We Blog CRM

Beverly, Mass.-based Intelliworks, Inc. announced a partnership to deliver CRM and integration solutions tailored for higher education. The conjunction symbolizes a synergy between the reported leader in insight-driven, actionable CRM for higher education, and a leading provider of higher education data integration.

The partnership dictates that the companies jointly develop an integrated data mapping and load interface between Intelliworks Relationship Manager software and constituent student information systems employing Nolij’s Nolij Transfer data integration solution. The idea is to import data more quickly in university system network systems by integrating data into and out of the Intelliworks Relationship Manager (using the Nolij Transfer product, of course) such as SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, PSAT test score; web application data; student information systems; and ERP packages.

A deep level of integration is promised, to get a seamless way to automate the full business process scenario around CRM by ensuring the information available in real time or batch mode from prospect management, application generation, and the admissions process. Via Nolij Transfer’s advanced capabilities are promised importation, validation, and standardization of data from various sources; efficiently compare input records to potential matches; and automatically update records in real time.

Intelliworks, Inc. seeks to enable colleges and universities to raise relationship capital by providing insight-driven, actionable CRM solutions tailored specifically for the higher education industry. The insight provided into building relationships with prospects, students, and alumni theoretically enables institutions to communicate with their key constituents in a more personalized and relevant manner. Among Intelliworks solutions clients are Duke, Columbia, Harvard Business School, University of Oklahoma, UC Berkeley, Dartmouth, Wharton, and Georgia. Intelliworks’ web-based application can be implemented at a department, school-wide, or university level.

Nolij Corporation is reportedly the leading provider of higher education focused document imaging and workflow solutions and is the recognized leader in providing forms processing and data integration middle-ware technology to the higher education customer. Nolij has literally changed the document imaging and data integration landscape in higher education with its powerful, yet affordably-priced products built exclusively for higher education. Hundreds of colleges and universities worldwide use Nolij solutions to improve the capture, input, availability and flow of information within and throughout their enterprise.

Al-Futtaim Technologies, the Al-Futtaim Group company representing Alcatel Enterprise Solutions and Microsoft Business Solutions in the United Arab Emirates, have announced the launch of integrated customer relationship management and contact center solution, based on the formal alliance between Microsoft and Alcatel for the UAE market.

Primarily for mid-sized companies with contact centers of twenty-five to 150 agent positions, the joint solution will combine the Alcatel OmniTouch Contact Center Premium Edition developed on Microsoft Windows Server System, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0, Microsoft’s recently released CRM solution. Also ntegrated with the offering is the Genesys Gplus Adapter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0, which enables voice interaction management for both internet protocol and traditional circuit switched telephony and multimedia (i.e. web, email, fax).

Under the new agreement between Microsoft and Alcatel, the two companies recently launched its activities for the UAE through Al-Futtaim Technologies, who is in a unique position indeed, as the only distributor for both in the UAE. With Microsoft technology and Alcatel leadership in call center solutions, the new relationship is designed to deliver solutions that will assist customers in lowering the total cost of ownership, realizing greater return on investment, increasing agent productivity, and providing an enriched and more personalized customer experience in all areas of contact center interaction.

The combined solution basically ensures greater optimization and simplifies configuration and installation processes for fast implementation of plug-and-play, out-of-the-box business applications. With modules for sales, marketing and customer service, Microsoft Dynamics CRM promises a fast, flexible and affordable solution that drives consistent, measurable improvements in every business process, enables closer relationships with customers, and helps achieve new levels of profitability.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be implemented and managed in on-site, hosted and hybrid environments. Alcatel OmniTouch Contact Center Premium Edition is designed to be immediately and intuitively operated by contact center staff, namely managers, supervisors and agents. Designed for contact centers with twenty to 150 agents, the solution provides the fully graphical interface the Visual CC.

Ottawa, Canada-based voice-centric IP communications solutions provider Mitel announced the opening of its new Customer Solutions Showcase in Costa Mesa, Calif. The office and showcase is located at 3200 Bristol Street and seeks to provide access to innovative, industry-specific, business-ready IP communications technologies and business applications. Approximately 25 sales and marketing personal are based out of the Costa Mesa office. And, since press material and news stories push the main phone number for the facility, here it is: (714) 435-4006.

