eConvergent Launches eMerge

eConvergent, a CRM infrastructure software vendor, believes it has found the solution to solve CRM's biggest problem. Earlier this week, the San Ramon, Calif.-based company launched its flagship application suite, eMerge, which promises to bridge disparate CRM applications, legacy systems and data -- an interconnectivity problem that has plagued many CRM projects. Indeed, despite large investments in CRM software, companies continue to struggle with gaining a full view of customers, preventing them from providing a consistent customer experience and digging out sales opportunities. With eMerge -- or more specifically, eMerge Server and eMerge Viewer -- companies gather customer interactions across all CRM legacy applications and then can present it in a single view, eConvergent claims. Here's how it works: The two eMerge modules automate the business logic between CRM applications. Using defined business rules, eMerge Server correlates events between CRM applications, such as customer records, contact information and case files, in real-time. The information is kept in a database, where it's indexed. Then, eMerge Viewer filters the data and presents it, either through an existing CRM application, Windows desktop or Internet browser, to a company's customer-facing employees. Focusing on the data is the right strategy, according to Scott Nelson, vice president of research at Gartner Group "The key to any CRM architecture is customer data," he said. "Enterprises should view customer data as the cornerstone of their CRM strategies and ensure architectural designs that move the right data to the right customers contact point at the right time.