CRM

OpenSpan, a Microsoft partner, rolled out an application integration platform that allows users of Microsoft's Customer Care Framework 2008 -- which was also introduced Wednesday -- to link together older applications and custom-built systems with the front-end agent desktop. Built on the Microsoft ...

The holiday season may bring joy to consumers and retailers alike, but hand in hand with that joy comes the inevitable pain of post-holiday returns. Gift returns can be a hassle for consumers, but for retailers they pose a daunting logistical challenge, requiring speedy adjustments throughout the pi...

Companies' integrated voice recognition applications are being stretched thin. Even when the best interface designs are in place, customers are abandoning calls before completion. Forty-three percent of companies surveyed in the "Contact Center Analytics" benchmark were either seeing poorer performa...

OK, I get it. I went to the Sales 2.0 conference in San Francisco last week and there was a lot to like about it. In my career, I have seen some major back and forth changes in selling, and I have to say that these changes relate more to what is being offered than who we are selling to. Every salesp...

Sage Software has upgraded ACT by Sage for Real Estate 2008 (10.0) and ACT by Sage Premium for Real Estate 2008 (10.0) contact and customer management applications. These were introduced last year as ACT's first vertical offerings. The company rolled out the two new versions during its Sage Summit c...

NetSuite has introduced SuiteBundler, a new platform for its channel partners. The product is a new component in its development and integration toolset, SuiteFlex. SuiteBundler offers a new generation of development tools for its third-party channel partners so they can continue to create vertical ...

Not too long ago, advice to keep a CRM implementation simple would have focused around due diligence for the application. It would have focused on negotiating the best deal with a systems integrator. Most of all, it would have focused on a clear needs assessment driving the application. That was the...

I have been anticipating the Sales 2.0 conference coming up in San Francisco for many reasons. As a certified, bag-carrying sales guy for a number of years, selling is part of me and though I am an old dog, I do enjoy at least hearing about new tricks. I am also an avid fan of the game and many of ...

Hoping to turn up the heat on BEA's board of directors, Oracle on Tuesday set a deadline for the company to accept its $6.7 billion buyout offer. In a letter to BEA's board, Oracle said its current offer of $17 per share in cash would expire at 5 p.m. on Oct. 28. Oracle said the board has rejected i...

SAP has had a wealth of good news to share this week, as it announced a planned acquisition, reported rosy earnings and scored a significant coup. First, with an eye toward ramping up its capabilities in business rules management, SAP announced Wednesday that it plans to acquire Yasu Technologies. S...

"We need more leads!" cries the sales manager. "What happened to the ones we gave you last month?" replies the marketing manager. "Those leads were lousy" retorts the increasingly frustrated sales manager... and so goes the never-ending lead "quality vs. quantity" debate in many organizations. New r...

CorraTech, an open source software services firm, introduced Opensuite, a pre-beta release of its latest open source endeavor. The project is an open source-based integration of -- for now -- three of the leading open source applications in rich e-mail, document management and CRM. "This is a pre-pa...

Oracle announced it wants to acquire BEA Systems, a provider of Web-based business productivity and integration software, for $6.7 billion, or $17 per share in cash. BEA has already rejected the offer, according to news accounts, saying that Oracle's bid seriously undervalues the company's overall w...

Few industries in this online era can lay claim to a longer or more venerable history than newspapers can -- but today, it's no secret that newspapers are in trouble. The rise of the Internet has wrought changes to the competitive landscape that are drawing away both readers and advertisers, leaving...

Social networking technology. Blogs. Evite applications. Discussion forums. These, of course, are the heart of what has come to be called "Web 2.0." Now, what was once strictly a toy for consumers is transforming itself for corporate use. In the case of the sales function, that would be Sales 2.0. A...