But when evaluating and comparing any two, or more, CRM Suite solutions like salesforce.com and Microsoft CRM, the total cost of implementation (and ownership) is where one should focus.

First you have to consider critical functionality requirements. If one solution includes all of your needed functionality while the other will require additional add-ins, modules, or third-party apps, this must be considered.

Second, you need to look at your existing technology infrastructure. Obviously with Microsoft, if you already have most of their infrastructure in place (SQL, SharePoint, Mobile Express, etc.), then great! If not, however, the cost to implement Microsoft CRM can quickly mount.

Finally–because CRM Suites are a fairly mature market, products like salesforce.com and Microsoft will offer much the same, functionality wise. The important thing to remember is that its not “what” these solutions do… its “how” they do it. You need to carefully look at how key processes for your organization will work within each solution. How close is each to working the way you want to work… Evaluating this will give you an idea as to how much time, effort and skill will be needed to configure and customize each solution to meet your specific needs. Again, these costs can add up to significant amounts if you’re not careful.

So, even though Microsoft’s Dynamic CRM 2011 per user service cost is less then salesforce.com’s–there’s much more to consider before assuming that, in the end, it will actually be less expensive to implement.

Have you seen the standard and promotion pricing that Microsoft has published for CRM Online? Any thoughts about whether prospects evaluating salesforce.com and CRM Online might be influenced by the costs?