As opposed to a faraway market leader, there are now considered to be two market leaders, even if one of them still has a substantial handicap. While there was once an apparent gap between Salesforce and its competitors, Microsoft is now far more prominent than it used to be and sits tidily between Salesforce and the many other CRM products. Salesforce is indisputably the market leader in CRM software and has been for some time.

That said, both companies are hardly strangers to innovation, and their range of solutions currently available to small and large businesses demonstrates this perfectly. While the two companies are clearly at the forefront of relationship management technology, it seems both would sooner protect their own market share than strive to innovate together. It appeared, for a brief period, that Salesforce and Microsoft were set to join forces to completely dominate the CRM market, but this strategic partnership soon soured. As well as sales, the system also endeavors to improve a business’s use of analytics, marketing, community engagement, and mobile accessibility. Initially released in 1999 as sales automation software, the technology proved to be a pioneer of Software as a Service (SaaS), in which each of its many CRM branches could be accessed as part of a comprehensive business suite. Dynamics 365 is the latest release and offers a cloud-based solution to manage sales, customer service, and retail, with more products soon to follow.īy contrast, Salesforce has always been focused primarily on CRM. The company’s CRM solution, while a market leader, is just one of many Microsoft applications that prop up modern businesses. Microsoft is a company that doesn’t need much of an introduction, having enjoyed a more-than-fair share of the software and hardware market for the last 30 years or so. Salesforce and Microsoft: an intertwining history

Certain vendors approach CRM in a different way to others, so by taking a look behind the curtain you can get a feel for the company’s values and service level. Having said that, learning the background of a product or the company that developed it can give you a great idea of whether the solution is right for you.

After all, budgets are finite, timescales are rigid, and buy-in from each department in your organization is essential, so you need to choose a solution that ticks all the boxes before committing to a particular product. Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 are two of the more popular Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions on the market, but which one is right for your business? This article is one of a series that compares the heavy hitters of CRM, with an emphasis on finding the right fit for your organization.įor a business considering a CRM implementation, the vital stats are often what will influence the final decision.

Microsoft dynamics crm vs.salesforce