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Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Salesforce.com? Making the decision on which CRM solution to implement can be challenging. Here is a list of some more key differentiators to help you get past the slick story Salesforce.com tells. Dynamics CRM provides the best value and ROI and continues to dominate the CRM arena with over 2.25 million users worldwide. Here’s how:

Power of Choice
Salesforce.com only offers an online deployment for their solution while Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows you to choose how you want to deploy. By choosing on premise, Microsoft hosted or partner hosted deployments, Dynamics CRM gives you the opportunity to choose which deployment best fits your business model. Plus if your needs change, you can change deployments to meet your changing business needs.

Service Level Agreement
Dynamics CRM Online and partner hosted deployments of Dynamics CRM guarantee uptime through a Service Level Agreement (SLA). Usually, this means a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Salesforce.com makes no guarantees to the reliability of their services.

Integration with Microsoft Products
Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows for full integration with other Microsoft Products. There is a native plug in available for integration with Microsoft Outlook as well as robust integrations with SharePoint, Excel, and Lync. This means better connectivity and collaboration within your organization that Salesforce.com can’t provide.

Pricing
Salesforce.com pricing starts at $65 per user while Dynamics CRM Online or partner hosted with Njevity is $44 per user. However, to meet the functionality you would see in Dynamics CRM, you would need to upgrade your Salesforce.com subscription to the Enterprise Edition which is $125 per user. With the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and fastest ROI, Dynamics CRM is the clear choice based on price point alone, not including the better functionality and value.

Data Storage
Dynamics CRM Online users receive 5GB of data storage per user. Salesforce.com offers 1GB of data storage with additional charges for more storage capacity. Salesforce.com customers routinely criticize Salesforce.com for the slide of hand sales approach as the cost continues to increase at every corner even after heavy discounts upfront. Also, with Dynamics CRM online or partner hosted, you own the database. With Salesforce.com if you decide to make the move to Dynamics CRM, they provide you with an endless amount of spreadsheets hoping that the hassle of deciphering will deter you from switching.

Mass Email
Dynamics CRM and Salesforce.com both support mass emailing. However, Salesforce.com limits the number of mass emails you can send per day while Dynamics CRM has no limit.

Sales Automation
Both Salesforce.com and Dynamics CRM provide excellent sales automation. Salesforce.com has this out of the box while Dynamics CRM needs to be configured with simple workflows. However, Dynamics CRM also provides you with the ability to set up workflows for marketing and service. This means that Dynamics CRM is a complete customer management solution opposed to just focusing on sales.

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and partner hosted Cloud solutions, Salesforce.com is no longer the powerhouse in Cloud deployed CRM. So what makes Dynamics CRM the superior and most widely used CRM product in the market? Let’s take a look at the key differentiators and find out why Dynamics CRM has an impressive 2.25 million users worldwide.

Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides comparable CRM functionality at 30 percent less than Salesforce.com or more. Customers who elect to add Microsoft Dynamics CRM to their Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA) or Enrollment for Application Platform (EAP) agreements can help save additional money.

Productivity: Microsoft Dynamics CRM was built to work with Microsoft Office suites, such as Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging and collaboration client and Microsoft Office Word. Salesforce.com is working on its third Microsoft Office integration program in three years to attempt to offer symmetry.

Value: Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides a full suite of sales, marketing, and service automation capabilities without hidden costs—such as data storage charges or Web API metering. Former Salesforce.com customers routinely talk about SFDC’s high fees in data storage, mobile access, data backup, data extracts, and real-time data mirroring services.

Choice: Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be deployed online (by Microsoft or by a partner) and on premise. It also allows organizations to migrate across the two delivery models as business needs change. Salesforce.com only offers an online approach and it is very difficult to get off of, and receive your data from Salesforce.com if you decide to change solutions or you need to bring CRM on premise.

Integration: Whereas SFDC provides an API for integration, Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers a full event-driven integration framework where developers can insert custom business logic and extensions and build a high-scale, highly reliable integration service.

Mobility: SFDC’s mobility is more costly and limited to certain devices with certain functionality only available only for iPad/iPhone. Further, SFDC limits one device per mobile license. Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows up to three devices per license across all mobile device platforms including iOS, Blackberry, Android and Windows.

Fastest ROI: Dynamics CRM leads all other CRM’s in capability and flexible configurations. It is familiar to users making users more productive and offers the highest ROI in the industry. In a study conducted by Forrester, ROI for Dynamics CRM 2011 is 243% and pays for itself in just 4 months.

For more information about NjevityToGo and Microsoft Dynamics CRM go to http://njevity.com/cloud/crm-togo

I think we can agree that Dynamics CRM is one of the most useful and dynamic tools on the market for sales, marketing and customer care. So what can Microsoft possibly do to make CRM better? After sitting through the CRM training blitz this morning about what’s new in the Dynamics CRM 2011 update, I will say it is exciting. Even though the CRM team is using the corny catch phrase, “catch the fever,” after going through the training “I got a fever, and the prescription is more cow bell…I mean CRM.” Ok, so maybe my Saturday Night Live reference does not directly apply but Microsoft has done a lot with this update and I am excited to see the doors that will be opened with the new feature set.

There were four key trends that the Microsoft CRM team emphasized about the future of business and how the CRM 2011 update adds value to every organization with its new functionality:

1) Mobile - A key trend in business is the ability to stay productive without being tethered to a desk. One of the greatest advantages you will get with the new functionality is the ability to use Dynamics CRM on any mobile device whether it’s your smartphone, tablet or laptop. Now you have the ability to maximize productivity while staying in front of prospects and customers.

