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Biographical Information
Colin Beasty
(former) Associate Editor, CRM Magazine
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Colin covered enterprise strategy, consultancies, and data quality for CRM magazine and destinationCRM.com. He was responsible for writing about CRM implementations for "Secret of My Success" in the Real ROI section, the "Required Reading" section inside the Insight section, and "Re:Tooling," the monthly thematic product-review roundup of CRM technologies. He was also responsible for assigning and slotting contributed articles for the Viewpoints section on the Web site. Colin is a graduate of West Virginia University's Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, where he received a BS in news-editorial journalism. Prior to joining CRM, he served as a general assignment reporter for The Charleston Gazette.
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As unified data hubs go mainstream, here are six broad strokes to help you master the art of master data management.
Business Problem: Inability to drive a sales force's behavior, rapidly deploy new sales plans, or effectively track and pay compensation and bonuses.
Honeywell Aerospace had to plot an entirely new flight path to navigate often-turbulent CRM skies.
Business Problem: A business is unable to track product-defect issues across development teams and customers.
Analytics are increasingly leveraged for insight into customer behavior.
In the business of producing all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and motorcycles, customer service can get downright dirty.
As the market for these tools continue to evolve, vendors continue to push towards a consolidated solution set.
Posted 02 Nov 2007
New research shows Australia leading the adoption of CRM software in the rapidly expanding Asia-Pacific market.
Posted 01 Nov 2007
After years of trial-and-error, enterprises are finally developing innovative strategies and incorporating new software to allow them to identify -- and sell to -- their most profitable customers.
A new way of thinking about data and information generated across all lines of business.
Great branding doesn't come from gimmicks -- it derives from exceptional, innovative customer service.
Business Problem: Inability to generate qualified contacts and leads within customer companies.
A new study highlights the importance for financial services firms to round out their SMB offerings, fresh off the heels of a related announcement by Wells Fargo.
Posted 31 Oct 2007
Big-name companies populate the Leaders Quadrant as vendors and customers alike look to leverage data warehouses as mission-critical applications.
Posted 26 Oct 2007
The software giant lowers the price for Dynamics CRM 4.0 and unveils new functionality and partner news at its Convergence 2007 Copenhagen conference.
Posted 24 Oct 2007
The company's head of Fusion Applications is expected to leave, raising questions and concerns about the vendor's ability to deliver Fusion as scheduled.
Posted 19 Oct 2007
The German software maker adds BPM functionality to its portfolio by acquiring Indian-based YASU.
Posted 18 Oct 2007
The business intelligence vendor released an updated version of Crystal Reports at its user conference this week, along with the schedule for the release of a new information-search tool.
Posted 17 Oct 2007
Partners '07: At its annual user conference, the newly independent vendor focuses on its core business with a new partnership and a series of new services.
Posted 10 Oct 2007
Partners '07: Fresh off completing its breakaway from parent company NCR, the vendor unveils an alliance with SAS and defines its product roadmap (including the long-in-the-works Relationship Manager 6).
Posted 09 Oct 2007
A study by Forrester Research highlights the top marketing, merchandising, and multichannel initiatives as retailers become wiser about the online world.
Posted 05 Oct 2007
New Gartner research details the strong growth and strengths of India-based service providers, and their inevitable arrival among the global top 10.
Posted 04 Oct 2007
The analyst firm ranks the vendors by revenue and market share, and finds SAS Institute and Microsoft continue to make inroads.
Posted 03 Oct 2007
Your CRM is only as good as your ability to deliver to your customers. So why not merge supply chain management data with CRM to gain a holistic view? It's not that simple.
With more purchasing power than ever, consumers are increasingly leery of businesses they don't believe they can trust.
In a multibillion-dollar industry, teams aren't playing around when it comes to connecting with fans.
Business Problem: Managers cannot staff and manage their contact centers effectively.
Few vendors were prepared to meet the company's requirements for customizable products.
Out of a field of eight Web analytics products, the latest Forrester Wave elevates five to the top category, a sign of how confusing things are for customers.
