Hello

I get the CRMlady's newsletter from time to time - Anne always has great info and great advice, and she sometimes talks development!  You can signup to recieve her email here http://www.crmlady.com/

We work with clients all the time doing sales and marketing automation projects, but always have a tough time letting people know about the benefits of using CRM and a development platform for line of business applications - We had a post a week or so ago that addressed the same topic https://powerobjects.com/blog/2008/11/06/net-development-powerobjects-things-to-consider/

In Anne's newletter she gives 5 reasons to use CRM for development that rings true and is worth sharing - here is her text

Five reasons for using the Dynamics CRM framework for development as opposed to just writing it all from scratch.

1. You don't have to program, design, and write the sophisticated: enterprise and SMB flexible security role system. CRM offers both a Team Security framework and a Business Unit framework.
2. You don't have to program, design, and write the sophisticated: toolkit for  managing the core relationship data including bulk edit, delete vs. deactivate, and convert from prospect to client.
3. You don't have to program, design, and write the sophisticated: integration solution to Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel.  CRM has a very sophisticated tie to Outlook, Word and Excel.
4. You can focus all your development effort on the industry specific niche needs of your client.
5. You will have resources and potential funds for extra development effort for seemless integration with other company applications.

Have a great week!