Microsoft Previews Next Release of Customer Relationship Management Solution

Microsoft CRM 3.0 to provide a complete Customer Relationship Management (CRM) suite with the familiar look and feel of Microsoft Office and Microsoft Outlook.

Microsoft Corp. today announced that it will preview the upcoming release of its customer relationship management solution, Microsoft® CRM 3.0, in timing with the Microsoft Tech•Ed 2005 Europe conference and the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2005 in the United States.

Microsoft CRM 3.0 will provide a complete suite of powerful marketing, sales and service capabilities, all with a familiar and consistent user experience based on Microsoft Office and Microsoft Outlook. Extensive new configuration, customization and integration capabilities will make it easier for customers and partners to deploy highly tailored solutions that help drive measurable business results and offer a low total cost of ownership (TCO).

Microsoft CRM 3.0 is designed to address the three key challenges that determine the success or failure of most CRM initiatives: user adoption, business fit and total cost of ownership. The release is focused on three main themes: • Works the way you do • Works the way your business does • Works the way IT wants it to.

“Every business — whether large or small — needs a fast, flexible and affordable way to manage and grow their relationships with current and prospective customers,” said Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft CRM. “Microsoft CRM 3.0 provides exactly what our customers and partners need: a simple user experience based on Office and Outlook, a flexible CRM platform that easily adapts to fit each business, and fast implementations that can result in a low TCO. The feedback on this release from customers, partners and industry analysts has been tremendous, and with Microsoft CRM 3.0 we can help even more companies around the world reach their business goals.”