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October 13, 2003 | Comments: (0)

Mixed CRM messages

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James Governor writes (link via Watching Microsoft Like a Hawk) that Microsoft CRM will "fundamentally redefine customer relationship management (CRM) software" primarily on the strength of its ISV and reseller channel.

I seriously question exactly how the channel will radically redefine CRM software. I don't think there is too much new to be discovered when it comes to ISV-led application integration projects.

At the same time it's interesting to note the two schools of thought at play here. In trading e-mails with the CEOs at two large hosted CRM players following my Siebel User Week story last week, it's clear that hosted companies believe the medium is the message. The delivery model is just as significant as the features offered by the software itself.

Siebel, on the other hand, is blending its rich feature set with the corporate backing of IBM's datacenter and also pushing ahead with feature upgrades to its traditional software offering. It's also rolling analytics into the mix.

So now we have a wide range of different CRM delivery models, feature sets, and the onset of Microsoft CRM FUD. Who's got it right?

Posted by Mark Jones on October 13, 2003 04:34 PM

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