Archive

In the last few years, enterprises have added several tools to their IT data integration toolbox. But most of these companies have not achieved a simple goal: creating reliable, unified views of their customers. Recently companies have turned to three common technologies to create solutions for cust...

The Food and Drug Administration recently green-lighted a product called VeriChip, a coded radio chip that, when picked up by a radio-frequency reader in an ambulance or hospital emergency room, yields a code that unlocks a patient's medical stats from a central database. Unsurprisingly, the chips, ...

Large software developers and end users have softened their former staunch insistence that software had to be either purchased from an external vendor or created in-house. The build vs. buy debate has evolved into a shinier, happier present moment in which the super-sized software development firms ...

Unisys has been receiving a lot of attention lately, including accolades from IDC and Frost & Sullivan and a spot in the most recent edition of the book CRM at the Speed of Light. But there's been bad news as well. The company posted lower-than-expected third-quarter profits. Nearly a week ago, ...

Last week the numbers moved. No, not the election, but something equally important. Let me explain. For the last couple of years, whenever I ran a survey about CRM acceptance, I always included some questions about how the customer prepared for the deployment. I started doing it because I had a hu...

Symbol Technologies has leveraged its experience in developing rugged personal digital assistants and other mobile devices in the creation of its newest product, the MC50 enterprise digital assistant. Priced from $925 to $1,200 and based on Microsoft Windows' Mobile 2003 platform, the device offers ...

US Airways and United Airlines are already under bankruptcy protection, and Delta Air Lines is skating dangerously close. Consumer members of frequent-flier programs are not considered creditors, but to many, they might as well be. "Consumers are absolutely, unquestionably concerned, and anyone who ...

NetSuite today announced the availability of its version 10, a unique hosted solution that links the company's proprietary CRM, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and e-commerce applications in a single Web-based architecture for small and mid-sized businesses. The version, in development for months...

Research firms benchmark other companies, but they don't benchmark themselves. This is one of the biggest ironies of the research industry. Financial analysts are now benchmarked as they give their stock recommendations on CNBC. When you watch CNBC and see a positive endorsement of a stock from an ...

The annual meeting of the North American Siebel user group is a big deal, and last week's convocation in Los Angeles played true to form. It was new CEO Mike Lawrie's first opportunity to address the group and meet with customers, press and analysts on a grand scale. Lawrie took over from founder T...

A recent Gartner report predicts a 50 percent failure rate for radio frequency identification projects implemented between now and the end of the year. However, those involved in industry alliances and manufacturer projects that pull together best-in-class vendors proclaim that RFID is more than a ...

Consumer and business product manufacturers are challenged to form and maintain relationships with their end users. One-off promotions like contests or sweepstakes can help to supply manufacturers with some contact information for their customers, but most times, not much else. Unless there is a poi...

Siebel Systems launched what it calls an "end-to-end enterprise business intelligence solution." The product recognizes a need for analytics that can compile many sources of information into a single data warehouse. At its "User Week" in Los Angeles, Siebel announced BI applications for financials, ...

Two major CRM events took place this week, with Gartner and Siebel coaxing CRM users out of their cubicles to warm West Coast locations. Gartner's Customer Relationship Management Summit took place in Scottsdale, Arizona, while Siebel hosted its annual User Week in Los Angeles. Both tried to add a v...

A new report on the loyalty of companies to their IT suppliers might change what goes on inside some of the world's IT innovators. From its survey of 51 brands, Walker Information of Indianapolis, Indiana, concluded that customer satisfaction does not equal customer loyalty. Suppliers' interactions ...