Selecting the right customer relationship management (CRM) solution is not always easy. Requirements for small businesses can differ greatly from those for large organisations. Here are some areas to think about when evaluating a CRM choice for future business.
Choosing an Edition
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Workgroup Server
Includes and supports a maximum of five user licences
Runs on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Professional Server
No licensing limit on number of users
Runs on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Enterprise Server
Supports multi-tenant deployments
No licensing limit on number of users
Runs on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2.
Other Licences You Might Need
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Implementation Guide explains the technical requirements for running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. Please take a look as licences for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 do not include licences for other products that you may need for your installation, so check whether you need to establish product licensing rights for these separately.
If you need more help with this, please contact your local Microsoft Certified Partner. Need help finding a partner? Contact us.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM as Part of a Broader Solution
The Advanced Management edition of Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) products spans CRM, financial management and supply chain management. For details of this licence, see the Microsoft Dynamics Advanced Management edition section of the Microsoft Dynamics Editions and Licensing page.
Please note: Microsoft Dynamics CRM user licences are not included with the Advanced Management edition and must be licensed separately. Microsoft Dynamics CRM continues to be available through volume licensing, the same licensing model that is used for the Microsoft Office system, Windows and Microsoft Exchange.
What to Do if You're Already Using Microsoft Dynamics
If you already use Microsoft Dynamics Professional (modular-based pricing) and are on a current enhancement plan, you could be eligible to receive the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Professional Server licence at no extra charge (you must buy at least one Microsoft Dynamics CRM user licence to use the product). Contact your Microsoft partner for more information.
Choosing a Deployment Option
You can choose from different deployment options to suit your current and future business needs:
On-premise. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is easy to deploy in your IT environment, whether your company is large or small. It provides a full suite of marketing, sales and service functionality with a native Microsoft Office Outlook user experience. You can quickly tailor it to meet your needs and, because Microsoft Dynamics CRM products run on the same code base, you can easily switch from an on-premise model to a software-plus-services environment.
Partner-hosted. Partners around the world offer Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a software-plus-services solution. They tailor fast, flexible CRM solutions to fit the needs of various markets or industries and host them in their own data centres. Since all Microsoft Dynamics CRM products run the same code base, you can easily move from partner-hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM to an on-premise environment or to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.
Integrating Microsoft Dynamics CRM into Your Business Environment
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is designed to take full advantage of key Microsoft business productivity products and tools/ These include Office Outlook, Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet software, Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Microsoft Office SharePoint, and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services. A Microsoft Certified Partner can take a look at your current software and hardware capabilities and weigh up your future hardware and software needs to determine how to integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM into your evolving business environment. They can also:
Help integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM into your existing software and hardware environment
Work with you to ensure that customer records stored on other systems can be migrated into your new Microsoft Dynamics CRM environment
Use their expert knowledge of Microsoft .NET technology and third-party software to craft powerful customised solutions that work seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Help maximise the performance of a Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment so that it performs optimally for everyone in your organisation.
Selecting the Right Service Plan for Your Business
Microsoft Dynamics service plans do more than simply help ensure that your software is well maintained. Service plans are a key part of making the most of your business investment. Through support, training and product upgrades, a service plan can help keep your Microsoft Dynamics CRM system current, safe and fully effective.
We have a broad range of service plans for you:
Deluxe. The highest level of support, Deluxe gives you your own professional support assistant; a one-hour response time for critical problems; discounts for Microsoft e-courses and more.
Flex. With Flex you can buy a fixed number of support 'incidents' in advance or as you need them.
Select or Enterprise. As a volume licence customer with one of these agreements, you benefit from unlimited technical support, online chat support for fast responses, collaboration with other Microsoft Dynamics CRM users through newsgroups, and more.
Software Assurance. As a volume licence customer you automatically receive Microsoft Software Assurance. This includes six technical support 'incidents', discounts for flexible support options, online training and many more benefits.
