As Dreamforce, the popular conference showcasing everything related to Salesforce.com, opens in San Francisco, Microsoft is offering financial incentives for Salesforce.com users to switch to Microsoft's alternative. Specifically, Microsoft is offering companies using customer and lead management (CRM) solutions from Oracle, SAP or Salesforce.com $150 per user to switch to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The offer is good for up to 500 users per company. Also, as is often required to receive specia deals from cable, cellular and satellite service providers, a two-year commitment to Microsoft's solution is required. Microsoft's offering is already less expensive per user, per seat than most editions of those competing solutions. So an additional $150 to switch might seem difficult to resist. But you should. Microsoft said that the money could be used to help with the "move," which will require moving your business information from your current solution to Microsoft's. And of course you'll probably need help with doing so from outside consultants that are expensive, and with re-training your users (and support providers, if your company has any). The costs, time and difficulties associated with all of the above could make that $150 per user and those lower per-user, per-month prices seem far less compelling. And this is assuming that your company won't have to consider giving up any critical functionality to make that move. Microsoft's offer is a reminder to look beyond price when considering moving to -- or from -- any business solution, cloud-based or otherwise. Focus on your business needs, goals and constraints, and use these to evaluate and compare current and candidate solutions accurately. Take full advantage of free trials and the "real-life" experiences of others (such as those you'll find right here at Focus.com!) to make the best decisions possible. THEN you can haggle over price! (Note: A version of this content originally appeared at Comparz.com, another great source of user experiences and user- and expert-generated solution reviews and comparisons. Please visit www.Comparz.com for more info!)