back to article Microsoft plans summer CRM war opener against Salesforce

Microsoft will this summer start mining LinkedIn as a CRM database using Dynamics 365 in a bid to challenge Salesforce. Microsoft Relationship Sales Solution will be available from 1 July and combine Dynamics 365 for Sales and LinkedIn's Sales Navigator Team Edition. Prices start at a $135 per month, although if you purchase …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Anyone know how to get your account deleted?

    I think it's time to get out.

    1. Roger Greenwood

      Re: Anyone know how to get your account deleted?

      Just fill it full of garbage then it's hard to sort out the truthiness - there are surely enough desperate users among 500m who accept all requests to be your friend. Works for facebook :-)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Anyone know how to get your account deleted?

        Reminiscent of Uncle Rupert buying MySpace.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Windows

      @AC

      So much that!

      I can't believe Microsoft, I honestly can't. I'm the kind of nut who doesn't have any social media accounts. The only ones I had access to were two commercial accounts (Twitter / Facebook) but that section of the business has long stopped and those accounts have been disabled / deleted and aren't used anymore.

      The irony is that I have briefly considered getting a LinkedIn account. Never followed up on it, but I have seriously considered it considering the fact that I did enjoy and appreciate MSN back in the days and to some degree I can also appreciate and sometimes actually like some of Microsoft's services.

      Well... Consider me cured now. Time to go over my Microsoft account again to verify all the privacy settings. Just in case...

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Anyone know how to get your account deleted?

      Yeah, use SuiteCRM :)

  2. inmypjs Silver badge

    "Innocent users of LinkedIn"

    Think you misspelt stupid there.

    The only people inviting me to linkedin were trying to sell me stuff or themselves.

    1. AMBxx Silver badge

      Re: "Innocent users of LinkedIn"

      It used to be useful to keep connections with business contacts. Now it's just a constant stream of similar lists and click bait. Ceased to be useful years ago.

  3. Ian Michael Gumby
    Boffin

    Meh.

    T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L shouldn't be new to anyone here, especially if you've read Niven's work.

    So you walk in to using a product knowing that there is value to being on LinkedIn.

    If I meet someone in my profession who doesn't have a LinkedIn profile... big red flag.

    The only information in LinkedIn is professional information that I want published.

    So there is value to being on LinkedIn. Its a way to remain in contact with those in my industry or who have similar backgrounds.

    I don't do Facebook. Where's the value? There, its all personal information and you are the product.

    Until there's a competitor and Microsoft shows that their abuse of LinkedIn exceeds the value it provides, there's no reason to leave.

    Other professional networks have come and gone. They couldn't obtain the critical mass that LinkedIn has.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Meh.

      If I meet someone in my profession who doesn't have a LinkedIn profile... I think MAYBE this person gets on with real work as opposed to self promotion

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Meh.

        Depends on what you do on it - if you just list where you're actually working and where you worked it may help you to find a better job - being the product in this case is not that bad, if you get paid more and work better.

        What I don't understand is people compelled to waste time sharing stuff and enlarging their "network" contacting unknown people - those are the people playing the LinkedIn game...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Meh.

          @anon

          Quite. I was asked to interview for a position. One of the questions I was asked during the interfere was 'why don't you have a linked account?'. I explained (including a couple of relatively interesting breeches. Shame said the HR bod, I like to get an idea about which people have worked with. Needless to say this was a security company (computer). After a number of other gormless queries, I mad my excuses and explained why I could not take them seriously.

          I got the confirmation letter to them; regretting ect ect ect' quite quickly.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Meh.

            I should add that a few months later I asked asked to assess one of their bids for subcontracting by the organisation I did work for. Part of this bid was for intensive social training for our employees - needless to say they did not score well based on both material and general cluelessness exhibited in the bid.

      2. Ian Michael Gumby

        @AC Re: Meh.

        It isn't a question of self promotion.

        First, if I'm interviewing someone its a good source beyond the CV and it may open the doors to friends of friends who can give me the real skinny.

        Second it helps to see if the CV matches what they say on LinkedIn.

        Third, its a way to keep in touch with others in the field because people tend to move around.

        If you have a good network, you'd understand the value.

      3. Roland6 Silver badge

        Re: Meh.

        >If I meet someone in my profession who doesn't have a LinkedIn profile... I think MAYBE this person gets on with real work as opposed to self promotion

        You can generally tell those who are into self promotion, their profile is always bang up to date and often includes details of their current project. Plus there are other activity indicators that show (to me) an excessive interest in getting their LinkedIn account out to a wider audience.

    2. DubyaG

      Re: Meh.

      Too bad LinkedIn has become like Facebook with stupid puzzles and the like. I have not seen a cat video yet, but...

  4. jMcPhee

    LinkedIn: Myspace for business

  5. Zippy's Sausage Factory

    Let me guess

    ...there will be no way to opt out of this either.

    I suspect employers will soon start putting clauses in their contracts that employees must delete their LinkedIn accounts...

    1. Ian Michael Gumby
      Boffin

      @Zippy ... Re: Let me guess

      No; no reason to 'opt out'.

      The issue may become what to put in your linkedIn account, in fact I know of a couple of friends of friends who were asked to document the company that they currently worked for in a specific way...

      Its part of their online branding.

      I never had a FB account until I had to pull a contract at FB. Of course, I couldn't delete it when I left.

      (I shut it down, but FB doesn't delete the accounts.... just in case you want back in... )

  6. J. R. Hartley

    Satya

    Show Cook how everything you touch turns to shit.

  7. Mark Simon

    Do people actually use LinkedIn?

    When talking to students about password security, I mention the LinkedIn Breach of a few years ago. 95% of the time, I find that they either don’t have an account, or never use it.

    The students are all adults and work in the industry in some form — web development, database or some other related area.

    All I ever get from LinkedIn is junk or invitations from people I don’t know.

  8. Potemkine Silver badge

    "The productivity and business unit for Microsoft's full fiscal year made $26.4bn revenue [...]. Net income fell 7 per cent to $12bn."

    Except drug dealing, is there other businesses than can be as profitable?

  9. alexmcm

    Do you know these people ...Your Wife, Your Brother-in-Law

    I was forced to created a linkedin in account about 5 years ago for work. It has the absolute minimum in it, but now I get almost daily e-mails from linkedin telling me that an ex-colleague has endorsed the skill set of another person that I don't know or care about.

    And the repeated e-mail asking "do you know <wife's name> <brother-in-laws name> <ex-colleague>?"

    Yes, yes, well done. Your annoying algorithm has figured out who my wife and brother-in-law are without us ever contacting via linkedin, but do you have to ask me every week? Or are you just going to keep asking until I crack and scream OF COURSE I F**KING KNOW THEM!

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