Microsoft has announced a customer relationship management (CRM)
initiative aimed at letting businesses form new partnerships with
retail outlets, wholesalers, manufacturers and
e-marketplaces.
James RogersThe software giant has signed a multi-million dollar network
solutions deal with software supplier Pivotal. The two companies
will develop so-called demand chain network solutions, which are
designed to integrate e-commerce and CRM across a range of
different networks.
Analysts have given a cautious response to the three-year deal,
which combines Microsoft's .net enterprise servers with Pivotal's
XML-based enterprise applications.
"While there have been loads of problems, CRM is something that
users still feel is the best way forward for them," said Anoop
Ubhey, enterprise industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "Users
definitely need something new, but we will just have to wait and
see whether this is it."
Users are becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of
comprehensive CRM offerings on the market. Ubhey said, "End-users
aren't happy because vendors often have the technology but don't
get the CRM message across."
A recent report by Ovum suggested that traditional CRM suppliers
do not do e-commerce well, while e-commerce platform suppliers are
unlikely to provide a service to match the rest of their firm's
offering.