There will be 100 new features included in 2.0, according to Brad Wilson, general manager for Microsoft Business Solutions CRM, many of which reach into entirely new areas of functionality.

Ultimately, however, Microsoft CRM's success will rely largely on how well its business partners are able to market and support the software.

Vertical Emphasis

"Partners are central to our entire approach of how we are bringing Microsoft CRM into the marketplace," Wilson says. Microsoft's commitment to its network of resellers and partners includes providing sales and marketing support, along with tools and other I.T. infrastructure to help the companies build their own add-ons or industry-specific verticals.

Indeed, with the expected changes in 2.0 -- it will, for instance, provide better customization features, according to Wilson -- analysts expect to see some of Microsoft's partners move in that direction.

"Microsoft is focusing on building new development tools for partners, as well as developing better interfaces in order for the partners to build vertical applications on top of the CRM suite," Yankee Group analyst Sheryl Kingstone says. "That is where they are trying to go."

Microsoft CRM also will focus on international partners with the new release, especially as Microsoft continues to localize the application in more and more languages. "Our international customer base is growing very quickly; it has become almost 40 percent of Microsoft's business," Wilson notes.

Broadening Distribution

Prospective buyers, however, should consider the orientation of the reseller before selecting one over another. In short, not all partners reselling Microsoft CRM are as well versed in CRM as they might be in other applications.

This is not new news, of course. Around the same time that Microsoft was getting set to release CRM 1.2, it also announced that it would allow any partner to resell the application. Prior to that point, distribution had been limited to the smaller -- and more expensive -- Microsoft Business Solutions channel.

"It was a controversial distribution policy," Kingstone says. It also suggested a lack of understanding on the part of Microsoft that CRM is relatively easy software to deploy and then use. (continued...)

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