ms dynamics crm as solution platform

ThiswhitepapercontainsstatementsthatmayberelatedtothefuturedevelopmentanddirectionofAvanadeInc.ThesestatementsmayrepresentonlycurrentplansorgoalsofAvanadeasofthedateofpublicationandaresubjecttochangewithoutnoticebasedonourtechnicalandbusinessjudgment.AnyreferencetothirdpartycompaniesdoesnotimplyanyinvolvementwithorendorsementoforbyAvanadeInc.Othercompany,product,andservicenamesmentionedinthisdocumentareregisteredtrademarksortrademarksoftheirrespectiveowners.SeattleOffice:2211ElliottAvenueSuite200Seattle,Washington,[e-mail]onscompanydedicatedtousingtheMicrosoftplatformtohelpenterprisesachieveprofitablegrowth.Additionalinformationcanbefoundatwww.avanade.com.Microsoft®Dynamics™CRMAsaSolutionPlatformAPowerfulNewParadigmforApplicationDevelopmentMicrosoftDynamicsCRMhasgrowninpopularitywithbusinessesandorganizationsofalltypesbecauseofitseaseofuseandeffectivenessasatraditionalcustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)application.Butinaneraofservice-orientedarchitecturesandobject-orientedprogramming,MicrosoftDynamicsCRMencompassesmuchmore:aplatformforeasy-to-use,flexible,innovative,andcollaborativebusinesssolutionsthatcanbecreatedmorequicklyandcost-effectivelythaniftheywerebuiltusingtraditionaldevelopmentapproaches.ByusingtheMicrosoftDynamicsCRMplatformasaseriesofsolutionbuildingblocks,developmentteamscanincreasethebusinessvalueofnewsolutionsbyfocusingagreaterpercentageofthesolutioninvestmentoninnovationaccordingtotheirorganization’suniquebusinessneedsandgoals,ratherthanfocusingongenericsoftwareissues.Thismeansthatwhereasorganizationspreviouslyhadtocompromiseapplicationfunctionalityordeferspecializedorganization-specificfunctionalitytoalaterfundingcycle,theynowcanconsiderbuildingnewsolutionsthatmapfarmorecloselytobusinessneedsfromtheinitialstagesofdeployment.Thisissignificantbecausesuchsolutionsoftendeliverthegreatestbusinessvalueaccordingtotheorganization’sspecific,unique,andinnovativeprocesses—andenablingthemsoonerviathesolutiondrivesamorerapidrateofreturnoninvestment.Thepotentialbenefitofcreatingacost-effectivebusinesssolutionbasedonMicrosoftDynamicsCRMasadevelopmentplatformissignificant,butanin-depthunderstandingoftheplatformisrequiredfororganizationstogainthegreatestadvantagefromit.MICROSOFTDYNAMICSCRMASASOLUTIONPLATFORM2WhitePaper©2007AvanadeInc.AllRightsReserved.ValueCharacteristicsofthePlatformLowerCostManyenterpriseshavemovedtoadopttechnologybasedontheMicrosoft.NETFrameworkbecauseitsreusablecomponentsandautomatedtoolscutdevelopmenttimeandcostcomparedtodevelopingforJava®orforoperatingsystemssuchasUNIX.TheindependentForresterGroup,forexample,foundthatdevelopersprefer.NETtoJavaby56percentto44percent.1Butwhilethe.NETenvironmentfacilitatescustomdevelopment,itdoesn’teliminatetheneedforit.Simplystated,thegeneric.NETenvironmentdoesnothavetherichbusinessframeworkandarchitecturethatacceleratesindustry-specificorline-of-businesssolutiondevelopment.However,MicrosoftDynamicsCRMisconstructedwiththebuildingblocksnecessarytojumpstart.NET-basedbusinesssolutionsdevelopment.MicrosoftDynamicsCRMprovidesthecommonapplicationcomponentssuchassecurity,dataaccess,andpresentationlogicinafamiliarenvironment—theVisualStudio®developmentsuiteandalanguagesuchasC#orVisualBasic®.NET—wheredeveloperscanapplythetoolstheyalreadyknowtoextendtheapplicationcomponentsinordertoincorporateanorganization’sbusinessinnovation.Buildinglessoftherequiredfunctionalityfromscratchsavestimeandmoney,and,inAvanade’sexperience,anorganizationusingMicrosoftDynamicsCRMasaplatformonalargescalecanrealizesavingsthatrangefrom30to50percentofatraditional.NETprojectdevelopmentbudget.WhiletheMicrosoftDynamicsCRMplatformprovidesbuildingblocksthatjumpstartdevelopment,enterpriseorganizationsthatchoosethisapproacharenotlimitedtousingthosebuildingblocksalone.Theabilitytocreatetailoredsolutionsthatreflectspecificbusinessprocessesremains,becausetheMicrosoftDynamicsCRMplatformisdesignedtobeextendedwithorganization-specificbusinesslogic,suchasvalidationrulesoruniqueworkflowsthatabusinessusestomanageacrosssalesandorder-fulfillmentprocesses.1www.microsoft.com/forresterFasterDevelopmentHandinhandwithlowercostisfastertimetobenefit,realizedfromrapiddeploymentandtheplatform’sinherentflexibility,scalability,andreliability.Bytakingadvantageoftheseplatformcapabilities,projectscaneasilybeapproachedinaniterativedevelopmentcyclewherecorefunctionalityisfirstdeliveredinaproduction-readypilotphase,andadditionalfunctionalityisquicklyandeasilydeliveredinsubsequentphasesoftheproject.Usingthisapproach,atypicalpilotphaseforaMicrosoftDynamicsCRM–basedsolutioncanbedeliveredinonetotwomonths,comparedtoaminimumofthreeorfourmonthsforacomparablepilotdevelopedinthe.NETenvironmentwithpurelycustomcomponents.Thetimesavingsfordevelopingafull-scaleapplication,whichmighttakeayearormoreincustomdevelopment,aresimilar.Thebusinessbenefitofthisfasterdevelopmentgoesbeyondtheassociatedbudgetsavings.Forexample,itenablesmorefrequentdevelopmentupdates,whichoffersaflexibilitythatenh