The latest version of Microsoft’s Customer Relationship Management solution and salesforce.com competitor, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 is now available worldwide in 42 markets including Japan and Hong Kong. Find out more about the top features of this new release.
Release schedule
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 running in Firefox. This version supports most major browsers on Windows and Mac platforms.
During the month of October, Microsoft rolled out Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Online to datacenters in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
Dynamics CRM 2013 will be available for on-site and partner-hosted deployments from October 31st. It is designed to offer customers an enhanced user experience that promotes productivity and demonstrates the “better together” value of combined Microsoft technologies. This covers interoperability with Yammer, Lync and Skype — working together to deliver sales, service, marketing and industry professionals a seamless and customizable experience.
“CRM today should be an enabler that detects trends, facilitates decisions and suggests actions that lead to successful outcomes and relationships… This major new release delivers on this promise of customer centricity by bringing together Microsoft technologies in a way that helps businesses and organizations better engage and nurture their customers.”Bob Stutz, corporate vice president of Microsoft Dynamics CRM
New social insights
Microsoft recently announced a strategic alliance with InsideView Inc. that brings new Social Insights to the cloud-based Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.
The first phase of the Microsoft alliance with InsideView is the introduction of Social Insights capabilities embedded into Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Social Insights puts real-time company and contact information from 30,000 sources into Microsoft Dynamics CRM, helping marketing, sales and account management professionals engage more effectively with prospective customers to win more deals with less time spent researching and more time selling. Social Insights will be available at no additional cost to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online customers in the US with Professional licenses on October 30th 2013, with a broader global rollout planned for 2014.
New industry templates
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 running on a Windows 8 tablet.
The new Dynamics CRM release offers customers predefined, configurable processes where each stage is clearly outlined, identifying the recommended steps required for completion. Building on this design element, Microsoft is introducing new templates for a number of specific industries, such as professional services, manufacturing and financial services, as well as processes for event management and solution selling. These completely configurable business processes incorporate the best practices from industry experts and give customers a solid base on which to build a solution to fulfill their specific requirements. These templates will also flow onto all mobile devices supported by Microsoft Dynamics CRM, meaning customers can get the benefits of these processes on their favorite supported smartphone or tablet. These templates will be available for customers to download free of charge by the end of October 2013.
Nurture customer relationships
In addition, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 features new capabilities to enable sales, marketing and customer care professionals to match customers and prospects to the products and services they want, engage customers at the right moment, and nurture customer relationships.
These experiences are delivered through the following:
- A new people-first design that offers a simple, immersive layout where all customer information is on a single screen, helping people easily see everything they need to know about their customer interactions in one place.
- A new outcome-driven user experience featuring guided processes that help customers reach their desired outcomes. These processes can be tailored to accommodate particular business requirements that enable people to deliver an experience that matches their customers’ expectations. The benefits to organizations include shorter sales cycles, increased win rates and less ramp-up time for new hires.
- The ability to stay connected to customers and resources with powerful social tools. Usign Yammer, customers can quickly comment on posts or start contextual conversations from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM both on-site and online. Yammer extends across a whole organization, bringing everyone into the conversation, including nonlicensed CRM customers from within Yammer.
Fully mobile
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 for iPhone.
With this latest Microsoft Dynamics CRM release, users get access to mobile client applications for Windows 8 tablets and iPad, as well as touch-enabled experiences on Windows Phones, iPhone and Android smartphones coming in November, offering powerful functionality and analytics on the move, without a separate license fee. These new tablet experiences keep people connected to their data, their team members and, most important of all, their customers, allowing subject-matter experts to be a touch away.*
Live streaming global launch
Over the past few months, Microsoft partners from 48 countries took part in the most highly subscribed release preview program to date for Dynamics CRM, providing valuable feedback on the new release. Select participants and their stories will be featured in a live streaming Global Premiere Event scheduled for November 4th.
Resources
- Download two free PDF ebooks from Microsoft:
- A quick video tour of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 User Experience:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EScDpwxRuiI
Find more videos on the official Microsoft Dynamics YouTube account.
Further details
- Details of this latest release can be found at the official Microsoft Dynamics CRM website.
- For more information on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Social Insights integration, a news release from InsideView is also available.
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