SMB Software Suites: Microsoft

How suite it is.

The 2005 CRN Channel Champions Survey suggested Microsoft has finally calmed the roiled seas of its Microsoft Business Solutions channel, which has an assemblage of business suites collected through its acquisitions of Great Plains, Solomon, Axapta and Navision.

Microsoft defeated rivals in the SMB software suites category with an overall score of 77, edging out Best Software’s 73.3 and soundly beating Oracle’s 68.4.

On channel-program satisfaction, Microsoft, Redmond, Wash., garnered especially high marks relative to its rivals in the areas of vendor support, technical education, keeping solution providers informed and consistency of channel programs.

Solution providers said defining clear rules of engagement was key to the strides Microsoft has made in program consistency, which is a huge issue for the vendor, given the different platforms and partners involved.

“Microsoft has worked hard to normalize and recategorize the different partner communities, and one of the things they’ve done is been consistent with their messaging and follow-through,” said Terry Petrzelka, CEO of Tectura, a large reseller of Microsoft ERP packages based in Redwood Shores, Calif. “Before, there was an old guy network, with a certain amount of favoritism for partners who came from a particular channel.”

But Microsoft still has room to improve. The company slipped half a point behind Best Software on the criteria of reducing/eliminating channel conflict and total ROI for customers, and solution providers dinged Microsoft on the criterion of licensing policies—rating it second to Best Software by 3.5 points in this area.

The most likely source of disgruntlement: Microsoft’s broad distribution of MS-CRM and resulting price competition among partners.

“In the old days, you could not buy MBS products through a big distributor. Then, Microsoft test-marketed CRM to increase sales,” said Einar Ulfsson, partner with Axapta specialist Columbus IT Partner, Stamford, Conn. “Now resellers’ margin with MS-CRM has been taken away because everyone buys it at the lowest price.”

In technical areas, solution providers had no such qualms. Microsoft swept all of the technical criteria and had its best showing in the survey on the criterion of quality of applications, where it led Best Software by an exceptional 7.8 points.

Microsoft also came up strong on user interface designs, integration capabilities, management features and customization tools. Solution providers rated it 6.4 points ahead of Best Software in overall technical satisfaction.