xRM and Microsoft Outlook, i.e., user adoption!

The whole concept around xRM is that you leverage a framework, not necessarily a specific product. A specific product might be designed or created in such a way that it does not really fit your business needs or is too rigid. Obviously when a software publisher writes a new program there is no way they can have insight as to what makes your business tick.

Because of this, consider Microsoft Dynamics CRM a framework more so than a traditional CRM tool. And, one of the key components of the framework is the user interface. It doesn't matter how much time you spend on gathering requirements or automating the workflow engine, if the users don't use it, the solution has failed. Microsoft understands this and by virtue of owning the application that 85% of corporate America lives in day in day out, they can dramatically increase the chances of user adoption by simply serving up their CRM solution inside the product that everyone uses. In this case we are talking about Microsoft Outlook.

The general manager for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Brad Wilson, once said that he doesn't care that users don't even know they are using Microsoft Dynamics CRM behind the scenes. Because Microsoft Dynamics CRM is being served up inside Outlook, and has been designed around the use of Mail, Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks, it works the way you do. Because you are not forcing another application upon your users and there is no learning curve, you can avoid the user adoption sink hole that so many companies get caught in when implementing a CRM solution.

As you leverage the Microsoft Dynamics CRM framework to build a line of business application, i.e., creating an xRM solution, you can focus on the processes that make your company unique, without having to worry about designing an interface that they will use. Microsoft Outlook is key to user adoption and one of the key components of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM framework. Under this and use it to your advantage.