Fralick said Webasto's sales force did suffer through the defects of earlier versions of the Microsoft CRM software. "The [initial] product wasn't a flop," he said. "It just didn't work as billed. Now they have an excellent new version that's finally there."

'Worth it in the end'

The integration with Microsoft applications prompted Wilson Language Training Corp. in Oxford, Mass., to replace its Siebel 6.0 CRM software with Microsoft CRM 1.2 in January 2005, said Brian Kretchman, technical development manager at the provider of teacher training resources.

Despite the cost of the licensing, end-user retraining and the data cleansing associated with replacing Siebel, it was "worth it in the end," said Kretchman, a panelist at the Convergence conference.

Kretchman said customization of the Siebel software by sales personnel led to IT support problems. The more rigid Microsoft CRM process improved the efficiency of the software's 60 users, he said.