CRM - July 2008 - (Page 27)

MICROSOFT & CRM Analyzing Microsoft’s CRM Analytics The platform’s there, but that’s just the beginning T he CRM industry has yet to fully develop CRMspecific business intelligence (BI) analytics. Some say that Oracle—by buying Siebel Systems (and its Siebel Business Analytics) and Hyperion Solutions—comes closest, in terms of developing templates and packaging solutions. Gareth Herschel, research director at industry-analysis firm Gartner, says that Microsoft’s in-house BI platform competes with Cognos (now an IBM company) and Business Objects (acquired last year by SAP)—but that Microsoft’s no closer than those two are in packaging the solution for CRM. Jim Kobielus, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, says Microsoft’s “BI stack” involves SQL Server (DBMS, Analysis Services, Reporting Services, Integration Services); Office PerformancePoint Server 2007; and Microsoft SharePoint Server, Microsoft Office (especially Excel), and Visual Studio. Microsoft, he says, “is not lacking a decent story on integration of that stack with its Dynamics CRM product.” He continues, “Together, they constitute a strong stack of products for BI—reporting, ad-hoc query, [online analytical processing], dashboarding, scorecarding, etc.—[and] the data-warehousing and data-integration components to feed operational data into the BI ” A beta version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Analytics Foundation, released in early 2007, offers templates, prebuilt modules, source code, and guidelines for building BI and corporate performance management (CPM) solutions on Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. Moreover, it’s available at no charge on CodePlex, Microsoft’s open-source project-hosting Web site, and within the Microsoft CRM Sandbox, where users can share knowledge with the Dynamics CRM community. (According to a spokesperson, the Analytics Foundation for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is scheduled for release later this year.) Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, says that the lack of market recognition for the analytical offering is because Microsoft hasn’t “hyped it up” as much as the competition has, focusing on the analytics software as part of a broader Microsoft story—and less in the CRM context. (See “Wilson’s Words,” page 29, for more of Wilson’s views.) Kobielus says the reason for this is obvious: Why promote a product that provides no direct revenue? Microsoft may have to step up, though, as the market increasingly demands sophisticated CRM solutions with rich analytics. In Gartner’s most recent worldwide survey of 1,500 chief information officers, BI was the top technology priority for the third year in a row. “We will change a lot now going forward,” Wilson says, asserting his belief in helping businesses get the real value out of their CRM operational processes. “You’ll see us, going forward, talking more and more specifically about BI analytics in the context of CRM because we have all the assets,” he adds. How will Microsoft build out a truly relevant CRM analytics platform? Most day-to-day employees can’t handle tech-heavy algorithms and hundreds of key performance indicators (KPIs). “It’s great to say, ‘We can measure 500 KPIs,’ but how many people can manage 500 KPIs?” Herschel asks. Standard query-and-reporting functions are a part of any generic BI platform—the real power is in a solution that directs the business user to the right decision. Wilson contends that the offering is “as user-friendly as they get,” but adds that it’s intended for highly skilled statisticians—in other words, he admits, users have to “know what they’re doing.” In fact, according to Gartner’s most recent Magic Quadrant for BI platforms, current users said Microsoft had “the best BI software quality of all the megavendors.” Still, Wilson agrees that, while the technology’s there, Microsoft’s challenge is educating users. Kobielus says that not many business analysts use Microsoft, opting instead for “the sophisticated, high-end tools” from vendors such as SAS Institute, SPSS, and KXEN. Most Microsoft technology was crafted in-house, but there were some acquisitions, notably ProClarity in 2006, and, in 2008, Fast Search & Transfer, a provider of so-called “business intelligence built on search.” Analysts say that those running Dynamics CRM are likely to be a Microsoft shop, and may even be using Microsoft analytics in other areas of the enterprise; that makes pricing and integration highly appealing factors—the caveat being that it will be difficult for companies trying to integrate heterogeneous applications, information infrastructure, and development environments. In a sense, Microsoft can “get away with” having weaker analytical capabilities because it has the operational strength to back it up, Herschel says. Since Microsoft helps mold the landscape, Herschel doesn’t think Redmond’s “wait-and-see” strategy can last. SAS’s offering, for one, doesn’t require heavy businessprocess integrations; SAS provides robust analytical and management capabilities on top of users’ underlying operational database. “The pressure will come from SAS and IBM saying, ‘We’ve got vision that crosses all the different silos in your organization,’” he says. “‘Put us in— we’ll be your single view of the customer,’” —Jessica Tsai www.destinationCRM.com CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | JULY 2008 27 http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - July 2008

CRM - July 2008 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point CRM’s a Social Animal SAP Looks to ‘Change the Game' CRM on Twitter CRM to the Max A Prescription for Satisfaction Required Reading Cover Story: Is Microsoft Winning the CRM Race? Jumping into the SaaS Pool Say What? Another Bright Idea Out of Edison A Small Biz Blossoms Biting Off the Right Amount Something for a Rainy Day Connect Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - July 2008

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