In a move seen as significant for those with any level of knowledge of the CRM industry, HP Inc. has dealt a blow to CRM giant Salesforce by choosing Microsoft Dynamics as its cloud solution for sales functionality.

The details

While the financial details are non-existent (currently privately held by both Microsoft and HP), a 6-year deal has been struck, meaning that Microsoft will now be the exclusive provider of CRM for the technology company. According to HP COO Jon Flaxman, the organisation has: “chosen Microsoft Dynamics as our CRM solution for our direct selling, partners, and services. This brings us a cloud-based solution that delivers a more effective and efficient collaboration engine across our business.” The reason this is significant is that – previous to their split last year – Hewlett-Packard was one of the largest users of Salesforce – Dynamics CRM’s largest competitor. The two businesses were so entwined that Salesforce developed a specific app for HP called the Unison portal, which was rolled out to HP’s Platinum, Gold and Silver Partners. This was heavily integrated with the Salesforce platform.

Friends? Enemies?

While Microsoft Dynamics still has its ‘friend-enemy’ status in tact with Salesforce, this will likely be a blow to Salesforce’s confidence, as they have always been a market-leader in the ‘CRM-in-the-cloud’ arena. With Microsoft’s market share of the CRM user base hovering at around 4%, this win could be big for them, and could persuade Salesforce Partners to make the switch from Salesforce to Dynamics CRM. So why are HP making this move now? With Microsoft’s recent reveal of Dynamics 365, it could be possible that the organisation’s core mission objective of improving productivity though comprehensive technology like Dynamics 365 has attracted HP. With the full integration of Office 365 into Dynamics CRM, and a cloud-based interface, Dynamics CRM offers Salesforce users what they already had, plus the ability for greater level of productivity and collaboration. We might hear more about this flagship partnership at AXUG at the big reveal of Dynamics 365 as Microsoft will be wanting to find ways to draw attention to it. That said, for those looking for concrete details of how the deal may play out, and the latest Dynamics partnerships, stay tuned to our blog.