Beyond Windows 10: 6 Microsoft Releases To Watch

Microsoft has confirmed plans to acquire "key product and technology assets" of longtime partner Adxstudio with the goal of improving Web services for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Web self-service has become the go-to tool for customers seeking help, writes Dynamics CRM corporate vice president Bob Stutz in a blog post on the news. As a result, Microsoft is looking to improve the way organizations engage with customers and conduct business online.

Adxstudio provides Web portals, online engagement tools, and application life cycle management solutions for Microsoft's customer relationship management software.

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Web portals from Adxstudio are built natively into Dynamics CRM and enable Microsoft customers to bring sales and customer services processes online. The portals integrate with the CRM app for both online and on-premises customers, both of which can begin using the system "right away," Microsoft reports.

Dynamics CRM customers are also set to benefit from Adxstudio tools designed to improve customer communications both on-premises and in the cloud.

"This acquisition also delivers pre-built engagement solutions including partner relationship management for organizations who sell through partner channels; technical support solutions for high tech and software development organizations; and online citizen engagement for public sector organizations," Stutz writes.

With its new Adxstudio tools, Microsoft promises to accelerate efforts to help customers and ISVs build their own CRM solutions using Microsoft technologies. The acquired capabilities enable all business processes to become compatible for the Web, Stutz explains.

Adxstudio extends Microsoft CRM data to the Web by leveraging CRM Entity Permissions, Entity Lists, Entity Forms and Entity Actions. Point-and-click configuration enables businesses to build web portals with content editing capabilities, responsive Web design and granular permissions capabilities.

Microsoft's purchase of Adxstudio follows similar efforts to boost its Dynamics CRM software earlier this year.

In July 2015, Microsoft announced its acquisition of FieldOne Systems, which provides enterprises with field service management solutions. Field services are moving towards a predictive service-based model, explained Stutz, which is an area Microsoft can further explore with Azure IoT, Cortana Analytics, and FieldOne.

Less than one month later, the tech giant snapped up Incent Games, the parent company behind sales gamification platform FantasySalesTeam. The software is designed to help sales departments organize contests in a manner similar to those of fantasy sports leagues. The goal is to drive productivity, revenue, and CRM adoption through team-based collaboration.