News
Dynamics CRM 'Titan' Goes to TAP Partners
Microsoft announced this week it is previewing the next major release of its
Dynamics CRM product, which is codenamed "Titan," with new features
to help enable software-as-a-service (SaaS) scenarios.
The preview is going out to a range of partners through the company's Technology
Adoption Program (TAP).
The new version introduces a multitenant architecture, meaning that one application
can be used to serve users from different companies, reducing the number of
instances of the application that needs to be running, while at the same time
protecting individual customers' data from unauthorized access.
Additionally, Titan uses a single code base to support both on-premise deployments
as well as SaaS deployments through hosting partners and through the upcoming
Microsoft Dynamics Live CRM service, according to company statements.
Titan is an evolution of Dynamics CRM 3.0 product, which shipped in December
2005. (See "Microsoft
Ships CRM 3.0 on Schedule," Dec. 6, 2005.) The upgrade is designed
to provide the ability to choose on-premise or SaaS deployments, and to access
CRM capabilities from within Microsoft Office Outlook, through a Web browser,
and from mobile devices.
Titan was first described by company officials at Microsoft's annual Worldwide
Partner Conference in Boston last July. (See "Dynamics
CRM Live Made Channel-Ready," July 11, 2006.)
The Titan TAP program will initially involve about 300 partners during the
first quarter of 2007, and will expand to include more than 1,000 partners during
the second quarter, the company said.
Titan is currently scheduled for release along with the new Microsoft Dynamics
Live CRM service in mid-2007. The Microsoft Dynamics Live CRM service will initially
be available in North America; plans for international expansion of the service
will be announced at a later time.
About the Author
Stuart J. Johnston has covered technology, especially Microsoft, since February 1988 for InfoWorld, Computerworld, Information Week, and PC World, as well as for Enterprise Developer, XML & Web Services, and .NET magazines.