Two weeks after acquiring ManagedOps, a Bedford, N.H. application outsourcer that specializes in Microsoft Business Solutions, Surebridge is already reaping benefits from the deal. Today, the Lexington, Mass.-based mid-market ASP announced that it is the first vendor to provide Microsoft Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as a hosted service.
Dubbed CRM Online by Surebridge, the offering is designed to allow mid-size businesses to gain immediate access to Microsoft CRM as an online service. Customers can access the application the same day they sign up, without having to deal with application deployment or daily management, according to Surebridge.
“We are pleased to be the first application outsourcer to offer Microsoft CRM in a hosted environment,” said Peter J. Boni, chairman and CEO of Surebridge.
Boni told ASPnews, when Surebridge announced its purchase of ManagedOps, that he was excited about the prospects of offering Microsoft CRM Online and the opportunities to provide front- and back-office connectivity. Boni described Microsoft’s CRM integration capabilities as “seamless.” The CRM application is built to integrate with other Microsoft products including Microsoft Office, Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Business Solutions financial management applications, as well as third-party applications.
According to Surebridge, it collaborated on the development of the online service with ManagedOps (a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for Hosting and Application Services) and will jointly market and support CRM Online, which will be sold through Surebridge’s network of Microsoft-certified channel partners.
“Surebridge provides the expertise needed to ensure customers have a successful deployment in a hosted environment,” said David Thacher, general manager for CRM at Microsoft Business Solutions. “The combination of Microsoft CRM and CRM Online by Surebridge enables midmarket organizations to increase their business productivity, maintain a low total cost of ownership for their CRM solution, and integrate with other Microsoft and third-party solutions.”
Surebridge said it will offer CRM Online for an introductory monthly fee of $99 per user, with a one-time $695 setup fee, which doesn’t include the licensing fee for Microsoft CRM. Those licenses range from $395 per user plus $995 for the server for the Standard Sales level to $1,295 per user plus $1,990 for both sales and service servers at the Professional Suite level.
Surebridge is listed by ASPnews as a Top 20 Service Provider. Microsoft is listed as a Top 30 Service Enabler.
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