Mitel press material calls the Customer Solutions Showcase “a state-of-the art center” designed to feature Mitel’s award-winning IP communications portfolio. Included are applications for collaboration, contact centers, messaging, mobility, presence, speech-enabled unified communications, teleworking, video conferencing and wireless communications. Among Mitel clients are Foundry, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft, from which the center shows solutions provided.

Mitel regional sales director Dave Schuler spoke of strategy, that said strategy is “to become the trusted technology advisor in both the SMB and enterprise markets.” With the center, Schuler et al are “[continuing] our focus on enhancing the strength of our customer relationships.” Mitel’s bills its IP communications solutions as cost-effective and efficient; the company specializes in small-, medium- and enterprise-sized customer solutions. Another niche of theirs is the vertical markets, which include financial services, with voice and data communication systems; health care in areas of efficiency gains and waste; higher education, with product assisting in improving access to campus services and extending benefits for distance learning hospital and tourism, with their communications systems; retail, with the networked business solutions suites; and government.

Mitel is a leading provider of integrated communications solutions and services for business customers. Mitel’s voice-centric IP-based communications solutions consist of a combination of telephony hardware and software that integrate voice, video and data communications with business applications and processes.

The PR folks at SAP have got to be busy these days. Another announcement has come out of the SAPPHIRE ’06 convention: Business intelligence solutions provider Business Objects officially announced at the general availability of Business Objects XI Release 2. Based on the Business Objects business intelligence platform from Business Objects, this solution provides customers with an integrated view of their business by providing users with timely, trusted access to data within several SAP solutions, including SAP R/3(R)-, mySAP ERP, and SAP NetWeaver(R) Business Intelligence.

Some non-SAP solutions can be used with the new Business Objects release. The key feature of BusinessObjects XI Release 2 Built for SAP Solutions includes boasts enhancements including stronger connectivity between BusinessObjects Dashboard Manager and SAP solutions, more efficient reporting, improved data visualization components. improved metadata management, and quicker loading of SAP solution-based metadata for universe creation and processing SAP Netweaver BI hierarchies.

Featured components include pre-built report templates across SAP Netweaver BI and SAP R/3; native application-layer connectivity to SAP R/3 using SAP business logic and security; a new BAPI interface to SAP NetWeaver BI; live data access from Microsoft Office applications; Crystal Reports XI Release 2, provided further solutions in reporting; a BI encyclopedia for questions frequently answered and not; Web Intelligence, a query and analysis solution; and something called Intelligent Question. Business Objects Intelligent Question promises to allow anyone to intuitively ask business questions and receive correct answers without the need to build a query or knowledge of underlying data systems.

“Thousands of companies rely on business intelligence from Business Objects to further leverage the value of their SAP solutions,” claims Business Objects product marketing vice president Donald MacCormick. “The breadth of BI capabilities we can deliver, including performance management, query, reporting, analysis and EIM coupled with our extensive connectivity to SAP data provides a unique combination which enables our customer to get maximum leverage from their investment in SAP.” And Business Objects XI Release 2 was a success even before the official release, what with the announcement made three weeks ago that prestigious customer University of Michigan would add Business Objects systems and had standardized on Business Objects.

The university is now expanding its existing deployment of Business Objects product and is migrating to Business Objects XI Release 2. By using the BI platform, University of Michigan administrators and faculty seek to predict course demand, forecast future aid and improve decision making. The University selected Business Objects Dashboard Manager to assist executives and other non-technical users in analyzing data and managing performance.

Representatives from business suite solutions provider SAP AG have announced that TBC Corporation, America’s largest vertically integrated marketer of tires for automotive replacement, has signed on to utilize the Safe Passage program in performing its migration to SAP. TBC also chose the SAP for Retail solution portfolio. TBC marks yet another firm finally achieving consolidation of multiple subsidiaries into a single platform and, after a reportedly extensive review process, TBC chose SAP.

The company will leverage SAP for Retail, a solution portfolio combining mySAP Business Suite solutions with a wide range of integrated retail applications to assist in serving consumer demand across multiple channels, in hopes of increasing growth, improving efficiency and managing retail, wholesale and franchise lines. SAP for Retail includes core capabilities for financial management, human resources, supplier relationship management and customer relationship management, as well as support for industry-specific merchandise management and planning, store and channel management, demand forecasting, replenishment, sophisticated allocation, workforce management, POS data management and RFID.

