Business Contact — Manager For Outlook 2013 !!top!!
Business Contact Manager (BCM) for Outlook 2013 was once a cornerstone for small businesses seeking a lightweight CRM integrated directly into their existing email workflow. While Microsoft has officially discontinued the tool and replaced it with newer cloud-based solutions, understanding its legacy and contemporary alternatives remains critical for businesses managing legacy data or seeking similar functionality today. The Legacy of BCM 2013
BCM 2013 acted as a bridge between simple contact management and full-scale enterprise software. It provided several high-value features for its time:
Unified Customer View: It organized emails, tasks, notes, and appointments into a single timeline for each contact.
Sales Pipeline Management: Users could track potential deals and visualize their sales funnel using specialized reports.
Marketing Tools: BCM enabled the creation of targeted mailing lists and the tracking of marketing campaign effectiveness.
Local Database: Unlike modern cloud tools, BCM used a local SQL Server database (supporting up to 10GB), making it attractive for those wary of subscription fees. Current Support and Availability
As of 2026, Business Contact Manager is no longer supported by Microsoft.
Availability: While installers for the BCM 2013 Compatibility Pack may still exist on archive sites, Microsoft has removed them from their primary download centers.
Compatibility: BCM does not work with versions of Outlook newer than 2013, such as Office 2016, 2019, or Microsoft 365.
Windows 10/11 Issues: Many users report stability problems when trying to run BCM on modern operating systems. Transitioning to Modern Alternatives
For those looking to replace the functionality of BCM in a modern environment, several successors and third-party tools have emerged: Tutorial - Business Contact Manager 2013
Arthur stared at the progress bar. It hadn’t moved in twenty minutes.
“Migrating legacy BCM database to Outlook 2013…” the dialog box read, with the eerie certainty of a countdown to zero.
He’d been the holdout. While the rest of the sales floor had long since abandoned Microsoft’s orphaned child—the Business Contact Manager—Arthur clung to it like a shipwreck survivor to a spar. For seven years, every handshake, every golf outing, every whispered promise from a client was logged in that .bcm file. business contact manager for outlook 2013
When IT said they were decommissioning the old SQL instance, they gave him one weekend to export.
Now, on Sunday at 11:47 PM, the bar was frozen at 94%.
“Come on, you dinosaur,” he muttered, tapping the screen of his Dell Latitude. The machine hummed in protest.
Then, the bar jumped to 100%. A chime sounded. Outlook reopened, looking crisp and sterile. On the ribbon, a ghostly tab appeared: Business Contact Manager.
He clicked it.
His heart stopped. The database was there, but it had changed. Every contact had a new field: Last True Statement.
He double-clicked Acme Corp. The history log was still there—emails, meetings, quotes. But at the top, in bold red text, it read:
"Claimed 'budget approval next week' on June 14, 2013. This was false. Actual budget was frozen."
Arthur scrolled. Pinnacle Group: "Promised 'exclusive first look' on Mar 2, 2015. Sent same proposal to three competitors."
Harbor Solutions: "Stated 'check is in the mail' on Nov 18, 2016. Check was issued Dec 3."
His palms began to sweat. This wasn’t a migration. It was a confession. The old BCM, with its obscure relational database and its abandoned code, had been keeping a second set of books. A truth ledger.
Then he saw the entry for Redwood Partners. His biggest account. The one that had made his career.
"CEO said: 'You’re like family, Arthur. We'll never leave you.' – Aug 22, 2014. Note: They signed a letter of intent with a competitor on Sept 15, 2014. Rescinded after founder’s death. Current status: waiting." Business Contact Manager (BCM) for Outlook 2013 was
Arthur leaned back. The fluorescent office lights hummed. He had a choice: delete the corrupted database, run a standard repair, and live in the comfortable fiction of sales. Or keep the truth.
He reached for the mouse. And clicked Sync to CRM.
Outside, the first grey light of Monday morning bled over the parking lot. When his team arrived at 8 AM, Arthur was already on the phone.
“Good morning, Redwood Partners,” said the receptionist.
“This is Arthur Vance,” he said, his voice steady. “I need to schedule a fact-finding meeting. No proposals. No lunch. Just the truth about 2014.”
The progress bar of his career had just reached zero. And for the first time, he was ready to move forward.
Business Contact Manager (BCM) for Outlook 2013 was a popular, free customer relationship management (CRM) add-on designed to bridge the gap between simple contact storage and complex corporate CRM systems. While it is no longer supported by Microsoft, it remains a critical legacy tool for small businesses still utilizing Outlook 2013. Core Features and Capabilities
BCM 2013 provided a range of tools specifically tailored to small business owners who used Outlook as their primary hub.
Integrated CRM: Manage accounts, business contacts, and communication history (emails, calls, and meetings) directly within the Outlook interface.
Sales Pipeline Management: Visualize sales funnels and track opportunities from lead to close, with the ability to export data to Microsoft Excel for detailed reporting.
Marketing Tools: Create and track marketing campaigns, including target mailings and phone call activities. BCM helps distinguish between active and inactive customers to refine marketing efforts.
Customizable Data: Users can customize business forms and data fields to better suit specific industry requirements.
Project Management: Track business projects and tasks, linking them directly to specific contacts and communication logs. Installation and Technical Requirements Arthur stared at the progress bar
For those still needing to install or manage BCM in an Outlook 2013 environment:
Editions: BCM is typically available for professional or standalone versions of Outlook 2013.
Compatibility Pack: Microsoft released a BCM compatibility pack specifically to allow existing BCM databases from 2007 or 2010 to function with Outlook 2013.
Database Engine: It utilizes a Microsoft SQL Server Express database that can store up to 10GB of business data.
Multi-User Access: It supports sharing data with other users on the same network or through SharePoint. Current Status and Support
Official support for Microsoft Office 2013, including BCM, ended on April 11, 2023. looking for Business Contact Manager (BCM) replacement
That is a good piece of software to mention, though it depends on what you’re looking for.
To be precise: Microsoft Outlook 2013 with Business Contact Manager (BCM) was a powerful but now discontinued add-on that turned Outlook into a lightweight CRM.
Here’s why people still regard it as a “good piece” of software, even years later:
10. Marketing features
- Marketing lists:
- Create segmented lists from contacts/opportunities.
- Use filters and custom fields to target audiences.
- Campaigns:
- Create marketing campaigns, associate activities and responses.
- Track campaign ROI by linking opportunities and revenue to campaigns.
- Mail merge:
- Use Outlook/Word mail merge to send targeted emails or print materials from BCM lists.
5. Integration with Other Microsoft Products
| Product | Integration Level | |---------|------------------| | Word 2013 | Mail merge using BCM contacts/accounts. | | Excel 2013 | Import/export BCM data; use Excel as data source for leads. | | Lync/Skype for Business | Click-to-call from BCM contact; log call as activity. | | SharePoint 2013 | Link documents in a SharePoint library to BCM records (via hyperlink). | | Power BI (limited) | Export BCM data to Excel then load to Power BI. |
Note: No native integration with Dynamics CRM or Salesforce.
7.1 Advantages
- Seamless integration within familiar Outlook environment.
- Low cost (often included in Office 2013 suites).
- No monthly subscription (perpetual license).
- Good for 1-10 users with basic CRM needs.
3. Project Management
Small businesses often juggle sales with project delivery. BCM included a project management module that allowed users to:
- Create projects linked to specific clients.
- Track project tasks and deadlines within the Outlook calendar.
- Manage project-related revenue and costs.
