Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains

Microsoft started its ambitious push into the midmarket with the acquisition of Great Plains. The big payoff hasnt materialized, as Microsoft struggles to integrate disparate channels from its acquisitions and to push up into the enterprise and down into

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains - December 2000

Microsoft announces plans to acquire Great Plains, for just over $1 billion. For years after, the accounting softwares Fargo, N.D., offices would be headquarters for Microsoft Business Solutions. Microsoft finishes the acquisition in April 2001.

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains - July 2002

Microsoft announces acquisition of Navision, for about $1.45, billion to compliment Great Plains.

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains - January 2003

Microsoft enters CRM market with its own product. Later in the year, the release of Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager creates confusion about which product is for which market segment.

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains - October 2003

Microsoft announces the controversial Project Green, a forthcoming, tightly integrated bundle of Business Solutions products. Project Green will eventually falter.

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains - July 2004

Microsoft claims Business Solutions revenue opportunity is around $35 billion, or more than twice the Office groups revenue opportunity projections. The opportunity doesnt pan out for Microsoft or its midsize business channel partners.Microsoft redou

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains - February 2005

Microsoft buys ERP Complete from Entegrate software to complement Axapta.Elixir strategy seeks to increase Outlook adoption. Microsofts broader goal is to make Office a Smart Client for accessing back-end applications; Elixir code e

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains - September 2005

Business Solutions rebrands products as Dynamics: Microsoft CRM becomes Dynamics CRM; Great Plains, Dynamics GP; Axapta, Dynamics AX; Navision, Dynamics NAV; Solomon, Dynamics SL.Microsoft announces forthcoming Centro for businesse

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains - December 2005

Microsoft CRM 3.0 is generally available.

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains - July 2006

Microsoft announces eventual release of its own hosted CRM product, competing with Saleforce.com. Later, the product is named CRM Live.Business Solutions ekes out $24 million profit for fiscal 2006, ended June 30. The division had been a perennial

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Microsoft Travails Across the Great Plains - January-June 2007

Project Green goes onto life support, with its future uncertain.Microsoft announces Dynamics Client for Office and SharePoint Server, one of several integration points between Dynamics and Office software.Microsoft releases NAV 5.0.Mi

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