Interesting Thoughts on SalesForce.com
Back Street Symphony...
As a rule I don't go in for badmouthing other software companies, especially those with whom we compete with in the CRM market, but I just came across Mike Schinkel's blog at https://www.thoughtsonsalesforce.com. Mike seems to be a smart guy with a lot of experience in the software industry, and reading through his personal blog it's clear he's not soaked in the Microsoft view of the world, which makes his constructive criticism of Marc Benioff & Co. all the more interesting.
Mike has a lot to say on how SalesForce get customers started with TEAM edition at a very competitive price point ($695 per year for 5 users), but use it simply as a "bait & switch" tactic to get you to upgrade to PROFESSIONAL edition at more than 5 times the price ($3,900 per year) or even ENTERPRISE edition ($9,000 per year). Looking through the list of features you need to pay extra for are some capabilities we take for granted within Microsoft Dynamics CRM, such as:
- Data Export
- Product Catalog
- Territory Management
- Mass Email
- Campaign Management
- List Management
- Worklow Automation
- Case Queues
- Offline & Mobile Access
- Rename Tabs and Labels
- Record-Level Security
Now don't get me wrong I'm all for offering cost effective solutions to customers, but not at the expense of basic functionality such as data export. It will be interesting to see what happens when Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live launches later this year, and whether this will cause SalesForce to take on board some of Mike's comments.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.