Microsoft has delivered a new Community Technology preview (CTP) of the next generation of the company’s Microsoft Dynamics CRM software, codenamed “CRM5.”
The March 25 release is the third CTP (CTP3) of the “CRM5” technology and it is aimed at software developers within the broad partner base of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, including independent software vendors (ISVs), global system integrators (GSIs), hosting partners and value-added resellers (VARs), giving them an opportunity to start early development and testing of their solutions for this new release, Microsoft said.
More than 400 select partners are engaged in the CTP3 program, and that number will be expanded in the coming months, Microsoft said.
“With this next version, Microsoft is continuing to drive new levels of user productivity and collaboration, giving customers deep core CRM capabilities, low total cost of ownership, and fast and easy deployment options for their CRM applications,” said Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, in a statement.
“We see Microsoft Dynamics CRM driving innovation and focus in the customer relationship management (CRM) marketplace,” said Aziz Virani, executive vice president of the Avanade Technology Solutions Group, in a statement. “It continues to raise the bar on ease of use, and delivers real and measurable value to our customers. This next generation of the product provides us with more opportunities to create innovative solutions for our customers.”
Microsoft said its “CRM5” technology will be commercially available in the second half of 2010
Meanwhile, the CTP3 release is available as on-premises software, as well as through pre-release versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online running in datacenters in North America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific (APAC). The availability in international datacenters is in preparation for the global expansion of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online service beyond the U.S. and Canada today and into EMEA, APAC and Latin America.
The next generation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM will support more than 40 languages, and will be offered as an online service, as on-premises software and via partner-hosted offerings, Microsoft said.