Posted 28 Sep 2007
A review of product announcements from the Gartner conferences in Hollywood, Fla., last week.
Posted 24 Sep 2007
At the Gartner MDM Summit, one analyst explains how CDI differs by industry and type of customer, and how the CDI market continues to evolve.
Posted 21 Sep 2007
A series of keynote speakers at the Gartner MDM Summit outline why the time is right for master data management; Gartner reveals its 7 Building Blocks of MDM.
Posted 20 Sep 2007
A Gartner CRM Summit presentation describes why, when it comes to CRM, if your ideas don't stick, your project's doomed to get stuck.
Posted 19 Sep 2007
At the Gartner CRM Summit, a distinguished industry analyst outlines (yet again) how companies have learned about -- but continue to struggle with -- the requirements of CRM.
Posted 18 Sep 2007
The on-demand provider releases upgrades to two vertical editions, as software-as-a-service vendors take "a more focused approach," according to one industry analyst.
Posted 13 Sep 2007
Yet another market-share report tags the two vendors as the market's only leaders--but this one gives Oracle the edge in product quality. Overall, the CRM arena remains competitive.
Posted 12 Sep 2007
A group of industry pundits will launch a new "online career center" at the Gartner CRM Summit later this month.
Posted 07 Sep 2007
Gartner predicts CRM software revenue will grow 14 percent this year to exceed $7.4 billion, as SaaS, sales, and foreign markets continue to drive the market.
Posted 06 Sep 2007
The $339 million acquisition is the latest example of the convergence of business intelligence and performance management.
Posted 05 Sep 2007
All the happenings from Microsoft Corp.'s Worldwide Partner Conference in July.
The Coldest Call author Gerry Cullen explains why some products don't sell, and why you're not to blame.
Business problem: Salespeople need on-the-road access to opportunity, lead management, and other sales-force-automation-related functions.
The company continues to build out its data integration offerings, but lags behind the competition in broader data quality initiatives, according to one analyst.
Posted 31 Aug 2007
The German software giant doubles the number of Indian outsourcers among its top partners, as part of its ongoing efforts to expand market presence in that country.
Posted 30 Aug 2007
The open-source CRM provider's Version 5.0 focuses enhancements on the platform and architecture; the company also provides a roadmap for going public.
Posted 29 Aug 2007
New Sage offering provides productivity and business intelligence improvements; one industry analyst suggests the new version closes the gap between contact management and SFA.
Posted 23 Aug 2007
At destinationCRM2007, author and futurist Stan Davis outlines the influence that Web 2.0 is having on companies and their ability to service and sell to the next generation of consumers.
Posted 22 Aug 2007
A session on the emerging technology kicks off the destinationCRM2007 conference in New York, and focuses on how businesses are maximizing profitability analytics.
Posted 20 Aug 2007
The offshore market has reached "a unique point" as service providers continue to perfect the global delivery model and offer more domain expertise.
Posted 16 Aug 2007
A new Gartner report says Web 2.0 technologies will force businesses to reconsider their approaches to security.
Posted 15 Aug 2007
The Japanese-based vendor's purchase of Sphere Communications is a move to bolster its unified communications portfolio, according to one industry pundit.
Posted 10 Aug 2007
IDC predicts rapid growth for the BPM software market, which is expected to reach $5.5 billion by 2011.
Posted 09 Aug 2007
The Asian technology firm's purchase of a U.S.-based outsourcing provider is consistent with its expanding worldwide presence, according to one industry analyst.
Posted 08 Aug 2007
The consultancy announces a new Web-site marketing service to help companies drive loyalty and sales.
Posted 03 Aug 2007
The BI vendor releases a new product- and region-focused data cleansing solution as it continues to expand its Enterprise Information Management line beyond customer data.
Posted 01 Aug 2007
Indian consultancies are increasing their pursuit of their Western competitors, and are experiencing similar outsourcing issues.
