“Market forces shaping Microsoft Dynamics CRM partners’ cloud ambitions” by Jason Gumpert. Read Full Article. “…Beyond the Silverpop news in particular, acquisition in the cloud CRM space could ultimately be driving businesses like IBM & Microsoft to turn inward, promoting their own strategic goals and reducing their interest in business partnerships that contribute to secondary ecosystems. Vendors participating as partners in the Dynamics CRM channel, for example, could become less attractive in Microsoft’s eyes after they are acquired by a major software force like IBM, and vice versa, believes Lou Guercia, CEO of Scribe Software. Guercia’s views on such scenarios are rooted in his own past experiences. Before Scribe, Guercia led WebDialogs, Inc., a venture-funded web conferencing startup that IBM acquired in 2007. As WebDialogs’ offering was integrated into IBM’s public cloud SaaS portfolio, including its rebranding under the Lotus product line, the formerly partner-friendly startup became an IBM-centric product with a strategic focus that no longer included the SMB and partner initiatives that had built the company. Such areas just weren’t aligned with IBM’s core competencies or strategic goals at the time, Guercia says.” Read Full Article.
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