Process workloads – There was a great customer panel
with 4 organizations that described their unique business and the way they were
using Microsoft Dynamics CRM to drive productivity. I was amazed at the diversity of the use cases and the
results they were generating.

  • A local government described how they had replaced a legacy end of life
    system and were using Dynamics CRM to manage planning consent in a connected
    manner with their GIS system.
  • A nonprofit had dramatically improved their marketing and donor management
    processes.
  • A midsize company that sells reading development programs to teachers and
    administrator in school districts across the country were using it to improve
    their sales process
  • A large multinational manufacturer of high end air-conditioning systems had
    replaced 28 different internal systems to create a single view of customers and
    enable dramatically enhanced service scenarios.

 

Product extensions – I also had the chance to learn
about some of the solutions that PowerObjects have created to extend the core
capability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. PowerObjects have added photo, mapping,
search and survey capabilities to name a few. You can see more about them in the
Microsoft Dynamics marketplace. The ways our partners extend the product are countless
and we are lucky to have more than 1,200 great partners around the world.

Business models – Finally I also thought the
licensing model for the PowerObjects extensions was a great example of a partner
thinking differently. The add-ons are available as a pack through the Microsoft
Dynamics Marketplace that can be added at a very low monthly subscription
rate with a very simple customer billing experience. PowerObjects also have a
“service as a service” option to help ensure customers get the full value out of
their system without a large upfront professional services cost. They really are
thinking different.

There is no doubt that the innovation around Microsoft Dynamics CRM is
prodigious. Customers and partners are inventing new ideas every day and putting
the power of productivity to work to solve their business problems.

Have you done something innovative with Microsoft Dynamics CRM? If so, I
would love to hear about it.

Craig Dewar – Director of CRM Product Management