Business Problem: Marketers lack the ability to launch targeted, analytics-driven marketing campaigns online.
As their needs grow more complex, SMBs are turning to a wider array of information in order to make educated product and technology choices.
Posted 31 Jul 2007
A yearly retail satisfaction index maps shoppers' preferences for product feedback--and its impact on online sales and satisfaction.
Posted 20 Jul 2007
Canada-based CRM vendor The Long Reach Corp. launches the first major revision of its flagship Info At Hand product.
Posted 19 Jul 2007
Despite the development of CRM best practices, many businesses are still struggling to properly measure the success of their implementations.
Posted 18 Jul 2007
Executives, including CEO Ballmer, outline a flurry of product announcements to support the corporate line: "software plus services."
Posted 12 Jul 2007
The company releases pricing, product information, and vertical templates for Dynamics Live CRM at its Worldwide Partner Conference; one analyst suggests Microsoft lags in the on-demand race.
Posted 11 Jul 2007
Others in the top category are DataFlux, Business Objects, Harte-Hanks Trillium Software, and IBM; expect to see increased M&A activity as smaller, international players make their presence felt.
Posted 06 Jul 2007
The use of the Internet in healthcare services will benefit patients and healthcare providers alike--as soon as security concerns are addressed.
Posted 05 Jul 2007
Web designers now enjoy unlimited site enrichment tools, which will help companies take e-commerce sites to new levels as broadband adoption rates soar.
Confirmed: High clutter leads to TV viewers to change channel.
Business Problem: A company's marketing department cannot effectively track and manage campaigns across multiple search engines.
NetSuite helps the company manage its demanding client base.
Posted 01 Jul 2007
New research reveals that enterprise and CRM software isn't just for the big boys anymore.
Posted 29 Jun 2007
Either a bad technical implementation or a lack of governance will increase the risk of failure in SOA projects, according to a new report.
Posted 28 Jun 2007
A study finds businesses are turning to master data management solutions to improve their business intelligence results; data governance best practices are still key.
Posted 27 Jun 2007
As SMBs enjoy an expanding IP communications and managed services market, no dominant players have yet emerged.
Posted 21 Jun 2007
The marketing technology vendor releases the latest version of its EMM solution, targeting the gaps across customer touch points.
Posted 20 Jun 2007
Two reports detail the growth of the database and worldwide software storage markets, driven by strong growth in the SMB segment and enterprises looking to host heterogeneous IT environments.
Posted 15 Jun 2007
The feedback management vendor releases an on-demand version of its mobile surveying solution, as it continues to penetrate the enterprise segment.
Posted 14 Jun 2007
In a bizarre twist, a research firm is recommending CIOs in India look to Hong Kong and Singapore to avoid fighting for IT talent within their own country.
Posted 13 Jun 2007
A new study IDs the top performers in supply chain management and explains the importance of allowing the consumer to drive manufacturing and distribution strategies.
Posted 08 Jun 2007
Oncontact Software launches a Vista-compatible CRM application suite targeted to the midmarket, using the new operating system to enable compelling workspaces.
Posted 07 Jun 2007
Sage Software's second vertically focused app targets financial services with a new contact/customer management solution.
Posted 06 Jun 2007
Although overall customer satisfaction is high, several companies are lagging as consumers' expectations continue to increase on a yearly basis.
Posted 01 Jun 2007
One analyst says that Agassi was "a charismatic and highly visible driving force for change."
CRM's real truth requires enterprises to clean up -- reorganize -- customer information with data integration solutions, Web-services technology that integrates data applications.
Business Problem: Valuable customer data is scattered throughout disparate data sources.
Gartner advises enterprises to take advantage of emerging markets in Asia and other parts of the world to remain competitive against the local alternatives.
Posted 31 May 2007
The BI provider will now supply customers with enhanced search capabilities for unstructured data; an alliance with IBM will help tap the Asia Pacific market.
Posted 30 May 2007
The on-demand provider releases an end-to-end mobile suite solution with several partners; it matches market demand, according to one industry analyst.
Posted 24 May 2007
The market is expected to grow as enterprises seek to consolidate the vast amounts of unstructured data in word processing, spreadsheets, and other formats, according to a report.
Posted 23 May 2007
Different licensing models have left customers confused and vendors squabbling over the definition of open source.
Posted 18 May 2007
Magic Quadrant '07: This year's North American CRM service provider quadrant reveals Accenture and IBM GBS as the strongest implementation partners.
Posted 17 May 2007
The company releases a new BI and performance management solution tailored for the SMB segment and based on technology acquired from the Celequest purchase.
Posted 14 May 2007
The CRM vendor realigns its corporate foundation to create two new divisions that will better serve their customers' needs.
Posted 11 May 2007
SAP will buy OutlookSoft, putting more analytics tools into the hands of CFOs; the acquisition continues a consolidation war with Oracle.
Posted 10 May 2007
The European company releases QlikView 8, improving its predictive analysis and collaboration capabilities as the company sees increased traction from the enterprise segment, according to one analyst.
Posted 09 May 2007
SugarCRM introduces a customer self-service portal and knowledge base to connect customers with key CRM business processes; an analyst firm draws parallels to Salesforce.com.
Posted 04 May 2007
Larry Ellison's company continues to lead the market thanks to increased software sales and SMB penetration, but IBM and Microsoft close the gap, according to a study.
Posted 03 May 2007
The company releases version 8 of GoToAssist, focusing on chat and collaboration functionality to improve one-call resolution rates.
Posted 02 May 2007
How to connect the dots to reveal a complete image of new corporate performance management software solutions.
Thomas Davenport and Jeanne Harris argue that companies need analytics to make better decisions and extract maximum value from their business processes.
Business Problem: A company must design and manage a visually appealing interactive storefront for its Web site.
For partners it is a question of how far Microsoft will go with the verticals initiative.
Companies look to develop best practices around the business processes and technology changes required with SOA as its popularity and use continues to soar.
Posted 26 Apr 2007
The company broadens its on-demand marketing solutions with the predictive analytics of Loyalty Matrix, a marriage of solutions that the market is ready for, according to an industry pundit.
Posted 25 Apr 2007
The business intelligence vendor adds search and analysis capabilities for business users of Excel; more vendors will follow, according to one industry analyst.
Posted 19 Apr 2007
European businesses are overcoming their reticence toward offshoring, and looking to India instead of homegrown providers to fulfill their needs.
Posted 16 Apr 2007
Marketers will invest more money in search marketing as they look to maximize their ROI via campaign management optimization.
Posted 12 Apr 2007
Britain's call center industry grew 6 percent in 2006 and predicts steady growth for at least another five years, according to a recent report.
Posted 11 Apr 2007
Money is a prime motivator when it comes to compensating a sales force, but a new study finds that there are incentives--and barriers--other than Uncle Sam.
Posted 06 Apr 2007
The open-source CRM provider teams with iEnterprises to provide a client-based mobile CRM solution tailored for the BlackBerry platform; the tool set's the thing, according to one analyst.
Posted 05 Apr 2007
The market will see dramatic growth over the coming years, buoyed by a renewed interest in process management, as BPM vendors begin to leverage SOA.
Posted 04 Apr 2007
There are customer service technology vendors making dynamic acquisitions and expanding their broad product portfolios that don't necessarily fit neatly into one of the seven Service Leader categories. In keeping with that our third annual Service Excellence award recipient, M2M Holdings, made two smart deals that plunged it directly into the full-suite CRM and knowledge management arenas. Also, we present our second annual Rising Star awards, spotlighting under-the-radar tech providers that are making serious strides to deepen their competitive footprint.
It's clear, as the impact of commoditization continues to sweep across various verticals, that devoting serious energy to customer care processes is a bona fide strategy for strengthening brand loyalty. CRM magazine acknowledges five companies that realized eye-catching returns on their contact center services and technology investments with service-and-support deployments in the areas of Web-support services, workforce optimization, speech solutions, hosted contact center services, and agent-facing universal desktop.
The customer care market in 2006 evolved at an enthralling rate, as providers of service-and-support technologies and services toiled to bolster their capabilities through strategic partnerships, head-turning mergers and acquisitions, and deepened research and development--all with the goal of helping companies provide stellar service. At the forefront of these developments are our 2007 Service Leaders--the contact center market's leading vendors in seven areas: computer telephony integration, interactive voice response, Web-support services, workforce optimization, quality monitoring, agent-facing universal desktop, and outsourcing services. The results are based on a blend of weighted criteria comprising analyst ratings for customer satisfaction, depth of functionality or services, and company direction, coupled with financial strength throughout the past year evidenced by revenue and revenue growth.
The customer care market in 2006 evolved at an enthralling rate, as providers of service-and-support technologies and services toiled to bolster their capabilities through strategic partnerships, head-turning mergers and acquisitions, and deepened research and development--all with the goal of helping companies provide stellar service. At the forefront of these developments are our 2007 Service Leaders--the contact center market's leading vendors in seven areas: computer telephony integration, interactive voice response, Web-support services, workforce optimization, quality monitoring, agent-facing universal desktop, and outsourcing services. The results are based on a blend of weighted criteria comprising analyst ratings for customer satisfaction, depth of functionality or services, and company direction, coupled with financial strength throughout the past year evidenced by revenue and revenue growth.
Colin Beasty speaks with Russ Lombardo about his new book, CyberSelling--Using CRM Technology to Help You Sell.
Telecommunications companies have unparalleled access to their customers. Will this pave the way to a new era of personalized content?
Business Problem: CSRs are inundated with routine customer inquiries, which increases wait time and reduces agent effectiveness.
Spending on business intelligence and performance management is expected to balloon as companies seek to bring financial data and operational metrics to the corporate masses, according to a new study.
Posted 30 Mar 2007
The vendor unveils the first of a series of point solutions designed to provide organizations with a point of entry into MDM initiatives, according to an industry analyst; version 3 of its flagship product arrives.
Posted 29 Mar 2007
The company's latest offerings are meant to provide small contact centers with telemarketing and customer service while providing the flexibility to scale up or down.
Posted 28 Mar 2007
Oracle has accused its chief rival of cracking into its computer systems in an attempt to steal copyrighted software; software maintenance fees are at the heart of the suit, according to an industry pundit.
Posted 23 Mar 2007
The market continues to expand, albeit at a moderate pace, as vendors achieve strong growth in SaaS applications and vertically focused solutions.
Posted 22 Mar 2007
A Gartner report also identifies a 50 percent increase in total identity crimes and underscores the importance that companies take preventive measures to ensure customer satisfaction.
Posted 21 Mar 2007
The company expands its long-promoted speech recognition portfolio as it looks to build new voice-enabled customer service software and add speech to its Live Search engine.
Posted 16 Mar 2007
At day two of Convergence Microsoft deepens Dynamics' vertical investments by announcing an acquisition and a new ISV certification program to deliver industry-relevant software to customers.
Posted 14 Mar 2007
The company debuts SharePoint Server 2007 along with other announcements as it begins to focus on molding the Dynamics product line into a fully integrated suite solution.
Posted 13 Mar 2007
The open source provider expands the number of databases it supports and adds e-commerce capabilities; it's part of the product's evolution, according to one analyst.
Posted 09 Mar 2007
Gartner finds that the rapidly expanding SaaS market will force service providers to position themselves in preparation for the quickly changing landscape of IT software.
Posted 08 Mar 2007
Corticon announces Foundation, a BRMS platform that enables users to customize and manage business rules from within application interfaces.
Posted 02 Mar 2007
The $3.3 billion acquisition would be Oracle's largest since Siebel, and continues Oracle's focus on BI while undermining rivals; more BI acquisitions are to come, according to analysts.
