Dynamics CRM: What is this XRM thing?

23rd August 2011

Another acronym!  More and more you see references to Dynamics CRM as xRM.  In the simplest terms, CRM is “Customer Relationship Management” and xRM is “Anything Relationship Management”.  The x comes from maths where x is the unknown.

But is this just another Microsoft marketing ploy?  My feeling is that is more than that.  I like calling it xRM as Dynamics CRM is not just a simple off-the-shelf software package.  It is a serious contender when you are considering creating a customised line of business (LOB) application.

Traditionally there have been two types of business software.  The first is General purpose such as the off-the-shelf Microsoft Office where one-size-fits-all.  Accounting software often falls into General purpose due to accounting standards that businesses must conform to.  General purpose software is critical to businesses but rarely provides a competitive advantage.

Line of business (LOB) software is software that fits a specific business purpose or model- for example a retail point-of-sale system.  LOB software often dictates the operating procedures and processes in a business and can give you a competitive advantage.  But LOB software is often more expensive than General software and can be cost prohibitive especially to small businesses.  There are countless stories of LOB software development gone wrong!

Dynamics CRM is an excellent bridge between General Purpose and LOB.  There is rich functionality off-the-shelf that is “packaged” to allow you to quickly manage your customers, sales opportunities, and customer service processes. It is integrated in Outlook (if you want) and the look-and-feel is what you expect in Office.  But then comes the good part – xRM.  You can easily extend Dynamics CRM or even reuse existing functionality in another guise.   You can build your own LOB (xRM) solution in weeks or months for the cost of General Purpose software.  Because you use the foundation of Dynamics CRM, even with low-skill development, the chances of successful adoption is very high.  You can have a system that manages anything in your business.  “x” could be “Employees” or “Properties” or “Assets” or “Widgets” or “Medical Equipment” – whatever you need.

Sounds like a bunch of marketing doesn’t it?  In this case, it really does deliver what Microsoft has promised – and for a surprisingly affordable cost.

Author, Janet