Microsoft CRM 3.0 hosting

Over the past months, industry analysts have wondered whether or not Microsoft would sell a monthly service where customers (and partners) could host CRM in a data center run by Microsoft. Will they or won't they? The debate raged back and forth. Well the answer is in.

They won't.

Microsoft CRM General Manager Brad Wilson definitively stated this week:

In addition to clarifying Microsoft's ship schedule, Wilson also made clear Microsoft's plans around releasing a hosted version of its CRM 3.0 product.

"We are not going to offer a hosted solution ourselves," Wilson said. "We don't need to play somebody else's game."

Microsoft will provide a hosting infrastructure and "encourage our partners to make the product available on a hosted basis, where appropriate," Wilson explained.

However, don't get confused. Customers can still buy Microsoft CRM 3.0 on a monthly licensing plan, but they will have to work with a Microsoft partner to host it for them (or they can host it themselves).

In the short-term, this seems like an extremely smart decision by the CRM product team. Hosting and the managed services that go with hosting requires an extremely different skill set than software development. There is no need for Microsoft to rush into hosting and possibly get distracted from marketing, developing and supporting Microsoft CRM 3.0.

Long-term, we hope that Microsoft will continue to explore this option and then pick the move makes the most sense for customers and partners.