Posted 01 Mar 2007
The Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens have turned to Epic Cycle to personalize their Web sites.
As big businesses enter phase 2 (and for some, phase 3) of their varying CRM initiatives, these tips will refine the advance.
Business Problem: A company can't determine which Web-site factors either drive conversion rates or detract from a customer's experience.
Onyx North America can now go beyond cleaning records to building more complete information from customer data.
In The Power of Positive Profit, Graham Foster attacks the issue of false business success promoted through volume selling.
A new TAS Group study finds the disconnect between management and reps can erode a sales force's ability to close deals and hit quotas.
Posted 28 Feb 2007
The company updates and renames its flagship surveying product, focusing on workflow and usability enhancements.
Posted 22 Feb 2007
The German software giant purchases the management software provider to make good on its promise to embed more analytics in its offerings; more acquisitions will follow, according to the CEO.
Posted 21 Feb 2007
The company buys Respond Group, a vertically focused acquisition aimed at expanding CDC's industry-specific offerings.
Posted 16 Feb 2007
The company releases enhancements to its e-commerce engine, with improvements that are tailored for a potentially untapped midmarket, according to one analyst.
Posted 15 Feb 2007
The software giant releases a BI platform for Dynamics CRM in an effort to hand business intelligence to the Excel-using masses.
Posted 14 Feb 2007
Security vendors are making the transition from point solutions to suite products that tackle potential threats as enterprises deal with inflexible licensing policies and high costs.
Posted 09 Feb 2007
Allegiance releases version 4 of its EFM suite, with considerable emphasis placed on reporting and managing of survey results for company management.
Posted 08 Feb 2007
The globalization of markets and economies is forcing manufacturing firms to improve their SCM and ERP solutions in an effort to get products that satisfy customer demand to market faster.
Posted 07 Feb 2007
The market will experience more growth as the technology includes more users within an organization while application and suite providers enhance their own offerings.
Posted 01 Feb 2007
Enterprise feedback management solutions are replacing conventional surveying tools as companies seek a centralized surveying framework that leverages all data.
Companies are now paying CRM vendors for complete comprehension when it comes to regulatory software products.
Business Problem: The sales department lacks the ability to accurately forecast, hindering its ability to design sales plans, restructure the sales force, and leverage information from other departments.
A discount vacation firm finds training heaven on the Web.
The software giant releases five new versions of its major product lines and highlights the progress it's made in integrating JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, and Siebel via Project Fusion.
Posted 31 Jan 2007
Struggling with a growth dip, telecoms are turning to new multimedia markets to increase revenue; the segment could have plenty of failure due to not grasping business models.
Posted 26 Jan 2007
Two new solutions are designed to garner insight from structured and unstructured data, helping to make the contact center a bigger piece of the enterprise puzzle.
Posted 25 Jan 2007
Amdocs unveils version 7 of its CRM suite, a solution designed to enable service providers to deliver an improved customer experience in the ever-converging world of communications.
Posted 24 Jan 2007
Microsoft and Nortel debut three ICA products and outline the transformation of both companies' communication products through 2010 and beyond.
Posted 18 Jan 2007
The BI vendor adds real-time operational dashboards to its performance management solution and announces tighter integration with Salesforce.com.
Posted 17 Jan 2007
WebMethods unveils the latest version of its flagship product, with strong emphasis on utilizing SOA to drive process management, a trend representative of this emerging market.
Posted 12 Jan 2007
The vendor debuts its workforce optimization module, which--thanks to pre-integration with its contact center suite--will make it available to the SMB segment, according to one industry pundit.
Posted 11 Jan 2007
The latest version, called Titan, is released to the company's partner network as Microsoft gears up to begin hosting the solution itself via Dynamics Live.
Posted 10 Jan 2007
The infrastructure giant acquires IronPort to beef up its network security capabilities; more acquisitions will likely follow, according to one industry pundit.
Posted 05 Jan 2007
Consumers are more open to text message and mobile marketing than most companies know; some name brand businesses are taking advantage of this developing medium.
