Microsoft announced it will deliver Microsoft Customer Relationship Management (CRM), the first Microsoft business solution built on .NET, later this year. Accessible from Microsoft Outlook and the Web, Microsoft Customer Relationship Management aims to enable small and medium sized businesses to build more profitable customer relationships through increased sales effectiveness and more consistent customer service.

ManagedOps, a Bedford, N.H.-based provider of application outsourcing services for small and mid-size businesses, plans to offer its Managed Operations outsourcing service for Microsoft's new offering when the product becomes available later this year.

Onyx issued the following statement in response to an announcement by Microsoft Corporation that it will enter the CRM software market: Microsoft Great Plains' future entry into the CRM market will clearly be targeted at small businesses and small mid-market companies. As such, Onyx believes Microsoft's market entrance will have little or no impact on Onyx, its market position or its existing partnership with Microsoft.

Nortel Networks announced availability of Remote Office 9110 and Remote Office 9115, which aim to allow home-based remote workers to have the same telephone sets, features and services as they would have working in the office.

Interactive Intelligence released version 2.0 of Service Interaction Center (SIC), the company's unified communications software designed to increase revenue opportunities for service and outsourced solutions providers supporting corporate customers.

SIC 2.0 now includes enhanced workgroup, calendaring and database support capabilities for voice over IP vendors, e-mail outsourcers, competitive local exchange carriers, and Internet and application service providers. Interactive Intelligence's communications solutions group, focused exclusively on the enterprise and service provider markets, is offering SIC 2.0 globally.