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Tag: Microsoft Dynamics CRM

  • Hootsuite Gets Microsoft Enterprise Integrations

    Hootsuite Gets Microsoft Enterprise Integrations

    Hootsuite announced a new major integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft SharePoint and Yammer, which will all integrated with the Hootsuite Platform.

    A spokesperson for Hootsuite tells WebProNews, “The collaboration with Microsoft will enable enterprise organizations to utilize social content in more meaningful ways across the organization, including social marketing, social selling, and social customer support.”

    “At Microsoft, we’re committed to providing the best-in-class platforms and productivity services. We know that when businesses have access to products like Hootsuite and Microsoft, they can do amazing things. This in turn has the potential to empower change, and create a wave of innovation and growth,” said Janet Kennedy, President of Microsoft Canada.

    With the Dynamics CRM integration, enterprises will be able to identify and create leads, opportunities, or cases and input them into Dynamics CRM Online from the Hootsuite Dashboard. They’ll also be able to add social data to the customer record within Dynamics CRM.

    The SharePoint integration will enable them to utilize social media content across teams to improve collaboration. Employees will be able to publish content found on their social networks into the public and team SharePoint sites. Users will also be able to bring content from SharePoint sites into the Hootsuite Dashboard.

    Yammer integration will enable employees to collaborate in real time while engaging with customers on social media.

    Image via Hootsuite

  • Microsoft Dynamics Gets Updates, Expands To New Markets

    Microsoft Dynamics Gets Updates, Expands To New Markets

    Microsoft announced that “significant new capabilities and marketing, customer care and social listening” are now available globally as part of its spring wave of updates for Dynamics CRM in 54 markets and 42 languages.

    Also new is a “Unified Service Desk” for on-premises customers. The new capabilities are part of Dynamics CRM 2013 Service Pack 1.

    Microsoft is expanding availability of Dynamics CRM in new markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, and South America. They’re starting with Turkey this month.

    CEO Satya Nadella said, “Microsoft Dynamics CRM has made unbelievable progress over the last few years, and the amazing capabilities in this release deliver significant value to our customers as an important component of the Microsoft Cloud for business. Through innovative business applications in the cloud, businesses can better meet their customers’ needs and thrive in a changing world.”

    “In addition to enjoying the benefits of these new capabilities across marketing, sales and service, customers can be comfortable doing business with Microsoft when it comes to their data,” said Bob Stutz, corporate vice president of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “We focused our development efforts on understanding what our customers need to deliver amazing customer experiences. We redesigned our user interface, implemented a six-month rapid release cycle, made three acquisitions and built many new features — all culminating in the wave of releases we are bringing to market today.”

    The company notes that its contractual commitments for Dynamics CRM Online meet the requirements of the EU’s “model clauses” and privacy law standards.

    Microsoft is also enabling self-service capabilities in its Parature offering and multichannel capabilities in Dyanmics CRM Online.

    Image via Microsoft

  • Microsoft Buys Parature For Dynamics CRM

    Microsoft Buys Parature For Dynamics CRM

    Microsoft announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire cloud-based customer service software provider Parature. The company will add the software to its Microsoft Dynamics CRM suite.

    “Customers are more connected and better informed than ever before. Organizations are looking for business solutions that can strengthen their ability to connect with customers on their own terms, using whatever device and whatever channel they prefer,” said Bob Stutz, corporate vice president, Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “Parature is a perfect fit for every business and will enable us to offer customers one of the best cloud-based solutions for customer self-service. This is a compelling combination for organizations committed to delivering the best service experience that consistently exceeds their customers’ expectations.”

    Stutz talks more about the news in a blog post.

    “We strongly believe that the ability to deliver great customer care lies at the heart of a company’s efforts to build loyalty and trust,” he writes. “To succeed in this realm, organizations must seamlessly handle interactions across the many channels, including an ever increasing array of social channels. Parature’s technology allows businesses to create brand champions by taking advantage of functionality that includes self-service customer care portals on the web and Facebook, mobile customer care, chat capabilities, and a strong knowledge base, giving their customers the ability to connect with them on the channels they prefer. These capabilities are a perfect complement to the existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM customer care offering as well as some exciting things we have planned for our next release.”

    Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company plans to share more details about its product integration plans and timeline at Parafest 2014 in February.

    Image: Parature

  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM For Mobile Coming In Q2

    Microsoft announced a new service update for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, coming in Q2, which will bring mobile access to the product, surely a long overdue feature for users.

    Mobile access is becoming an increasingly important element to just about all web/software services. It’s going to continue to be an important for services to stay competitive. That goes for CRM products. Just a couple weeks ago, for example, at MacWorld iWorld, Elements CRM announced an iPad version.

    Microsoft says Dynamics CRM will be available for “virtually any device with a new cloud-based, cross-platform, native mobile client service for Windows Phone 7, iPad, iPhone, Android and BlackBerry mobile devices.” That’s access to complete functionality of the product, mind you.

    “In today’s hyperconnected world, customers need to be able to access their business-critical data on the device of their choice from wherever they are,” said Dennis Michalis, GM of the product. “These advancements, combined with the strength of the Microsoft platform, make Microsoft Dynamics CRM an obvious choice for any business.”

    The update will also include enhanced social functionality and new enterprise-class features, as well as multiple web browser options (IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari), the company says.

    Pricing will start at $30 per user, per month. That includes support of up to three devices per user.

    A preview is available here.

  • Microsoft Unveils Dynamics CRM 2011, Dynamics Marketplace

    Microsoft demonstrated its next-generation CRM release at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference today. Previously known as CRM5, the product’s official name is Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Along with the release (coming in beta in September), will be the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace, described as an online catalog to provide an easy way for partners to market and distribute solutions to Microsoft Dynamics customers.

    "The marketplace will allow customers to quickly search, discover and apply industry-specific applications and solution extensions from Microsoft and its partners to help them accelerate and extend their CRM and ERP implementations," the company explains. "Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace will be integrated within Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, allowing customers to search for applications directly from within their CRM solution."

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace

    "Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 will further deliver ‘The Power of Productivity’ through familiar, intelligent and connected experiences for customers and partners," says Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. "For customers, it offers new levels of user productivity and collaboration that meet their specific business needs with a low total cost of ownership. For partners, it unlocks new opportunities and provides a single development environment for cloud-based and on-premise deployments. Together, this new release raises the bar in the CRM market."

    Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 will be released in online form before software form, as Microsoft is heavily pushing the cloud.