2) Social – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. These are just a few of the social applications available to help people stay connected. So why not capitalize on the ability to have the same social connectivity within your organization and to your customers? Through live RSS feeds in CRM your team will have a collaborative pulse on everything going on within the business meaning that everyone within your organization will be empowered to offer the best service to your customers and prospects.

3) Big data and analytics – New to CRM 2011 is the ability to provide personal and customized dashboards to everyone within your organization. Through real time analysis of data, you can make sure that every area of your business is running at maximum efficiency.

4) Cloud – The cloud is a major focus for Microsoft products. Products like Dynamics CRM and Office 365 are already deployed in the Azure Cloud. Products like Dynamics GP 2013 scheduled to release in Q1 of 2013 will also have web based access through the Azure Cloud. However, what you also get with Microsoft products is the choice in deployment between on premise, partner hosted cloud or Microsoft’s Azure Cloud. Partners like Njevity will help you choose the best deployment and you also have the ability to move between deployments if your needs change.

So why have 2.25 million users already chosen Dynamics CRM? Dynamics CRM leads all other CRM’s in capability and flexible configurations. It is familiar to users making users more productive and offers the highest ROI in the industry. In a study conducted by Forrester, ROI for Dynamics CRM 2011 is 243% and pays for itself in just 4 months. Now, just imagine the efficiencies you will gain with the new features in the CRM 2011 update. Stay tuned to learn more after CRM Blitz Day 2 scheduled next week.

After installing a new or renewed Token-Signing SSL Certificate on a AD FS 2.0 server users are unable to connect to CRM.

In addition see the following error:
Log Name: Application
Source: ASP.NET 4.0.30319.0
Date: 5/17/2012 3:13:42 PM
Event ID: 1309
Task Category: Web Event
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: yourcrmserver.yourdomain.com

And under the Exception information:
Exception information:
Exception type: SecurityTokenException
Exception message: ID4175: The issuer of the security token was not recognized by the IssuerNameRegistry. To accept security tokens from this issuer, configure the IssuerNameRegistry to return a valid name for this issuer.

FIX:
1) In the CRM Deployment Manager disable the front end server and disable the Claims Based Authentication.

2)Do an IISReset on CRM Web Server

3) In Deployment Manger re-configure Claims- Based Authentication

4) In Deployment Manger re-configure IFD

5) Do an IISRESET again on CRM Web Server

6) Enable the Front End server in Deployment Manager

7) In ADFS management console in ADFS server , update the corresponding Federation Metadata URLs

First impressions of the Cloud will snare your thoughts and shape your views about Cloud Computing. If you continually hear from your IT department that the Cloud is a fad and that data is not secure, moving forward, you will be not be open to learning more about it. However, if early on, you heard that the Cloud is the future and you took the time to learn more, the Cloud is not the monster that some make it out to be. I have already discussed in past blogs why some may not be as objective as you would think about Cloud Computing. I will not dwell on the issue but encourage those of you who have put the blinders on to learn more. Granted the Cloud may not be for everyone. However, chances are, it is a perfect fit for you. Isn’t it at least worth your time to understand why?

Without getting technical, let’s briefly take a look at what the Cloud means for the future of business:

No hardware
Stop paying for servers and the hassle of refreshing them every 3-4 years. When you deploy applications in the NjevityToGo Cloud, your applications are hosted on our servers in our secure environment in a data center. This means that environmental conditions, security and backups are no longer your responsibility.

No Software
When looking at the Cloud, you can’t just look at the cost of the application software licenses to determine how much you will save by moving to the Cloud. You also need to consider the infrastructure software that you won’t need to purchase as well. This includes Windows, SQL Server Software, and backup software.

No Maintenance
This will probably make your IT team a little weary because it threatens their positions within your company. However, with hardware and software hosted off premise, this means that the hosting company provides all maintenance and ensures optimal uptime. When you consider that most Cloud providers like Njevity guarantee at least a 99.9% uptime, this means that you won’t be down for more than 8.75 hours per year. How much is your system down now? Chances are it is down more than that. But what if my internet goes down? Well, grab your laptop, iPad or smartphone and drive to a location that does have internet access and read below to learn why mobility is another great advantage of the Cloud.

Anywhere, Anytime Access
Let’s face it, we are living in a mobile world. We no longer need to be tethered to a desk for 8 hours a day to optimize our workday. As long as you have internet access, you can have anywhere, anytime access to your business applications hosted in the cloud; including ERP and CRM applications. Need the ability to work from home on occasion? Need to do a lot of traveling to stay in front of customers? Deploying applications in the Cloud means you have the ability to work anywhere in the world with an internet connection. So go ahead, take another “vacation” to the beach because now you can work just as easily laying poolside as you can sitting in your office.

Scalability
Do you have a seasonal business? In the past, have you had a need to scale users up or down through new hiring or downsizing? You still paid for user licenses that are now going to waste. In the Cloud, you have the ability to add or remove users as necessary.

Complete Office Cloud Solution
The best news is, you have the ability to move all of your business productivity applications to the Cloud. With Njevity, you can host Exchange Email, SharePoint and Lync with Office 365. You can also move CRM and ERP including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Dynamics GP or Dynamics SL to the Cloud. You will simply pay a per user monthly fee. When you keep in mind what you no longer need in hardware, software or maintenance costs, the savings become apparent and you too will see that the Cloud is the future. The question becomes, when will you embrace it?

If Cloud Computing is truly a fad, why would software giants like Microsoft be investing so much into their Azure Cloud and spend time preparing products like Dynamics GP’s next release to be Cloud ready? Why are we seeing SaaS ERP solutions like Acumatica quickly capturing so much market share with an explosive 300% growth in Q1 of 2012? The reason is simple. The Cloud adds value and where there is value, there is investment.