Microsoft Dynamics CRM

[Andrew@EKWgroup]

Hi,

Has anybody used or had experience with Microsoft's CRM system?

Andy

 

[jaffab]

Yep, I tried it about 12 months ago, and gave up on it after approx 3 days. The software was not written by Microsoft, but was a buy out and they tried to shoe-horn it into exchange and... well, it doesnt really work. I got so frustrated by the complex ways it did things that I ended up deleteing it.

After Vista, it gets my vote for the worst software Microsoft ever produced.

If you are using the Outlook plug-in, that was the worst part of it - it really was a joke.

 

[RobertGowans]

In my experience both Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce are too complex for small businesses.

I recommend Capsule CRM.

http://www.capsulecrm.com

They are a UK company and their online CRM product is easy, effective and free for up to 2 users.

Hope this helps.

Robert

 

[Andrew@EKWgroup]

Yep, I tried it about 12 months ago, and gave up on it after approx 3 days. The software was not written by Microsoft, but was a buy out and they tried to shoe-horn it into exchange and... well, it doesnt really work. I got so frustrated by the complex ways it did things that I ended up deleteing it.

After Vista, it gets my vote for the worst software Microsoft ever produced.

If you are using the Outlook plug-in, that was the worst part of it - it really was a joke.

Worst software after Vista? I'll be staying well away.

What do you use now?

 

[Andrew@EKWgroup]

In my experience both Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce are too complex for small businesses.

I recommend Capsule CRM.

http://www.capsulecrm.com

They are a UK company and their online CRM product is easy, effective and free for up to 2 users.

Hope this helps.

Robert

Cheers Robert.

I'll have a look into Capsule CRM for my own business, as it's probably not suitable for what I'm looking at.

Do you know of any good CRM systems out there?

Andy

 

[RobertGowans]

Andy,

Highrise HQ is also good as is Salesforce.com (for the right company).

But it all depends on your requirements.

- How many users?

- Do you need to integrate with an existing client/accounting system?

- Online or Windows based?

- Separate Sales & Marketing teams?

- Simple or complex sales process?

- External partners?

- etc etc

You're an accountant, so you must like Excel right?

I'd put together a list of your requirements in a spreadsheet and then trial and rate a few different crm's against all your requirements.

If you want to go a step further, weight the requirements in terms of importance.

Pick the winner.

Include stuff like ease of use, cost, integration, company profile as well as all the features you need in your requirements list.

Best of luck.

Robert

PS. It's hard to get people to use CRM - keeping it simple helps, which is why I like Capsule & Highrise.

 

[RobertGowans]

Andy,

Couple more things.

I actually wrote about Small Business CRM yesterday. Worth a read perhaps.

Let me know if you need any professional help selecting the right system. As well as a previous life as a CRM Project Manager, I used to work as a Technical Architect evaluating and selecting IT systems for a large UK charity.

 

[Andrew@EKWgroup]

Andy,

Couple more things.

I actually wrote about Small Business CRM yesterday. Worth a read perhaps.

Let me know if you need any professional help selecting the right system. As well as a previous life as a CRM Project Manager, I used to work as a Technical Architect evaluating and selecting IT systems for a large UK charity.

Cheers Robert, I'll have a read

 

[jeffbearcroft]

Salesforce.com is the best I have seen out there. Beautifully smooth and works in an intuitive way.

Downside, tricky to integrate with your accounting system, which can mean some duplication of effort.

But for pure CRM, Salesforce is excellent.

Regards

Jeff

Andy,

Highrise HQ is also good as is Salesforce.com (for the right company).

 

[garyk]

Salesforce.com is the best I have seen out there. Beautifully smooth and works in an intuitive way.

Downside, tricky to integrate with your accounting system, which can mean some duplication of effort.

But for pure CRM, Salesforce is excellent.

Regards

Jeff

To be fair none of them integrate that well. Sage CRM integrates poorly with Sage 200 and Sage 500. Dynamics CRM integrates poorly with Dynamics NAV.

All a bag 'o shite!

 

[jeffbearcroft]

Yes agreed. Netsuite does both but the CRM part is nothing like as good as Salesforce.

Jeff

To be fair none of them integrate that well. Sage CRM integrates poorly with Sage 200 and Sage 500. Dynamics CRM integrates poorly with Dynamics NAV.

 

[Andrew@EKWgroup]

Yes agreed. Netsuite does both but the CRM part is nothing like as good as Salesforce.

Jeff

Cheers Jeff,

I'll have a look at Salesforce.

Andy

 

[jodie_microsoft _smb]

Hi Andy!

If you want to take a look at Microsoft CRM Online before even trying out with a trial, take a look at the video gallery to see it in action: democrmonline.com/

Regards,
Jodi E.
Microsoft SMB Outreach Team
v-jodieatmicrosoft.com

 

[Pragmatic_man]

I am a big fan and promoter of Open source software ( read as free).
Please see the demo for SUGARCRM. This is the best you can get without spending a penny if you have basic IT experience. Get it installed on a LAMP server and you are good to go. I would strongly recommend SugarCRM for all Small and medium business.