The Cisco IP Communications and Microsoft Dynamics CRMSmall and Medium-Sized Business Solution

As a small or medium-sized business (SMB) competing against larger companies, you

know you need to work harder, faster, and smarter to win market share. You also know

that customer satisfaction plays a crucial role in winning customers and keeping them.

Why is real-time access to comprehensive customerhistory information so important? Because eachinteraction presents an opportunity to provide bettercustomer service or to up-sell or cross-sell addition-al solutions and services.

Integrated customer relationship management (CRM)and IP Communications can help you win and retaincustomers by giving you powerful tracking and infor-mation access tools that your entire company can use.Converged voice and data networks and applicationsoffer real business value by streamlining communica-tions and pulling together vital customer informationexactly when you need it.

Microsoft and Cisco—Teaming Up toDesign a Solution Just for SMBsUntil now, price and complexity have limited CRMand IP Communications applications to largerorganizations. But those barriers are crumbling.Microsoft, the world’s leading supplier of softwaresolutions, and Cisco Systems, the worldwide leaderin networking for the Internet, have teamed up tocreate an enterprise-class solution designed espe-cially for small and medium-sized organizations.

Together, Cisco IP Communications and MicrosoftDynamics CRM offer a full-featured, but right-sizedapproach that enables you to more effectively identifyand address customer needs and build profitable cus-tomer relationships.

Solution Brief

Create a clearer, more complete view of yourcustomers

• Unified e-mail, telephone, and database recordsprovide a single view of all customer-relatedinformation

• Integrated interaction history helps you under-stand customers better and build stronger business relationships

• Immediate access to customer preferences letsyou respond more quickly and efficiently to customer needs

Grow your sales by focusing on what reallymatters to your business

• Easy-to use-tools capture, analyze, and shareinformation and target marketing efforts

• Customer-centered content search helps pinpointkey details that can close deals

• Clearer insight into customers offers opportunitiesfor up-sell, cross-sell, and contract renewal

Gather useable knowledge, not just data

• Knowledgebase tools build a customer picturethat builds with every interaction

• Customer call metrics provide valuable feedbackfor staff training and coaching

• Executive dashboard and other reports give man-agers needed, timely updates

(continued)

Increase customer satisfaction. Expandyour small and medium-sized business.Now you can equip your entire workforce with theknowledge they need at their fingertips on one screen.No more hurriedly trying to access that database file orflipping through folders and vainly trying to refresh yourmemory during a customer phone call. Everythingabout your customer—current and past product pur-chases, sales information, account relationships, billinginformation—is displayed onscreen using the familiarMicrosoft Outlook interface. From screen pops thatautomatically open contact records with new activityscreens as calls arrive, to call information capture andclick-to-dial from onscreen record features, your staffworks faster and more effectively during incoming andoutgoing calls.

The Cisco IP Communications and Microsoft CRM Small and Medium-Sized Business Solution

Fig 1. The Customer Centered Company. Using the Cisco IP Communications and Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution to grow your business by placing customers first.

Solution Brief

Provide a better sales and support experiencefor contacts and customers

• Real-time access lets you respond and completetransactions more quickly

• Flexible call routing quickly targets the appropri-ate resource regardless of location

• Call load balancing automatically responds toshifts in staffing or traffic so calls are nevermissed

Increase the effectiveness of your limitedresources

• Intelligent lists and tools let you use resourcesmore efficiently, streamlining sales, marketing,customer service, and reporting efforts

• Single-source entry and display eliminates dupli-cate efforts and scattered information

• Data views and queries are easily tailored toyield exactly the information you need

A Complete Communications SolutionCisco reliability, Microsoft expertise, and a trustedintegration partner create the solution you’ve beenwaiting for: enterprise-class functionality with cus-tomizable tools tailored for small and medium-sizedbusiness environments. Integrated functionality and a familiar Outlook-based interface get you and youremployees up and using the system in no time.

Depending on your requirements, the Cisco IPCommunications and Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution components can include:

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM—A full-featured produc-tivity application that displays a single view of thecustomer through integrated sales, marketing, andcustomer service interactions.

• Cisco CRM Communications Connector—A software“bridge” at the desktop that integrates Cisco IPCommunications and Microsoft CRM components.

• Cisco IP phones—Devices that combine the power of data networks with the convenience and ease-of-use of telephones.

• Cisco CallManager—Software that supports unifiedmessaging (e-mail, voice-mail and fax messages in a single inbox), voice and videoconferencing, and collaborative contact centers.

The Cisco IP Communications and Microsoft CRM Small and Medium-Sized Business Solution

Cisco IP Communications Solution Featuresand Benefits

• Flexible framework combines communicationsand work styles into one highly productive workenvironment.

• Unified messaging lets users access and managevoice-mail, e-mail, and fax messages from a single inbox to simplify their workday.

• Consolidated voice and data network cuts thecosts of user moves, adds, and changes, andeliminates costly toll charges and recurringleased-line fees.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Features andBenefits

• Works the way you do, with features to helpdevelop customer relationships and make betterinformed decisions.

• Works the way your business does, with a flexi-ble platform that adapts to changing informationneeds.

• Works the way IT expects it to, with tools to rapidly deploy and manage the solution.

Solution Brief

The Cisco IP Communications and Microsoft CRM Small and Medium-Sized Business Solution

Next StepsBy integrating Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Cisco IP Communications, Cisco and Microsoft provide a com-plete offering that will help your company raise its profitability and expand your business.

The Cisco IP Communications and Microsoft CRM solution is currently available from select Cisco and MicrosoftCertified Partners. For more information, visit www.cisco.com/go/ciscomicrosoftsmb.

Solution Brief

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Microsoft CorporationOne Microsoft WayRedmond, WA 98052-6399www.microsoft.com

Copyright © 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Catalyst, Cisco, Cisco Systems, the Cisco Systems logo, and Cisco Unity are registered trademarks or trademarks of CiscoSystems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries.

© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Microsoft, Great Plains, Outlook,Windows, Windows Server, and Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/orother countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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