Client Profiles saw an opportunity to develop legal practice management software that was easier to use than established solutions from Lexis-Nexis and Thomson Reuters. The company built a solution that takes advantage of the integration between Microsoft Dynamics® CRM and Microsoft® Office Outlook® to automate common tasks, such as retrieving new contacts for archival in a shared marketing database. To meet project goals, including rapid time-to-market, Client Profiles capitalized on the flexibility of xRM, the business application framework that underpins Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Developers accessed prebuilt workflow components and reporting services available through xRM to quickly infuse CRM4Legal with features that benefit multiple roles within any law firm. With xRM, Client Profiles dramatically reduced development time and achieved an estimated cost savings of U.S.$2 million.

Many municipal and regional governments lack the resources needed to build and maintain e-government portals. To help these organizations, Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner Spenta Consulting built the Citizen Service Platform (CSP) core framework, now available as open-source software, by using the xRM business application framework. Spenta Consulting also created the full-featured CSP Citizen Portal Extended Edition solution, which takes advantage of xRM to meet unique public sector requirements like citizen case management, accessibility compliance, and secure e-forms. By taking advantage of xRM resources, Spenta Consulting was able to save 50 percent of the development effort required for relationship management aspects of the project.

Peak 15 Systems sells operational software to help tour operators reduce labor costs and increase profitability. When Peak 15 sought a development platform on which to build a software-as-a-service version (SaaS) of its offering, it evaluated solutions from Microsoft and Salesforce.com based on scalability, flexibility, and customer relationship management capabilities. Peak 15 chose the xRM business application framework that underlies Microsoft Dynamics® CRM because of its superior technical flexibility and solutions-focused business model. The company was able to build more functionality into its SaaS solution faster by using xRM resources. Now, Peak 15 customers have an excellent hosted solution that can easily be customized to fit their unique integration and business process requirements.

CSSI specializes in creating software to help companies with an insurance business model streamline and automate core business processes. The company sought to infuse its existing VUE Compensation Management application with relational capabilities. After researching several packaged customer relationship management solutions and evaluating the cost of building the solution in-house, CSSI opted to take advantage of xRM, the application development platform that underpins Microsoft Dynamics® CRM. Capitalizing on the built-in components and native extensibility offered through the xRM platform, CSSI built its VUE IncentivePoint solution in four months—70 percent faster than originally projected.

Travel Dynamics International (TDI) provides luxury cruises based around cultural and educational themes. For 10 years, the company relied on a custom-built reservation and booking system. However, this system lacked built-in tools for sales, marketing, and customer service. Employees used a variety of nonintegrated applications to perform daily tasks, restricting TDI’s ability to automate processes to improve efficiency. After spending an average of U.S.$50,000 a year to maintain its aging system, the company opted to implement a customer relationship management system. TDI chose Microsoft Dynamics® CRM based on its ease of use and the flexibility offered through xRM, the application development framework that underpins the solution. Now, TDI has seen a four-fold increase in workforce productivity, improved its customer service, and projects year-over-year sales growth of 10 percent.

The Ministry of Defense in the Netherlands upgrades its client operating system during its normal hardware refresh cycle. The organization started a pilot with the Windows® 7 operating system, and will continue with an upgrade to 50,000 computers through 2010. Users have reacted positively to the user interface enhancements, and the organization looks forward to improved information access and easier IT management.

Turkcell, a leading mobile communications provider, is deploying the Windows® 7 operating system to 5,000 computers. Once deployed, Turkcell expects to lower support by 20 percent and to improve user productivity by 830 hours weekly. Turkcell also anticipates improved network security.

Allen Matkins, a California-based law firm, wanted to improve the technology tools that it provides to its attorneys while retaining the ability to use older applications. The firm opted to upgrade to the Windows® 7 operating system and adopt Microsoft® Application Virtualization technology. Allen Matkins expects its new operating environment to help conserve costs and help attorneys deliver more timely service to clients for a competitive advantage.

U.S. Xpress is a Tennessee-based truckload carrier with a reputation for delivering excellent customer service and using innovative technology to do so. In the mid-2000s, the company deployed an in-cab solution that automates engine diagnostics and provides communication, navigation, and training-video presentation capabilities. The solution was so successful that U.S. Xpress decided to expand its effectiveness by redesigning the user interface using Windows® Presentation Foundation (WPF) and other rich-client technologies from Microsoft. Having deployed the new version of its solution to roughly half of its 4,600-truck fleet, the company anticipates that the enhancements will help it boost the productivity of key employees, retain skilled drivers in this high-turnover industry, enhance safety management, and significantly reduce IT costs.

Barry-Wehmiller Companies, Inc. is a U.S.$1 billion global provider of manufacturing equipment and services. The company’s employees rely on up-to-date messaging technology to conduct business with partners and customers around the world. Barry-Wehmiller wanted to upgrade to Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007 e-mail messaging and collaboration software. However, in light of tough global economic conditions and a corporate culture that promotes a “Lean” organization, the IT department re-evaluated the cost of deploying an on-premises solution. Instead, Barry-Wehmiller chose Microsoft Online Services to deliver all the scalability, security, and functionality the company needs for desktop and mobile e-mail. The hosted communications and collaboration solution saved Barry-Wehmiller $200,000 in hardware and infrastructure costs, as well as another $100,000 on an archiving solution.