REDMOND, Wash. /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Microsoft Business Solutions today announced
significant enhancements to Microsoft(R) Business
Solutions CRM 1.2, due to be released in August.
This Microsoft CRM 1.2 feature pack will deliver
additional features without additional license fees
to Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) CRM customers. The
feature pack will increase the
value of the CRM solution in three key areas: closer
integration with Microsoft Office 2003, availability
of Microsoft CRM Mobile 1.2 and additional feature
enhancements.
Deeper Integration With
Microsoft Office 2003
The recently announced Microsoft Office Information
Bridge Framework will considerably deepen the
integration between Microsoft Office 2003 and
Microsoft CRM. This closer integration will make it
easier for users to create and track sensitive
letters, escalate cases and look up customer data,
all without leaving Microsoft Office 2003. This
eliminates the need to switch back
and forth between programs. In addition, through
powerful integration and collaboration between
Microsoft CRM, Microsoft Office 2003 and Windows(R)
SharePoint(R) Services, Microsoft Office Solution
Accelerator for Proposals for Microsoft CRM will
enable organizations to create effective sales
proposals and shorten proposal-generation cycles
"This feature pack truly delivers on Microsoft's
commitment to integrated innovation," said Anders
Brown, group product manager for the Information
Worker New Markets Solutions Group at Microsoft
Corp. "Two already great products -- Microsoft CRM
and Microsoft Office 2003 -- have already proved
themselves to be powerful tools for conducting
business more efficiently and
supporting strong customer relationships. The
deepened integration helps our customers harness the
true power of both products and create a business
environment characterized by a high level of
collaboration and productivity."
The new Microsoft Office 2003 integrations to Microsoft
CRM will be available in both American and
International English in August. Additional language
localization will be delivered in the fourth quarter
of this year: Information Bridge Framework in
German, and Office Solution Accelerator for
Proposals in French, Spanish and German.
Microsoft CRM Mobile 1.2
Microsoft CRM Mobile 1.2, previewed earlier this
spring, is focused on providing critical customer
information to sales and management personnel
whenever and wherever they need it. Microsoft CRM
Mobile 1.2 enables contact management and
opportunity management capabilities on Pocket PC
2003 devices.
Microsoft CRM Mobile 1.2 will support American and
International English only.
Additional Microsoft CRM Enhancements
The Microsoft CRM 1.2 feature pack includes
enhancements across the Sales for Outlook(R) client;
a redeployment tool to enable the migration of
Microsoft CRM configurations and data among
deployments, sites and application domains; and
reporting enhancements to drive best practices in
developing parameter-based reports and their
management.
"The Microsoft CRM 1.2 feature pack will help
businesses build even more powerful relationships
with their customers," said Helene Cole, chief
executive officer with Altara. "Our customers take
their investments in technology very seriously, and
Microsoft CRM helps them maximize those investments
by providing opportunities to closely integrate with
existing Microsoft solutions."
About Microsoft Business Solutions
Microsoft Business Solutions offers integrated business
applications and services that allow small and
midsize organizations and divisions of large
enterprises to connect employees, customers and
suppliers for improved efficiency. The financial
management, customer relationship management, supply
chain management and analytics applications work
with Microsoft products such as Office and Windows
to streamline processes across an entire
organization, giving businesses insight to respond
rapidly, plan strategically and execute quickly.
Microsoft Business Solutions applications are
delivered through a worldwide network of channel
partners that provide specialized services and
local support tailored to a company's needs.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people
and businesses realize their full potential.
NOTE: Microsoft, Windows, SharePoint and Outlook are
either registered trademarks or trademarks of
Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other
countries.
Microsoft Business Solutions is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned
herein may be the trademarks of their respective
owners.
05.11.04 
