Microsoft is setting its sights on the business software market with a new thrust expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The Redmond, Wash.-based software company is expected to disclose some of its plans for moving into the customer relationship management, or CRM, software market, with a new package built on technology from its Great Plains unit, sources close to the company said. It's no secret that Microsoft has had its eye on the market for business software. Speculation has run high that it would make an entry since it acquired Great Plains, a maker of accounting software for small and midsized businesses, in 2000.

But just how much of the market Microsoft will seek to capture--and how soon--isn't clear. The company appears to be targeting the small to medium segments of the market, or companies with between 25 and 5,000 employees, sources said. Such a move will put Microsoft in direct competition with market leader Siebel Systems, as well as smaller companies such as Onyx Software and Pivotal. As makers of Windows-based software, those companies are also some of Microsoft's closest allies.