Microsoft has delayed the date of manufacture for its CRM product
from the end of the year to early 2003.
Until this week the company had said the product would be released
to manufacturing by the year's end. Earlier this month, Microsoft
senior product manager Holly Holt said the aim was to get the
product ready before the winter holidays, adding that Microsoft
would not release the software with known problems just to make
that deadline.
The primary cause for the delay is Microsoft's inability to deliver
the seamless front-end to back-end integration, said Yankee Group
analyst Cheryl Kingstone.
So far, Microsoft has relied on its BizTalk server coupled with
connection licences out of the box to integrate the CRM product
with Great Plains accounting software, but links to other
applications are not in place, Kingstone said.
"They really need to have seamless integration with the Small
Business Suite, and it's not up to snuff yet," she added. "If they
don't, end-users are going to have to pay more for professional
services costs."
Microsoft's CRM offering rolls up sales opportunities but does not
yet effectively roll up all the details around an account - such as
tasks and sales call data - to provide a single view of an account.
The only way Microsoft supported customisation of views is via a
software development kit. Competitors offer easier ways to
customise software, she added.
Release to manufacturing marks an important milestone in product
development for Microsoft, since that is when the code is declared
complete and is sent original equipment manufacturers and partners
for distribution.