Microsoft Business Solutions, Microsoft, and Microsoft Great Plains

Throughout the book I'll refer to Microsoft CRM. The official name for this product is really Microsoft Business Solutions CRM. Most of us know Microsoft as the leading developer of personal computer (PC) operating systems (Windows 2000, Windows XP, and so on), desktop productivity applications (Microsoft Word, Excel, and so on) and perhaps application development languages (Microsoft Visual Basic, Active Server Pages, and so on).

On April 5, 2001, Microsoft completed the acquisition of Great Plains, a Fargo, North Dakota company that specialized in Microsoft-based accounting, financial, and operational software. This acquisition catapulted Microsoft into the world of business applications. Great Plains has now become a division of what is referred to as “Microsoft Classic” and the division name is Microsoft Business Solutions. Microsoft CRM is designed and managed out of the Business Solutions Division, hence the long name. In most places I'll save the keystrokes and refer to the product as Microsoft CRM.