To complete the hat trick, TBC also selected the SAP NetWeaver platform to standardize its primary business units. SAP NetWeaver promises to enable consolidation of business practices and processes to increase profitability, lower costs and drive innovation at the company. In general, the Safe Passage programs are for those companies facing uncertainties at the end of life of JD Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Retek and Siebel solutions. These are promised to be comprehensive offerings including access to SAP enterprise resource planning; financial protection for a customer’s existing investment in JD Edwards, Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Retek, and Siebel Systems; SAP financing options; immediate integration through the SAP NetWeaver platform; and migration support services.

Surely finding a little wordplay irresistible, SAP Americas president / CEO Bill McDermott, said that “the Safe Passage program provides companies with a proven and affordable road map to protect their current investments and to begin the process of innovating their businesses today.”

TBC Corporation, though the largest vertically integrated marketer of tires for the automotive replacement market in America, is popularly known for its automotive service centers Tire Kingdom, Merchant’s Tire & Auto Centers and National Tire & Battery, along with its franchised Big O Tires outlets. In 2005, TBC Corporation was purchased by Sumitomo Corporation of America, the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of Japan’s major integrated trading and investment business enterprises.

Seagull Software, provider of software products for connecting legacy applications to Internet architectures, today announced that it expects to report revenue in the range of $27 to $28 million for the financial year ended 30 April 2006, an increase of approximately 19% as compared to $23.4 million for the previous financial year.

On a pro forma basis net income for the year is expected to be approximately $100,000, as compared with a loss of $908,000 for the previous year. “Growth was our primary focus during fiscal year 2006 so we are extremely pleased with the strong growth that the company achieved in fiscal year 2006, and with our ability to generate pro forma profit for the year,” commented Don Addington, CEO / President of Seagull Software. On an International Accounting Standards basis, the company expects to report a net loss in the range of $900,000 to $1 million; including deferred stock compensation costs and amortization of intangible assets.

The company plans to publish final audited fourth quarter and annual results for the Financial Year ending 30 April 2006 on 22 June 2006.

Expanding its presence in Brazil, SAP AG announced the opening of a new SAP Global Service Center in São Leopoldo, with a planned expansion of eighty employees by the end of 2006. The SAP Global Service Center is the latest addition to SAP Brazil, a legacy which began in 1995 to grow to its present day size of 450 employees and 600 customers. The São Leopoldo site also serves as part of a worldwide network of nine SAP Global Service Center locations, the largest of which are in China, Germany, Hungary, India and Japan.

No less than the Rio Grade do Sul state governor came out to thank the SAPers: “I would like to express, on behalf of the state of Rio Grande do Sul and its scientific and technological community, our deep satisfaction with the decision made by SAP to deploy its SAP Global Service Center in our state.” Meanwhile, a bit more pragmatic was SAP AG executive board member Gerhard Oswald, who said, “The new SAP Global Service Center will support our long-term global growth plans and localization efforts and is an important affirmation of our commitment to Brazil and the Americas region.”

SAP Latin America regional managing director José Duarte sees much potential in Brazil, as do many international market players these days, painting a picture of the country as such: “A strong university infrastructure that provides high-quality development resources, coupled with the region’s high standard of living, fluency in English and Spanish and a competitive cost structure makes São Leopoldo a very attractive location for SAP.”

Public relations at Mountain View, Calif.-based eGain Communications Corp., provider of customer service and contact center software for in-house or on-demand deployment, were pleased as punch to announce that the company has been rated a leader in the Forrester Wave first quarter 2006 report. eGain actually gained two nods, one each in the “strategy” and “current offering” categories. Forrester evaluates eService vendors across 80 criteria.

The “current offering” category evaluates and ranks the product capabilities, technology and architecture of eService software products that are available in the market today, with the “strategy” category evaluating the product vision, sales and implementation strategy, and channel partnerships of these companies. eGain and its eService solution, eGain Service suite, received the top score in email response management with a perfect 5. eGain garnered high marks in cost with 4.4, technology / architecture with 4.26, knowledge base with 4.6, product vision with 4.0, and sales and implementation strategy with 4.0.

