Adding Social Media Monitoring to Microsoft Dynamics CRM
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 beta release doesn't include social media monitoring capabilities, but a Microsoft Dynamics CRM team member has figured out a way to add them.
In a blog posting earlier this week, Siddhartha Rai, program manager for business intelligence with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, described his efforts to create a social media monitoring dashboard.
Using Twitter widgets for search and profile and Microsoft Fuse Labs SocialGadgets, Rai created a brand and profile monitoring tool that also includes some basic analytics.
While Microsoft may at some point make social CRM capabilities standard in Dynamics CRM, other companies are already moving in to fill the void.
Webfortis today announced its own social media management tool for Dynamics CRM. The tool tracks social networking conversations on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn in a single viewer so users can “participate in conversations and convert these interactions into leads, opportunities, contacts, or cases with the click of a bottom,” the company said in a press release.
Marc Wolenik, CEO of Webfortis, said in a statement that the company's new “Parrot” offering “is the first fully functional platform for Microsoft Dynamics to both participate in conversations about a company's products, customers and competitors and to drive new top-line revenue opportunities for our customers.”
Parrot is generally available as a hosted cloud computing application from Webfortis and is compatible with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and 2011, both for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and On-Premise product offerings. It is free for Webfortis customers.
Social CRM and social media monitoring and analytics are quickly becoming must-have capabilities for companies. Just last week, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Tom Roderick said he was surprised at how quickly the technology has moved from hype to adoption.
Paul Ferrill has been writing for over 15 years about computers and network technology. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering as well as a MS in Electrical Engineering. He is a regular contributor to the computer trade press. He has a specialization in complex data analysis and storage. He has written hundreds of articles and two books for various outlets over the years. His articles have appeared in Enterprise Apps Today and InfoWorld, Network World, PC Magazine, Forbes, and many other publications.
