The Atlanta-based company said it has licensed Extreme Logic's .NET framework to be used with its customer relationship management product. .NET is Microsoft's platform for XML Web services, which allow applications to communicate and share data over the Internet or an intranet, regardless of operating system or programming language.

Licensing the .NET framework allows Firstwave to offer a workflow engine that is fully Web services-oriented. This means Firstwave's product can integrate with multiple applications and devices, offer an integrated user experience, and support changing business environments and requirements with plug-and-play components, according to Richard Brock, founder and CEO of Firstwave.

Under the terms of the agreement, Firstwave has licensed Extreme Logic's source code and will use Extreme Logic's support team as part of its own professional services arm, thus giving Firstwave access to more than 165 knowledgeable technology professionals who can rapidly and cost-effectively implement Firstwave's solutions.

Darren Laybourn, vice president of .NET for Microsoft's Business Solutions Group in Fargo, N.D., says that this summer there has been an increase in the number of CRM players and users that are asking for .NET enabled solutions. "Users want to extend their applications and this is a seamless and easy way to do that," Laybourn says.

Microsoft's .NET initiative is a major push for the software giant and is being adopted by many mid-market CRM players. Microsoft's own first .NET-based offering will be its forthcoming Microsoft CRM product, which is due out by the end of the year.

The small and medium-sized business market seems to have taken to .NET because it allows companies with limited IT resources to quickly and easily integrate applications and Web services, according to Mitch Kramer, an analyst at Patricia Seybold Group, a Boston-based market researcher and consultancy.