Extending Salesforce with non-industry standard tools

As a Salesforce user, did you know that their solution relies on technologies used nowhere else (VisualForce, APEX, SOQL), requiring developers to learn its unique environment.  How many APEX developers do you know compared to developers who know .NET.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM, provides familiar, widely used technologies (.NET, SQL, ASP.NET and Visual Studio) for developers.  Relying on standard, widely used development technologies has important advantages. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, current .NET developers need minimal retraining, and the knowledge they acquire is applicable to the Windows world in general. With Salesforce, however, developers must be specifically trained for the environment. This can make it harder both to attract and to retain developers.

Using Force.com–complexity with application specific security profiles

Are you considering or using Force.com for custom applications? Unfortunately salesforce administrators find that DIFFERENT users need DIFFERENT sets of permissions in DIFFERENT apps.  This could become unmanageable depending on the number of unique profiles your organization would need to create.

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can assign multiple profiles to your users to allow them access to the applicable areas of your CRM system and provide administrators flexibility in setting security roles as mentioned in a previous post.  If you are considering Force.com and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, check out this whitepaper providing a comparison of the frameworks.

Impact to administrator productivity-Salesforce Security Profiles

Productivity not only begins with users of your CRM solution but also the people/administrators who have to manage the system.  Unfortunately, Salesforce doesn’t allow multiple profiles for users so administrators must create multiple group profiles for users w/in groups that need different rights.  How many combinations of profiles do you want to manage?

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can assign multiple profiles to your users to allow them access to the applicable areas of your CRM system and provide administrators flexibility in setting security roles.  Here is a great overview video providing a summary of how this works within Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Handling of attachments in Salesforce

If a user wanted the ability to create an e-mail with an attachment within Salesforce he/she unfortunately can’t have the attachment automatically created in the history for the record once they send the e-mail.  If the user wants to save the attachment with the email, they would have to manually go and actually attach the file in notes or attachments.  One may argue why would I want to add all attachments from e-mail and the counterpoint would be why wouldn’t you be given a productivity choice to from your CRM solution.

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, users can easily have their e-mails tracked in CRM even if they include an attachment.  If you choose later not to track the attachment, you can delete the attachment from the e-mail history but not delete the e-mail itself.

Salesforce dependency on Chatter to use Global Search

Did you know that users cannot use global search in Salesforce without enabling Chatter!  What happens if you need this capability but can’t use Chatter (e.g. company policy)?

For customers needing this capability in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, global search is available through our Dynamics Marketplace.  Here are global search examples that customers currently use. 

Productivity Loss of Salesforce.com-Duplicate Record Detection

Did you know that Salesforce.com doesn’t offer automated duplicate record detection functionality?  This creates manual tasks and productivity loss to your end users that may impact adoption.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides this capability as standard feature.

You can view this video to see a high level view of this valuable capability to enhance user productivity.

Hidden Costs of Salesforce.com–Offline access

Did you know that Salesforce.com charges you extra per user for taking your data offline, unless you pay for the premium offering at $125/user?

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, you get the ability to use your data how you want (online or offline) without being charged extra ($44/user).  The Outlook client provides full access to all data elements, workflows, and other entities, so users can be productive when offline just as they are when online.

What Salesforce.com Doesn’t Want You to Know

Check out the recent post by Brad Wilson (General Manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM).

Over the month of August, we’ll be sharing via @MSDynamicsCRM and #SFDCrevealed some of the pain points about Salesforce.com that we hear from customers every day that they really don’t want you to know. We call it “Salesforce.com, Revealed.”

We’ll start with the obvious, Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers a single, unified, multi-tenant code base for both public cloud deployments (via Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online) and on-premises deployments (Cloud on your terms).  Salesforce forces you to a single deployment model.