Most businesses have unique processes and procedures and have many different tools to implement those.  The most basic, but also most prevalent tool is the good old spreadsheet.  Staff will create spreadsheets of customers and the related information that is relevant for them to perform their duties, and this can be very productive as an individual but that does not scale well to an organization or even small teams within an organization.  The CRM should be considered a team-based tool where all information is stored in a central database and available for all.  The net effect is that activities become more visible to other team members for them to pick up on and add additional value.  It also helps cut down on internal communication as reporting and communication can be easily automated using the workflow and reporting infrastructures of the CRM platform.

Quite frequently, there are larger processes that cannot be automated with a simple spreadsheet, so developers frequently create custom databases and applications.  This is even more prevalent in web development as companies extend customer functionality on their website.  For example, developers might create custom SQL schemas for a rudimentary helpdesk system on their website so that customers can log trouble tickets online.

The CRM should be viewed as a platform, not just another database.  The CRM has an entire infrastructure that allows information stored in the CRM to be reused throughout all the other interfaces in the CRM so that staff can easily see the entire 360 degree view of the customer.  The Microsoft CRM is based on SQL and custom entities and properties can be easily added to the database to track most customer information.  The Microsoft CRM even has a helpdesk functionality in its customer service module.  Treating the CRM as a platform means extending the CRM schema to include your custom data requirements and getting your developers to code against the CRM APIs instead of another stove-pipe SQL-based application.

Storing the information in the CRM platform instead of in a separate SQL database will ensure that the information can be easily accessed within the CRM user interfaces, reports, and that business rules and processes can be automated through the workflow modules.  This infrastructure is already built into the CRM and will save your developers time as they would have to build out those complex features in the custom applications as they get further entrenched into the organization.  Finally, one additional benefit is that the CRM data model is designed to be taken off-line using the Outlook laptop client.  Storing your customer information in the CRM will also have the benefit that your staff can still have access to the data even if they are not connected to the corporate network.

The ADXSTUDIO CMS product is tightly integrated into Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  Integration points include lead-generation, two-way contact information synchronization, marketing list memberships, and helpdesk tickets.  Future integration with event management, web chat, product catalogs and e-commerce, marketing campaign fulfilment will also be possible.  When you build a modern high-engagement website using the ADXSTUDIO CMS, you can rest assured that the relevant customer interactions on your website will be made available in the CRM to ensure that you realize the full value of your CRM investment.