Microsoft targets Oracle/Siebel with Dynamics updates

Microsoft has outlined upcoming releases and enhancements to its Dynamics enterprise business software line, expanding its cloud capabilities and global reach.

Dynamics CRM 2011, the customer relationship management element of the suite, has been in beta since last month, and Microsoft has confirmed its general availability from January 2011, as well as new promotional pricing and expanded market reach for the CRM Online hosted version.

"When it comes to cloud, we're all in," said Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions, kicking off a European Dynamics tour.

"We enable customers to get the full benefits of the cloud with Microsoft services, whether public or hosted by customers."

Dynamics CRM Online is available to new customers at $34 (£21) per user per month for the first 12 months of service when bought before 30 June 2011, complementing the 40 per cent margin incentive offered to partners since July 2010.

"There is a huge opportunity [with CRM] to unseat Oracle/Siebel, as the product has aged and does not deliver a good value proposition," said Tatarinov. "We can offer our solution either on-premise or in the cloud."

Microsoft also unveiled two-tier connector and partner productivity enhancements for its Dynamics NAV 2009 enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform.

"We find that customers tend to deploy NAV for operational ERP with a standardised approach, leaving the administrative ERP that handles all the transactional processes at headquarters to run in the background," explained Tatarinov. "That's why we introduced the two-tier connector."

Dynamics AX for Retail, meanwhile, has been expanded to a number of other countries and languages to give it global reach.

"We are excited to have 300,000 customers worldwide," Tatarinov said. "And we are in a good position to serve those customers and offer better value with our complete stack as they modernise their IT departments and replace ageing systems, re-platform or upgrade."