotally, found that a whopping 90% miss their marks. 

For his part, Chuck Ingram, the CEO of Microsoft D365 Partner congruentX, is still in love with the technology. 

“I’ve been a CRM guy since the late ‘90s,” he says. “I’ve watched it grow to a $50 billion industry, and now it’s moving towards $80 billion, but (its success rates) remain a flip-of-the-coin.” 

The root of the problem, Chuck says, is that people don’t want to spend their time in a CRM. Instead, they’d like their system to help them do something else. 

“If you start to talk about clients instead of projects and outcomes instead of hours, the way you approach it becomes a lot different,” he says. And that’s just what congruentX does. 

Chuck says that his company works to contextualize user interfaces. If a user wants to get ready for a meeting, for example, only the content he or she needs to see to prepare for it is displayed. The 360-degree view of their ongoing project, while still accessible, doesn’t always need to be front-and-centre, Chuck says. 

Microsoft’s AI-driven low-code development platform, Power Platform, allows Chuck and his team to develop tailor-made solutions to their client’s problems and then connect them directly to their D365 CE system. These days, a perfect fit is essential, he says. 

"Especially in a world filled with Alexas, Siris and Cortanas, user experience is paramount,” Chuck explains. "This new customer experience is happening at the Edge; outside in, not inside out.” 

CRMs are turning into systems of record rather than systems of engagement, Chuck says. Integrating a CRM with contact management systems, like Outlook and Teams, represents a significant step in the direction of CRM success. 

And Power Apps, for its part, is already making its way down the path.