by Ron Miller

Microsoft Dynamics Corporate VP Bob Stutz Steps Down

Bob Stutz stepped down today as head of Microsoft Dynamics CRM after 3.5 years at the helm. His exit could hurt as Microsoft has been pushing to upgrade the CRM tool to compete better with Salesforce, SAP and Oracle. http://tcrn.ch/1MOfXTk

Salesforce Ventures Leads $41M Apttus Investment

You probably haven't heard of Apttus, but they play an important role in the sales cycle. Built on top of Salesforce, they pick up where CRM leaves off with the quote, contract and cash portion of the cycle. Today the company got $41M in funding led by Salesforce Ventures. http://tcrn.ch/1zvBbim

Photo Credit:  DAN MOYLE/FLICKR UNDER A CC BY 2.0 LICENSE

Microsoft Dynamics follows Salesforce's lead, gets more social

Microsoft Dynamics announced a couple of social partnerships last week including direct integration with the recently acquired Yammer (no surprise there), but given the social trend, it's hardly shocking that Dynamics is finding ways to get more social.

Read my article on CITEworld.

Content Management & CRM: Two Great Technologies that Taste Great Together

In my Editor's Corner this week on FierceContentManagement, I look at the connection between content management and customer relationship management (CRM). Several companies I've looked at in the last couple of weeks have products that connect to CRM tools and I don't think it's a coincidence.

Read my Editor's Corner and find out why.

Photo by Tomma Henckel

CRM Selection and Implementation Made Easy - Inside CRM

Link: CRM Selection and Implementation Made Easy - Inside CRM.

My latest InsideCRM article looks at how to choose and implement a CRM system successfully. I spoke to Brent Leary, who is co-founder and partner at CRM Essentials and he provided me with some great insight on how to move from selection through implementation. His thoughts were based on his experience implementing CRM tools, but in many ways, what he told me is applicable to any complex software implementation.

6 Technologies That Compliment CRM - Inside CRM

Link: 6 Technologies That Compliment CRM - Inside CRM.

I published an article this week for InsideCRM on 6 Technologies that Compliment CRM. CRM is just one piece in the enterprise software puzzle and if you can understand which pieces fit together, it can help your company work more efficiently, rather than maintaining each database as an information silo. This article looks at 6 software packages that work well with your CRM software.

Take CRM in Your Pocket - Inside CRM

Link: Take CRM in Your Pocket - Inside CRM.

My latest article for InsideCRM looks at Vaultus, a Boston-based software company that redesigns CRM (and other software) so that it operates on mobile devices. This is particularly useful for CRM as many sales people are on the road and having access to the CRM system on their mobile device means they can enter information right after a meeting while it's still fresh in their minds (and receive the most up-to-date information about their clients on the fly).

When Compliance Meets CRM - Inside CRM

Link: When Compliance Meets CRM - Inside CRM.

My latest post for InsideCRM looks at what happens when a company with compliance concerns needs CRM. The company, Hyperion, a start-up drug company, had even more complications because after federal approval they had to go to market in a very short time. In addition, they were selling a brand new drug in an untapped market so they needed a system that was flexible enough to adapt as their understanding of the market changed

Using Marketing Analytics to Slingshot Sales - Inside CRM

Link: Using Marketing Analytics to Slingshot Sales - Inside CRM.

My latest InsideCRM article looks at how you can use marketing analytics information in conjunction with sales to define a good lead and increase sales. By defining quality leads, it can provide a way for a company to manage the sales and marketing process better and help build more accountability into both parts of the sales ecosystem.

5 Steps for SMB to Get Started with Hosted CRM for InsideCRM

I published my latest InsideCRM article, 5 Steps for Small Businesses to Get Started with Hosted CRM. I talked to a couple of industry experts to learn best practices that a small business owner should consider when implementing a hosted CRM package.