Microsoft's announcement that it would enter the market for customer relationship management (CRM) software--applications that help companies track information about customers--was met with the obligatory volley of choreographed public relations responses. Each ostensible competitor claimed the software behemoth was a valuable partner and that [insert CRM firm name]'s prospects would be largely unaffected--nay, enhanced--by the arrival of their newest and biggest peer. In fact, every company reliant on a CRM franchise has plenty of reason to worry.
In imminent danger are richly funded private companies that have spent years and scads of venture capital building their franchise around the same small to midsize businesses that Microsoft will target. "Microsoft presents more of an immediate challenge to CRM startups," according to Louis Columbus, senior analyst with AMR Research in Boston. "Those companies not yet established will have to be very aware of what is going on."
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