REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 14, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced that Syncsort, a global leader in extreme performance data integration and data protection software, has switched from Salesforce.com to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Syncsort began its migration in July after realizing it needed a solution that could more effectively integrate with its partner portal and support rapid company growth. By switching to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Syncsort has doubled user adoption, improved reporting and reduced customer management inconsistencies, and projected cost reductions through the automation of manual marketing and sales processes.

The company’s switch precedes recent recognition from Ovum, a leading independent analyst research firm, which positioned Microsoft Dynamics CRM in the shortlist category of the “Decision Matrix: Selecting a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Vendor” report.* “This category includes the leading solutions, which signifies that the vendor has established a commanding market position with a product that is widely accepted as best of breed,” said Rhonda Ascierto, Angela Eager and Warren Wilson, senior analysts at Ovum.

“We have been experiencing rapid growth and required a solution that was more scalable and could better accommodate our transformation to a more partner-centric organization,” said Joseph Stamboulie, senior director of global information technology, Syncsort. “We needed to improve our ability to generate and track leads, manage our sales pipeline, and service our customers and partners, from all of our offices worldwide.”

Other reasons Syncsort decided to switch to Microsoft Dynamics CRM include ease of use, customization capabilities, total cost of ownership, and interoperability with other Microsoft business productivity products, including Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Office, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange. The company also uses Microsoft Dynamics GP to manage its accounts payable system and acknowledged that Microsoft Dynamics CRM would offer the interoperability between the two technologies.

“We chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM because of its flexibility — we see significant value in having the option to go from an on-premises deployment to an online deployment to support changing business needs — and native Microsoft Outlook interoperability, which has increased user adoption. Microsoft Dynamics has enabled us to scale as our business grows, while minimizing associated costs,” Stamboulie said.

Syncsort also acknowledged that having support from an established partner program was important. “The overall depth of Microsoft’s partner ecosystem gave us added confidence,” Stamboulie said. “We depended heavily on Axonom for its powerful and flexible partner portal capabilities, Tribridge for its professional CRM project management, customization and implementation, and AbleBridge for reporting and automation.”

“Organizations need the most innovative and efficient solutions to help them manage growth and change,” said Brad Wilson, general manager, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Product Management Group. “We are excited that Microsoft Dynamics CRM fulfills that need for our customers by giving them a solution that is easy to use, flexible and can grow to support their business needs.”