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November 11, 2002

Looking to out-Microsoft Microsoft when it comes to customer relationship management (CRM) software, Web-based CRM ASP Upshot today announced what it describes as the only hosted CRM service to offer integration with Microsoft Outlook e-mail software.

"Microsoft has been touting the integration of its CRM software with Outlook. UpShot's Web service not only delivers deep integration with Outlook, it can be quickly deployed at a total cost of ownership that is a fraction of what will be offered by Microsoft," Keith Raffel, Upshot's chairman and founder said.

Raffel's comments refer to Microsoft's anticipated entry into the CRM market. While not many details are known about Microsoft CRM application, it is expected to target small to mid-size companies.

"Integration with e-mail is the number 1 request from users," Raffel told ASPnews. The goal of Upshot's new Outlook features is to both increase CRM adoption rates and increase the amount of sales-critical data available. With what Raffel describes as "one-click integration" salespeople can capture both incoming and outgoing e-mails and add relevant messages and attachments to Upshot.

The new features appear both simple and significant. Raffel said the Outlook XML-based integration doesn't required the addition of an Exchange server or any other hardware. Users will notice three new buttons on the Outlook e-mail toolbar:

• Add to Upshot, which is designed to allow users to add incoming messages and documents to the CRM application
• Send and Add to Upshot, allows users to add outgoing e-mails to Upshot while sending an e-mail
• Upshot Find, built to let users look up e-mail addresses stored in Upshot's CRM software

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