Asked to define CRM, most enterprise executives will tell you it's the process of moving a company from a product-centric focus to a customer-centric one. Since customers ultimately write your paycheck, it's not hard to see why enterprises have embraced this concept and the technology to enable it.
Microsoft traditionally has focused on building industry-generic productivity, communications and collaborative software. Now, though, the company appears to be heading down a path well trodden -- for better or worse -- by such companies as Siebel, SAP and a host of best-of-breed vendors: the softwa...
A group of leading technology vendors is reporting significant progress in the standardization of service-oriented architecture, or SOA, standards. The Open Service Oriented Architecture collaboration represents an informal alliance of 17 companies that have worked together to create and agree upon ...
In an era of prevalent outsourcing -- some of it hurriedly agreed to without due diligence -- Artifact aims through its Scorecard service to help small and mid-sized businesses determine the right outsourcing vendor for their needs. Its on-demand software product, Lighthouse, is designed to help sma...
German software giant SAP said Thursday its net profit rose 43 percent in the second quarter on higher U.S. revenues and better margins. The company reported net income of US$519 million, or $1.69 a share, compared with $366 million or $1.18 in the same quarter last year. SAP had already reported l...
I was in Chicago for a few days of R&R when Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, spoke at the Microsoft partner meeting in Boston. As a result, I got news of the company's latest projected delivery dates for its on-demand CRM not from Microsoft, but from Paul Greenberg's blog: "On Demand Means Righ...
Salesforce.com has released Summer '06, the quarterly update of its flagship on demand CRM application. Improved lead tracking is one of the enhancements in this version, which happens to be Salesforce.com's 20th release. Also, new scripting features for sales beef up the application's sales guidanc...
Microsoft has announced plans to write Dynamics CRM Live -- its own Software as a Service CRM offering -- on the same code base used for earlier versions of its on-premise application and for the hosted offerings of its partners. Right now, only the partner hosted offering and the on-premise applica...
For many manufacturers, indirect channels provide the majority of their revenue yet carry only a small percentage of their most profitable products. Instead, indirect channel partners opt to move literally tons of low-margin items, competing in the marketplace on price and availability alone. The el...
QuickBase, a division of Intuit, has upgraded its hosted-model product to make it easier for sales reps and sales executives -- two user groups that often have competing application requirements -- to use the sales module. New functionality in the application, called "Manage Your Sales Team," includ...
CDC Software has made its third offer to acquire mid-market CRM vendor Onyx, offering shareholders a choice of all-cash or cash-and-shares in CDC. The offer -- US$4.85 per share in cash, or $2.50 in cash and $2.50 in CDC stock -- comes a few weeks after Onyx signed a definitive agreement to be acqui...
Microsoft and partner company Panorama Software will develop more than two dozen industry-specific business intelligence applications based on Microsoft's product platform, including future releases such as the recently announced Microsoft Office PerformancePoint 2007. There has been a significant i...
In many companies, marketing is experiencing a resurgence and new relevance, a rejuvenation if you will towards aligning closer to customers than ever before. What's most encouraging about this is the fact that strategies based on dated cause-and-effect relationships with clients are, through the u...
Even at post-tech bubble prices, adopting a CRM system requires a sizable commitment for any firm. Many of the companies making these investments, though, still are not realizing the maximum value for their money due to common missteps before and after the implementation. Some firms, for instance, a...
Microsoft is teaming up with CDC Software, which recently acquired partner company c360, to make inroads into the China market. The two companies are discussing plans to provide Microsoft Dynamics CRM on a hosted basis in China, Kevin Faulkner, product-marketing director for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, ...
Yes, communities and infrastructure can't keep up
Some projects are moving too fast
No, expansion is needed to meet demand
The pace seems about right
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