Guild Companies

When Microsoft starts shipping its new customer relationship management application later this year, it will include Crystal Decisions' popular business intelligence software, Crystal Enterprise, as part of the package. Users will get access to more than 100 canned reports at no extra charge as part of Microsoft's new Crystal Enterprise for Microsoft CRM package. For a fee, Microsoft will resell to customers Crystal Decisions' software that will allow them to do even more with their data.

Crystal Enterprise is a business intelligence suite that runs on Windows and Unix servers and provides flexible Web- or Windows-based clients, wizards for creating reports with rich content, and a variety of output options for final viewing. The suite is composed of Crystal Analysis, for building reports based on data in multidimensional databases, and Crystal Reports, for reporting on relational databases. Crystal Decisions supports Microsoft's SQL Server-based OLAP server for the multidimensional database reporting in Crystal Analysis.

Microsoft's version of the software, Crystal Enterprise for Microsoft CRM, will feature close integration with other Microsoft products, including Outlook and its Web browser. Microsoft says that, by allowing users to view, filter, print, and export 125 predefined reports that will ship with the software, companies will be more effective closing deals and providing consistent customer service.

While the predefined reports will give Microsoft CRM users quick access to powerful reporting tools, the Redmond, Washington, software Goliath is also making sure that Microsoft CRM also has close ties to its line of back-office ERP software, which it sells under the Great Plains brand. Integration is shaping up to be an important point for Microsoft and its new CRM application: when it starts shipping sometime in the fourth quarter in North America, and early 2003 for the rest of the world, Microsoft CRM will be the very first Microsoft application built on the company's new .NET architecture.

In addition to using core pieces of Crystal Decisions' software in its CRM program, Microsoft will also resell more advanced versions of Crystal Decisions programs to customers whose needs won't be satisfied by the 125 canned reports and who need to be able to create new reports or modify existing ones. Microsoft will offer Crystal Reports Standard with a custom data driver for Microsoft CRM, as well as training and support to clients around the world.

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