Archive

Lyris has upgraded its on-premises version of its email marketing application, ListManager 11. This product is the counterpart to its cloud-based version -- a more robust application that includes such features as specific database support. There are four major upgrades to ListManager 11, noted Bren...

The global economic downturn may have slowed, but it is not over. Yet in some respects, it appears more of a global restructuring than simply a global slowdown. It has already substantially realigned markets and galvanized economic changes that were nascent before the recession. As a consequence, i...

What a week that was. I am still digging out from two snowstorms and dealing with bone-chilling cold, and so are friends across the country, except in the Bay Area, which only makes me envious. Perhaps none were as adversely affected as people on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. I take solace in two f...

Beagle Research is exploring one of the few categories of online videos that thus far has escaped formal scrutiny: the marketing videos of software -- specifically, CRM companies. The research group has announced "The Beagle Short Tale Awards" for 2011. A panel of five industry experts rated about 1...

Oracle offers the industry's widest and deepest range of sales force automation functionality as either an on-premise product or a cloud solution -- or a hybrid of the two, according to Anthony Lye, senior vice president of Oracle CRM. Siebel CRM is a leading CRM suite used by thousands of organizat...

When Microsoft began demoing early betas of its newest CRM iteration, Dynamics CRM 2011, it used map-based examples to show off the functionality. Problem was, there were no robust mapping features actually embedded in the application, which got Paul Reitmeyer, senior CRM consultant at Planet Techno...

The emergence of the social customer is forcing businesses to think differently about how they reach the people to whom they sell, and much has been written about ways for businesses to cope with this. However, as is all too common in CRM discussions, the customer is often forgotten as we default to...

The long recession and the rise of social CRM were not simply coincidental. I believe they happened together. That's not to say that social CRM happened for some cosmic reason; I neither subscribe to the belief that all things happen for a reason nor do I believe I am qualified to hold forth beyon...

Consumers are spending more time and money online today than ever before. They start and end their day checking email and popping onto social gaming and shopping sites. This often comes at the expense of other entertainment options like traditional television, film or even spending an evening out....

When it comes to the broad topic of "CRM failure," you often hear the same tales: a too-complicated integration, an incompetent integrator or inflexible technology. The reality is that technology is usually not the problem, nor is it integration or integrators. If you push, you'll find that the most...

Call it "Clash of the Titan," emphasis on the singular: a courtroom victory for software giant Microsoft over Matt Miszewski that restrains the former employee from joining CRM rival Salesforce.com. Miszewski, a Microsoft government services division manager until last December, violated non-compete...

Wouldn't it be great if customers who had questions about your products could get the answer from other customers? Wouldn't it be wonderful if customers brainstormed on ways you could improve your service processes? Wouldn't it be tremendous if you could see trends in service needs and adjust your p...

Microsoft did some smart things last week when it announced its Dynamics CRM Online service. Most of the headlines will focus on the teaser rate or introductory pricing of only US$34 per seat-month for 12 months. Until June, users of Oracle CRM On-Demand and Salesforce who switch will have an adde...

Back in the mid-1990s, then Microsoft CEO Bill Gates offered a prophetic observation. The impact of the Web, he wrote, would be greater than most people thought, but would take longer to happen than was commonly supposed. Turns out, happily for Microsoft, that he was right. Yet now, perhaps not so...

To remain successful against the backdrop of complex market dynamics and increased competition, it has become critical for organizations to offer more evolved products and services that are not only cost-effective, but also extendable, scalable and focused on improved customer experience. Cloud com...