Microsoft Ready For On-Demand CRM Price War

from the live-it-up dept

Much to the chagrin of its rivals, Microsoft has never been hesitant to compete aggressively on price. In fact, its willingness to be brutal on pricing has drawn some of the loudest antitrust accusations over the years. Microsoft looks set to go down this road again, as it has announced prices for its new on-demand CRM Live service that are well below the equivalent at Salesforce.com. Even with the cut-rate prices, it's going to be a challenge for Microsoft to make it big in this market. Salesforce.com has proven popular among small and medium-sized businesses and it's already started developing an ecosystem around its services through its AppExchange program. Microsoft's trump card may not be its prices, but its extensive network of partners that will be pushing CRM Live. While many partners had expressed the fear that an on-demand service would cut them out of the equation, Microsoft promises to reward them generously for any customers they help pull in, by offering them a slice of annual subscription revenues.

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