Microsoft Dynamics customers will
have the opportunity to rate their partners, and review the ratings of other
users, at a new “unified online business marketplace for small and medium-sized
business customers and partners” known as “Microsoft Pinpoint”.

Microsoft announced Pinpoint at the
Worldwide Partner Conference 2008 in Houston, and unveiled the first beta
version, initially for customers using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and Microsoft
Dynamics CRM Online.

The beta site promises to list the
top-rated partner firms and the top-rated add-on products. As currently
configured, it shows more than 2,000 partner companies and more than 3,400
products and services.

Microsoft in its announcement said,
“Pinpoint helps customers discover, discern and
engage with Microsoft partners to fulfill their unique technology
needs, while unlocking business opportunities for partners. Customers using
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online will be able to
get to the Microsoft Pinpoint marketplace next month, directly from the
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Resource Center.”

Microsoft also announced Digital
Forum, a site where partners can showcase their “innovations” to customers and
other partners through online videos. Partners can post their videos to the site.

Digital Forum is billed as “a new
viral marketing resource” that is a part of Partner Labs, “a new online sandbox
where partners can test and provide feedback on new partner resources, and get
engaged early in new social networking experiments.”

Separately, in an address to attendees, Microsoft CEO Steve
Ballmer emphasized Microsoft’s commitment to “the software plus services era.”
To follow up, Microsoft announced “a
new partner profitability toolset to help partners evolve their businesses,”
including …