Archive

My favorite scene in "The Social Network" is when Mark Zuckerberg's character has an epiphany that Facebook's screen should have a field to designate a user's status, as in relationship status or availability. Wait, I didn't give something away, did I? You've seen the movie, right? No? Go see it....

For years, Verizon Wireless has fielded complaints from customers about mistaken data charges. This Sunday, the carrier announced it was providing a rebate totaling $90 million to be distributed to the estimated 15 million customers hit by these charges. Most of the customers reportedly were clip...

Sales Simplicity Software, a sales automation, CRM and e-marketing application for the builder, developer and senior-living industries, rolled out the first mobile version of its application about a year ago. The way the new home sales process works is that builders show prospective plans to custome...

"Sustainability" has been the key issue capturing my attention this year, so it makes sense to tease apart just what that term means for CRM. To me, sustainability is about business processes that are repeatable and, more to the point, processes that both sides readily engage in. However, in addit...

SugarCRM has rolled out OEM Platform Edition, a new product for its software vendor and distribution channel. The release doesn't further SugarCRM's open source-based functionality. Rather, the company is repackaging the latest version of Sugar 6, which came out this summer, in a format and with to...

We all like to say our businesses are "customer-centric." It's the de rigueur thing to say these days, and it's the only smart way to describe yourself to your customer audience. But how many companies really revolve around the customer? Not many, and for realistic reasons. For instance, your busine...

A lot went down at Oracle OpenWorld. Some very good reporting and analysis has come out of it all, and you can easily find it online if you wish. I was impressed with several things that Oracle did, including making strides in sales and marketing software and in introducing two new lines of comput...

We've all heard the lines: "blogging is so 2008"; "say that in 140 characters or less," and now, "the feed is the new desktop." This last one is from Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, and he said it in the context of his company's release of the new version of its enterprise social networking tool, C...

Many mobile apps for CRM tend to deliver comprehensive versions of the original application. For example, one can use the mobile Salesforce.com app on a mobile device to carry out just about any CRM-related function that's possible using the enterprise version on a PC -- from monitoring the pipeline...

Cloud computing and Fusion Apps were the major points of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's keynote speech at Oracle OpenWorld 2010 on Wednesday. Ellison also took several swipes at Salesforce.com and its CEO, Marc Benioff. His speech concluded with an extensive demonstration of Fusion Apps, assisted by sev...

The term "cloud computing" has inspired a lot of thought, energy, ideas and enthusiasm. It's also sparked a lot of head-scratching, brow-furrowing and definition-debating. You might think that after several years of the concept being in the forefront of thought around business computing, this might ...

American consumers seem to be generally happier with their recent computer purchases lately than in years past, but it appears buyers of some brands are happier than others. The spring launch of Apple's iPad helped the Cuptertino company boost its already formidable customer satisfaction rating in t...

I don't know how much Oracle spends on research and development each year. I know the biggest piece is being spent on CRM these days, something that warms my heart. The R&D number is in the billions of dollars, and though I cannot confirm it easily, the number seven seems about it. Judging by...

Oracle will issue the first release of its next-generation Fusion applications in the first quarter of 2011, company CEO Larry Ellison has announced. It took the database giant five years to integrate the "best features" of PeopleSoft, Siebel and its own E-business suite. Oracle purchased PeopleSoft...

Exhibiting at traditional trade shows is one of the most common marketing tactics used by companies targeting the industrial and manufacturing marketplace. The opportunity for direct engagement with prospects, customers and other vendors who could be potential partners or customers is invaluable. An...