What's In A Name?: Microsoft Re-Brands On-Demand CRM

Microsoft is making it clear that its software-as-a-service CRM application, now being rolled out to the general marketplace, isn't just for small businesses. So the vendor is changing its name to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to distinguish it from Microsoft's other "Live" products that target consumers and small businesses.

Until now Microsoft has been calling the on-demand CRM application "Dynamics CRM Live." But apparently there were concerns that customers might consider the product in the same class of offerings as Microsoft Office Live, a collection of online applications and services such as e-mail and online data storage for small businesses, and Windows Live, a collection of hosted services for consumers including instant messaging and search.

Microsoft executives have been hammering away recently on the message that Microsoft Dynamics applications -- especially the on-premise Dynamics CRM and the software-as-a-service version of the application built on the same code base -- are enterprise-class software products. CEO Steve Ballmer, for example, made that a central point of his keynote speech at the Convergence conference in Orlando earlier this month.

"Whereas the Live brand is focused on consumers and small businesses, the Online brand is fully aligned with our existing Dynamics CRM strategy of delivering outstanding solutions for small businesses, midsized companies and large enterprises," wrote Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, in an e-mail circulated earlier today.

Wilson emphasized that the product's name is the only thing that's changing and the product's target markets, pricing and channel strategy remains the same.

Dynamics CRM Online is currently in use by some 500 early-access customers and Microsoft plans to make the service generally available to customers in the U.S. and Canada during the second quarter.