New features integrate LinkedIn Sales Navigator data with Dynamics 365 Credit: Magdalena Petrova The moment Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff was dreading has arrived: Microsoft is wielding LinkedIn against Salesforce in the battle for the CRM market. Starting Tuesday, salespeople will get LinkedIn Sales Navigator data alongside other information in the Dynamics 365 Sales dashboard. Users who have both systems will see information from LinkedIn profiles inside the lead, contact, account and opportunity pages of Dynamics 365 Sales. Dynamics and LinkedIn Sales Navigator will sync their information every day so that LinkedIn’s system is up to date on activity from Microsoft’s CRM and vice versa. On top of the LinkedIn announcement, Microsoft also launched Dynamics 365 for Talent, to help companies manage their workforces, and Dynamics 365 for Retail to manage commerce operations. All these launches are part of Microsoft’s push to create next-generation systems of record for businesses that are based in the cloud. The company introduced Dynamics 365 last year as a suite of business apps that handle institutional processes like sales, inventory management and human resources. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is the enterprise social network’s product for professional salespeople. It has a number of features meant to aid with selling, like the ability to get automatic lead recommendations from LinkedIn’s data and to send users promotional messages through LinkedIn. The integration with Dynamics 365 for Sales means it will make more sense for people using Sales Navigator to buy Microsoft’s CRM and vice versa. That’s important as Microsoft woos companies that are also considering alternatives from rivals like Salesforce and Oracle. Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26.2 billion last year. While the enterprise social network remains a largely independent entity, Microsoft is working to integrate its offerings into the company’s other products, including the Cortana virtual assistant. Salesforce tried to block the acquisition last year, arguing that giving Microsoft control over LinkedIn’s data would hurt competition. The news comes the same day that LinkedIn announced it has 500 million members with profiles on its service. It’s not clear how much those members use the service, but they provide a base of information that Dynamics 365 can use for recommendations. People who work for small businesses also have a new sales tool available. Microsoft is rolling out its Outlook Customer Manager to people worldwide who subscribe to Office 365 Business Premium. Customer Manager is a lightweight CRM system that integrates with Microsoft Outlook on PCs, iOS devices and the web. Related content analysis What is a virtual machine, and why are they so useful? Many of today’s IT innovations have their roots in virtual machines (VM) and their ability to separate software from hardware. By Keith Shaw May 03, 2024 9 mins Virtualization Data Center Networking analysis What is DNS and how does it work? The Domain Name System resolves the names of internet sites with their underlying IP addresses, adding efficiency and security in the process. By Josh Fruhlinger and Keith Shaw May 03, 2024 11 mins Internet Networking news Appeal court overturns $1.6bn mainframe software ‘poaching’ ruling against IBM AT&T ‘independently decided” to replace BMC software, the appeals court found. By John Leyden May 03, 2024 1 min Mainframes news Cisco, Red Hat extend networking, AI integrations Cisco and Red Hat will demo new network product integrations and introduce AI validated designs at the upcoming Red Hat Summit 2024. By Michael Cooney May 03, 2024 4 mins Network Virtualization Cloud Computing Networking PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe