Microsoft Says New Business Apps Are Smartest in the Land

Last week, Salesforce pitched its sales, marketing, e-commerce, and customer service software as a treasure trove of smarts because of the artificial intelligence it is layering across that portfolio. This week, it's Microsoft's turn to claim the better and smarter mantle with the official launch of Dynamics 365, a previously announced suite of business applications for handling back-office processes. Actually the applications, already announced once, have been announced again on Tuesday, with availability slated for November 1. Dynamics 365 converges a bunch of previously separate products--including Dynamics CRM and at least three enterprise resource planning (ERP) software applications--into a single code base that also incorporates AI features. Microsoft's pitch is that while Salesforce is adding AI cobbled together via a set of acquisitions over the past year, Microsoft is "building in" technology that it's been working with for years, much of which was built in-house. ERP software is used to manage inventory, manufacturing processes, and finances.