Forrester Research VP / research director John Ragsdale singled out eGain, by praising its long history of email management and case-based reasoning, saying the company “should be included on the shortlist for companies needing a highly scalable email response solution or for agent and customer-facing knowledgebase tools.” Not even praise? He continues: “The vendor’s attention to business processes has made it a leader in eService process orientation.” “We are honored to be rated as a leader two years in a row in the Forrester Wave report,” said eGarin CEO Ashu Roy, proudly going on to say that “this validates our position as a pioneer and innovation leader in eService interaction management as well as contact center business process management.”

eGain Service suite boasts features such as effective and efficient customer service and experience across channels using a centralized knowledge base; a common, complete view of customer interaction; assistance in agent productivity; reduction of dependence on agent-assisted service through comprehensive and flexible self-service; automated service processes; interaction management; knowledge management; service fulfillment; and increases in upsell and cross-sell.

Available for on-demand hosted or in-house deployment, the suite includes integrated applications for adaptive self-service, email management, multi-channel knowledge content management, live web collaboration through chat and co-browsing, call tracking and resolution, proactive service, automation of fax and paper-based service interactions, and service fulfillment. The applications are built on the eGain Service Management Platform.

A momentous occasion in China has happened, and high glitterati were there to attend the announcement of a large deal, indeed. SAP CEO Henning Kagermann and Neusoft Chairman / CEO Dr. Liu Jiren held a ceremony to announce a wide-sweeping agreement in Sino-German business relations, conducted as part of the official activities surrounding German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to China.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to China, her first since becoming Germany’s head of government in November 2005, underscores the deepening trade and commerce relations between Germany and China. SAP AG, cashing in on a long history in China, has announced the signing of relationship and investment several agreements with one of China’s leading IT services and training companies, the Neusoft Group.

SAP concluded a master relationship agreement with Neusoft that will expand cooperation between the two organizations, with SAP also taking a minority equity stake in the Neusoft Group. The far-reaching agreements seek to deepen the relationship between the two companies, to further extend SAP training and solution offerings into China, and to establish Neusoft as a significant SAP training and development center in China. The agreements represent the latest in a determined effort to extend SAP operations in China. Jiren said that, “As Chinese small and medium-sized businesses become more aggressive users of ERP technology, we see opportunities for expanded training and solution offerings in several industries.”

Over the next two years, Neusoft will more than triple its staff dedicated to SAP software and training and draw upon its deep university ties and nine dedicated training centers to train and certify a growing number of SAP customers, partners and independent consultants. SAP already boasts a historically strong presence in China. The company established a research laboratory in China in 1997 and upgraded to a world-class SAP Labs facility in 2003.

Founded in 1991, the Shenyang, China-based Neusoft boasts over 8,000 employees and forty offices across the country, with others in the United States and Japan, and industrial development bases in Shenyang, Dalian, Chengdu and Nanhai. Neusoft’s big plunge into the international sphere came just two years ago, when, in a major move, the joint venture by Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and China Neusoft Group was officially launched. Philips got about fifty-one percent of that capital share and Neusoft Digital Medical Company held forty-nine. The joint venture represented the first breakthrough for Neusoft in China. That deal involved Philips and Neusoft developing and manufacturing computed tomography, MR, ultrasound and X-ray equipment.

Even back then, Neusoft saw the great potential in its homeland: With a deal made with the West, “…we will not only be able to build up the competitiveness of Neusoft in domestic medical systems market, but also enhance our capabilities in the process of expanding global market,” said a representative. Today, Neusoft is one of the leading software and solution companies in China and owns the very first listed software company in China. Neusoft total assets topped RMB 3.8 billion in 2005 and the company has seven research centers and three training centers under its auspices.

A promotion was announced at Budapest, Hungary-based application service provider HostLogic Kft. János László has been named sector manager for the company. László will head up HostLogic’s CRM implementation and consultancy services. László brings a resume of nearly six years of experience in CRM consultancy, having implemented CRM projects at a virtual who’s who of Hungarian firms. Previous to this, he did time prior to HostLogic at T-Systems Hungary Kft between 2003 and 2006 and Nextra Kft the preceding year. From 2000 to 2002, he worked as a CRM consultant at Accenture Kft. László started his career in 1998 as a system administrator for Andersen Consulting Kft.