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Microsoft CRM Software: The appeal of Dynamics CRM 4.0
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 helps to drive sales performance through this highly integrated system. With it, salespeople can create a complete, 360 degree view of customers, from initial contact through post-sale support.
Dynamics is fully integrated with Outlook and other Microsoft Office applications, making it very easy to get a complete picture of the client and bring in data from multiple sources. The Outlook integration is particularly useful, since the Outlook interface is instantly recognizable to new users. In addition, the wizard-driven functionality makes all CRM tasks remarkably simple, so customer-facing employees can create reports and execute other tasks without requiring the help of the IT department.
The system is remarkably full-featured, and also includes excellent reporting and forecasting tools, to help with overall planning and strategizing. There are several different ways to deploy Dynamics CRM 4.0. An on-premises deployment can be done easily, and the on-premises version of course includes the full range of features. It can also be deployed as a software-as-a-service offering through one of Microsoft’s partners. The system is hosted on the partners’ own data centers. However, because it runs on a common code base, there is never any problem with switching providers, or even in switching from an on-premise to a hosted deployment. Users also have the choice of using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, which is a SaaS solution hosted on Microsoft data centers.
The suite is made up of feature bundles that promote sales force automation, marketing, and customer support functions. In the sales force automation area, Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers a very useful contact management system for managing information about leads and contacts. Several features are present, including the ability to work with an existing product catalog, and the ability to input transactions in multiple currencies.
On the marketing side, Dynamics CRM 4.0 includes several useful marketing features, including the Quick Campaigns and Marketing Lists feature for easily creating a distribution for one or more marketing lists or campaigns.
Customer support is also done well in Dynamics CRM, with features to track customer support staff, manage customer service contracts, and link service with sales orders. This module can also be used to create a useful knowledgebase, which can then be searched to find useful information at any time.
Security is always important, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 implements a role-based security system that is highly flexible. Workflow tools are included for workflow automation, tracking information such as when a record is created or changed, or when an individual field is changed.
Lastly, each individual module has a set of standard reports that can be easily generated with a report Wizard, which is built on top of a robust and powerful reporting engine that allows for easy customization.
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