Microsoft Lowers Its Partnering Price

Microsoft is reducing the price partners will pay for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, the company announced at its Convergence 2007 Copenhagen conference yesterday. The latest version, previously code-named Titan, is due out later this year. In addition, Microsoft also unveiled a new set of European-based partners that will join an existing range of partners around the globe. Microsoft plans to reduce the Microsoft Dynamics CRM subscription licensing fees paid by its global hosting partners by approximately 40 percent, with the intention of allowing those partners to invest more in building out their CRM offerings and growing their respective customer bases, says Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Once the new rules are in place, partners will pay Microsoft as little as $15 per user per month. While the drop in pricing translates into savings for partners, whether those savings trickle down to customers will be determined on a per-partner basis, Wilson says. "Certainly by offering our partners a more competitive price, our partners are in a better position to offer potential customers a more competitive price." Microsoft also unveiled a list of new partners that will deliver on-demand solutions and hosting for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and solutions for Microsoft Dynamics ERP products. The list includes

• Mondo, a Danish IT services company;
• EveryWare AG, a hosted business applications provider in Switzerland; and
• Increase, a U.K.-based hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution provider.

"We're well established here in North America," Wilson says. "Now we're looking to continue to extend our partner base across the Atlantic." Solutions are now available from nearly 100 partners in 30 different countries, according to Microsoft. The key to the new partner offerings is Dynamics CRM's multitenancy, which will allow partners to host the application for multiple customers via a single application stack and server, Wilson says. "That makes the offering that [much] more profitable for our customers." In line with the global announcement, Wilson says Dynamics CRM 4.0 will, for the first time, offer support for multiple currencies and languages on the same server. While many vendors have lately released hosted offerings, Microsoft is the "most serious" of the on-premise players, according to a recent research report written by David Bradshaw, principal analyst with Ovum. Related articles: ''Everything Will Be Digital,'' Says Microsoft CEO The Association of National Advertisers' "Masters of Marketing" Conference reveals insights about how to handle the industry's future: brand focus and maverick creativity will light the way. Microsoft: Partners Get 2007 Offerings and 2008 Roadmap Executives, including CEO Ballmer, outline a flurry of product announcements to support the corporate line: "software plus services." Microsoft CRM Pricing and Availability Go Live The company releases pricing, product information, and vertical templates for Dynamics Live CRM at its Worldwide Partner Conference; one analyst suggests Microsoft lags in the on-demand race.

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