Sage Applies Logic to User Adoption

In an industry where user adoption remains a primary challenge, sometimes it's the details that truly matter most. Ever spent minutes upon minutes sifting through numbered lists on a Web page? The developers at Sage Software realized that clicking through pages was a pain for many users of its SalesLogix application. To remedy the time-wasting, they simply put a scroll bar within the interface for SalesLogix 7.5 -- but what seems simple is surprisingly rare in many Web applications or pages. The new scroll bar is just one of the features that Sage is hoping will make this newest version of SalesLogix more user-friendly.   

China Martens, senior analyst with The 451 Group, says that the release should keep the existing SalesLogix customer base happy. SalesLogix 7.5 incorporates new personalization features that won't necessarily boost productivity, but might make help users feel more comfortable with the application, she says. For instance, the interface on the SalesLogix welcome page has been made to resemble the kind of iGoogle or Yahoo! home page users may be familiar with as consumers themselves. Thanks to the use of AJAX coding, users can move each SalesLogix element around and can choose to see only the elements that are useful to them. Additionally, users can change the backgrounds to suit their styles. While the personalized views might increase adoption to a certain degree, Martens maintains the release doesn't do a whole lot to bring new customers on board.  

What the announcement does mean for SalesLogix users, though, is greater integration with another SageSoftware product, Act! by Sage. "[Sage is] trying to make [SalesLogix] the big brother to Act!, so [SalesLogix] would be the natural place to move [when] people are evolving from Act! and looking to move to full-blown CRM," Martens says. She adds that what customers want from the Sage family is clarity --particularly with regard to how its core products interact and work together. Interoperability was both an issue and a stated goal in the Sage CRM Solutions 2010 strategic roadmap, made public in March. Version 7.5 of SalesLogix is a step in that direction, Martens says.  

Travis Nisbett, senior product manager for Sage SalesLogix points out that the 7.5 version allows for both connected and disconnected access. The application looks and feels the same whether online or offline, which Nisbett says is a feature that not a lot of other vendors can claim. SalesLogix 7.5 also includes:

• Web CRM (not to be confused with on-demand CRM): Users can access sales force automation and marketing campaigns -- as well as customer support capabilities for assets, contracts, returns, and defects -- all through the Web client.
• Simplified data access: New formatting includes additional tabs, filters, and the ability to select multiple records at once.
• Lead management wizards: Automation simplifies the process for importing leads, by de-duplicating and enabling rule-based lead-routing.
• Timeline visualization: A horizontal view gives chronological account information with associated opportunities, tickets, news items, and all relevant detail.
• Mashups: Powered by Web services, users can view third-party applications such as Google Maps, Jigsaw, and LinkedIn from within the SalesLogix interface.

Nisbett says that the new personalization features are likely to boost adoption -- and that they're a mainstay of the SalesLogix approach. "SalesLogix has always embraced that personalization," he says. "It's almost an avoidance of the negative. If we're going to survive in this modern Web world, you have to."

News relevant to the customer relationship management industry is posted several times a day on destinationCRM.com, in addition to the news section Insight that appears every month in the pages of CRM magazine. You may leave a public comment regarding this article by clicking on "Comments" at the top; to contact the editors, please email editor@destinationCRM.com.

Related Articles

Sage Shows New Movement on Old Promises

Sage Act! Mobile Live and Sage CRM version 7.0 offer customers mobility and usability.

Sage Sends SalesLogix to the Cloud

Sage Insights '10: After months of readying partners, Sage announces the June availability of SalesLogix for the Cloud.

Sage Sells Solutions, Not Products

Sage Insights '10: Company executives convey Sage's commitment to customer experience and to uniting the brand's business solutions.

Sage Answers the "So What" Question about Software Trends

Sage Summit '09: Company executives describe the response to key industry trends, such as social media, cloud computing, and globalization.

Sage Adds a Little Spice to Its Roadmap

Sage Summit '08: Sage CRM General Manager David van Toor fields questions on social CRM, the recession, and collaborative communities.

Sage Keeps the Economy in Mind

Sage Summit '08: Keynotes reveal inaugural customer awards and encourage customers to fight through the recession like champions.

Jigsaw and SkyData Piece Together Mobile Contact Data

Dreamforce '08: The software-as-a-service companies partner up to deliver a contact database to the traveling business user.

The 2008 CRM Market Awards: Market Leaders -- Sales Force Automation

Some things don't change: The continuing trend toward "SFA plus something more" is accelerating, and Salesforce.com takes the title once again.

The 2008 CRM Market Awards: Market Leaders -- Midmarket Suite CRM

In a largely untapped market, Salesforce.com finds itself firmly in the winner's circle for the third consecutive year.

Filling Out the Spice Rack

Sage Insights '08: A roundup of announcements from last week's partner conference.

Swenson Clears the Cobwebs for Sage

Sage Insights '08: The new CEO discusses her observations of the company, and outlines goals and aspirations for the coming year.

Sage Hopes Seven Will Be Lucky for SalesLogix

Sage launches the latest version of its full-featured CRM suite at the Gartner CRM Summit in Chicago, with renewed focus on end-user adoption and mobility.

ACT! Enacts an Online Community

Riding the Web 2.0 wave, the Sage Software unit provides a place for users and experts to interact.

Customer Connection Is Sage's Flavor of the Day

On the scene: Putting recent executive shakeups in the rearview mirror, the venerable vendor dialogues about dialogue.

Sage Livens Up the ACT! for 2007

The venerable product line receives upgrades to improve security, Outlook integration, and user productivity; one analyst lauds the new functionality.

Sage Dismisses CEO

Facing challenges, the venerable midmarket vendor beheads its North American operations.

Sage Delivers Insight on Changes

The company's annual partner and customer convention kicks off with talk of the future, growing from recently announced structural shifts.

Sharpened Logic and Analysis for Sage

The vendor announces an improved, expanded version of its popular SalesLogix midmarket suite (and an analytics and reporting package) at its Insights convention.

Wise Move: Sage Software Undergoes a Restructuring

The CRM vendor realigns its corporate foundation to create two new divisions that will better serve their customers' needs.

Sage Unveils a New Taste of CRM

SageCRM 6 includes new training and search tools, along with a customizable suite of features for administrators, giving SMBs what enterprises are used to.

The 2007 Market Awards: Small Business Suite CRM

The small-business themes of this past year have been partnership and verticality.

Sage Act!s on Customer Feedback

Act! by Sage 2009 keys in on user requests, aiming to improve their experience.

SFA Vendors Come and Go in Gartner Magic Quadrant

Magic Quadrant for SFA '08: Gartner's latest sales force automation report shows some movement, including some dropouts, as the research firm focuses on big business; Oracle and Salesforce.com top the field.

Sage's New New Global Strategy

Sage Software's latest CRM shift promises one step up in mobility and another toward integration.