K3 Business Technology Group has been chosen as one of a select group of eight software developers to partner with Microsoft in the launch of its new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. During January 2004, K3 will be supporting Microsoft in its first venture into the CRM marketplace in the UK. Microsoft CRM records the interactions that take place during the lifetime of a customer or project and, being fully integrated with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange, it can automatically capture correspondence, quotations and emails sent and received.

Toshiba’s Digital Solutions Division rolled out a software-based VoIP (Voice over IP) client that turns any Windows XP laptop or desktop into the equivalent of a desktop phone. According to Internet Week, users can dial outbound calls using the information stored in Microsoft Outlook’s contact database.

Nokia has announced the availability of a new version of Nokia Secure Access System, which allows employees, partners, suppliers and contractors can use both corporate and non-corporate devices to access applications safely in the language of their choice Nokia Secure Access System version 1.1 also includes improved support for Web-based applications, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange and Citrix Nfuse Classic.

Microsoft confirmed plans to reshuffle its Windows unit, shifting executives and creating a new division more tightly focused on development efforts. According to CNET, a new Windows Core Operating System division will be headed by Brian Valentine, currently senior vice president of the Windows division. That unit will focus on the development of new Windows technologies, creating a larger separation between the development and product teams at Microsoft.

XOsoft has announced that it has enhanced its WANSync IT continuity platform. WANSync maintains identical replicas of complete database and application servers through continuous real-time replication. WANSync Server provides availability for application servers of any type, while WANSync Exchange, WANSync SQL and WANSync Oracle provide availability for Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL and Oracle servers, respectively.

Synchrologic announces the general availability of Synchrologic Mobile Suite 5.4. Synchrologic Mobile Suite 5.4 offers Push Mobile, which is available for wireless devices including laptops and tablets as well as the newest handheld devices and backend data bases including Exchange, Domino, Oracle, Sybase, DB2, and SQL server.

Here’s an article from the Business Standard of India that says Visual Basic is like a giant vacuum because it can just as easily be used to write software for Windows as it can to automate Microsoft Office. The author used Visual Basic to create Macros for certain tasks in Outlook.

LSI Logic Storage Systems announced that through its Developer Partner Program, the company’s storage management features can now be integrated with the HP OpenView Storage Area Manager (SAM) 3.1. HP OpenView SAM enables users to plan and manage capacity requirements associated with Oracle and Microsoft Exchange applications by providing an application-to-LUN view of storage.

The Radicati Group released a new study analyzing Microsoft Exchange 2003’s total cost of ownership (TCO). Based on detailed customer interviews, the study also compares and contrasts the TCO of Microsoft Exchange 2003 to that of IBM Lotus Notes/Domino 6 (ND6), from an earlier study conducted in March 2003 by The Radicati Group, Inc. This TCO study shows that Microsoft Exchange 2003 offers a significant TCO advantage over IBM Lotus Software Notes/Domino 6 (ND6), on the order of 41%. There are cost advantages in a number of key areas, including downtime and training.

MS Mobiles reports that if you use Microsoft Outlook, then Smart Journal may come in handy for you because it allows you to view phone calls that you received and initiated in your Microsoft smartphone.