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xRM versus Force.com

Post Author: Joe D365 | January 24th, 2011

Hello World! but I thought it was a funny start to this particular blog. From time to time Microsoft releases some great white papers, and one such paper came out last week: Comparing xRM and Force.com.

You can all imagine which way PowerObjects leans J - But this is a nice high level overview for the technical decision maker. We have built our business on extending CRM is ways that only our customers can come up with, and the xRM application framework has given us the best tool to do this in a rapid application environment ever! We've been developing software for almost 2 decades and this is hands down the fastest (less expensive) way to do it. Now add in the power of SilverLight and the options are infinite!

So at a high level the paper hits on:

  • Why the xRM framework is a better choice
  • Components of a framework
  • Deployment options
  • The investment in xRM and the platform

I was recently in a sales call where the real reason of this was driven home – they were looking for a CRM system they could extend beyond sales. The deal had come down to MS CRM and SFDC….there was a person in the room that made the statement "we have an instance of SFDC already running – why should we bother to switch to MS CRM" To this we posed the question to the room – made up of many of the IT department – "How many folks here know how to program in Force.Com"….no hands went up….."how many people here know how to program in .NET"…almost all hands went up. We just let that hang there for a few seconds and said – ok let's move on!

Enjoy the white paper and don't hesitate to reach out if we can help with your Microsoft Dynamics CRM needs.

Happy CRM'ing

Joe CRM
By Joe D365
Joe D365 is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 superhero who runs on pure Dynamics adrenaline. As the face of PowerObjects, Joe D365’s mission is to reveal innovative ways to use Dynamics 365 and bring the application to more businesses and organizations around the world.

4 comments on “xRM versus Force.com”

  1. Like in 1900, if you asked "Who knows how to drive a car?" No hands. "Who knows how to ride a horse?" All hands....

  2. Cute – but I think your analogy leaves a little to be desired. Both of the technologies are relevant today, but the enterprise is much more versed in .NET - Force.com does not give you the leap forward that cars vs horses did – But a nice jab anyway  even though it really adds nothing to the discussion.

  3. Actually I agree with the analogy. The point being that just because everyone uses an approach, doesn't mean it's the best one. The reality of SFDC is that most of the customizations can be done quickly with point-and-click rather than coding. That is a major benefit to SFDC which is overlooked in the white paper. So to be fair, the real question to the room should have been more along the lines of "who knows how to point-and-click a mouse?".

  4. Well I still disagree – I thought the analogy was pointing to the fact that in 1900 there were not many cars around so more people knew how to get their transportation via horseback. I would also beg to differ on your thoughts around “customization” Neither SFDC or MSCRM has point and click customization – they do both offer great point and click “configuration” – I would say this is why they are the top two solutions in the market! The white paper had to do with the extension or “customization” of either product and with MSCRM that path is .NET and with SFDC it is Force.com. The paper (put out by Microsoft) is of course trying to explain why the .NET customization route is the way to go and being in deals daily where this is important I have seen it play out.

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