Posted 04 Jan 2007
SMBs are paying more for ERP systems than enterprises but receiving less business benefit, a study reveals.
Posted 03 Jan 2007
The companies release customization platforms for on-demand, a move that reduces IT risk, yet could spell trouble for midmarket CRM providers.
Econometrics has long been the province of Ph.D.s, but applications for marketers are emerging via automated user interfaces and BI reporting tools.
Business Problem: The contact center needs to strike a balance between call volumes and quality of service.
The results from this year's holiday shopping are in, with most retailers posting impressive customer satisfaction scores; last year's leaders raise the bar for service.
Posted 27 Dec 2006
IT spending will increase, but at a reduced rate as companies focus on "running the existing IT infrastructure," according to one industry analyst.
Posted 22 Dec 2006
Retailers are becoming smarter as they target business intelligence functionality for managing customer data; new research shows heavy BI adoption, but plenty of room to grow.
Posted 21 Dec 2006
NetSuite brings HR functionality to its suite offering, giving employees access to payroll information and streamlining business processes.
Posted 20 Dec 2006
After years of improving citizen satisfaction, e-government scores have leveled off, a possible sign of improving private sector Web sites.
Posted 15 Dec 2006
Gartner highlights new trends and technologies that will influence the way that IT departments operate -- and the way companies do business -- in 2007 and beyond.
Posted 14 Dec 2006
Avidian releases the latest version of its Outlook-based sales and contact management solution, and looks forward to leveraging Office 2007 and Vista in the immediate future.
Posted 13 Dec 2006
While IT spending is predicted to slow, CIOs should focus on making targeted cost cuts and look to leverage young talent to replace retirees.
Posted 08 Dec 2006
As ERP end users demand greater functionality from their solutions, companies are having to weigh the difference between richer functionality and future integration woes.
Posted 06 Dec 2006
Marketers across the pond should get to know bloggers' unique e-commerce habits to tap blogging's potential and tailor Web sites to meet these consumers' needs.
Posted 05 Dec 2006
How strength in numbers--in this case, the analytics of customer data--transforms sales teams into sales forces.
Companies will be able to track and publish partner success metrics to partners' homepages.
Many CRM vendors, including Microsoft with its own CRM offering, have tailored their solutions to mesh with the anticipated new operating system.
Posted 01 Dec 2006
Business Problem: Companies lack the ability to draw insight and intelligence from the vast pools of customer data they've collected.
Nearly half of U.S. adults have concerns about shopping online and distrust email, causing problems for companies that interact with customers via the Internet.
Posted 30 Nov 2006
The on-demand provider unveils a family of tools to address integration woes, though one industry pundit says integration issues are as much a state of mind as they are an IT dilemma.
Posted 28 Nov 2006
CIOs who sit down and align their IT workforces will improve effectiveness and find that they can be proactive versus reactive in addressing business needs.
Posted 22 Nov 2006
The open source provider unveils a new service to allow its CRM applications to be supported by open source middleware stacks.
Posted 17 Nov 2006
Thieves are targeting wealthier consumers while impersonating banks less often, adapting their tactics to a changing environment; one analyst says it's "still a lucrative business."
Posted 16 Nov 2006
The company's latest content communication platform adds tighter integration with Salesforce.com and enhanced workflows, which one industry analyst says sales forces are looking for.
Posted 15 Nov 2006
Version 8 of the company's flagship product introduces new, prebuilt Accelerators that assist customers in overcoming common data challenges associated with making the transition to MDM and CDI.
Posted 09 Nov 2006
The latest version will have tighter integration with Office and Vista, and will be sold alongside Dynamics ERP.
Posted 08 Nov 2006
The acquisition rampage continues as the software behemoth acquires a CIS vendor for an undisclosed sum; the CIS market is ripe for acquisition.
Posted 06 Nov 2006
CIOs should prepare, be more proactive, and must place the people and processes before the technology if their company is part of an M&A.
Posted 03 Nov 2006
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