We Blog CRM

If SAP product and technology group president Shai Agassi doesn’t watch out, he might gain the notoriety of a Benioff in industry media: Silicon.com, ZDNetAsia and BusinessWeek all reported yesterday on Agassi’s new “third way” philosophy.

Agassi and SAP’s “third way” dogma is basically a middle-ground strategy between a completely software dependent operation and a 100 percent on-demand solution. It’s natural for SAP to be pushing such a party line, as their plan centers on the service-oriented architecture. With a more succinct explanation featuring “gear box” as the key simile for SAP product, this could catch on.

As Agassi sees it, the business of the future will use a "stable core [of software that] drives the ability to innovate at your pace.” The key will be enhancement packages. As Agassi told Silicon.com: "So think of SOA as a gearbox. We’ll allow the customer to choose which gear they want… by choosing which pack and which enhancement they want."

Agassi’s recent comments all go back to his earlier eye-popping headline-making announcement that SAP software would be receiving no major updates until 2010. “…through 2010,” said Agassi at that time, “new functional enhancements to [mySAP] will be made available as extensions in a series of optional enhancement packages. …this application will continue to provide a stable yet evolutionary business process platform as companies move into the era of enterprise SOA.”

Agassi stated that SAP would instead release optional enhancement packages to mySAP ERP 2005 until the major upgrade four years from now. Under the current business schema, SAP plans to have its business suite 100 percent service-enabled by 2007. Until then, SAP executives will urge customers to use the software vendor’s NetWeaver platform to begin piecing together a service-oriented architecture.

Common wisdom regarding the tacks SAP is taking now are generally figure to be answering to the intensifying competition with Oracle Corporation. Were there any doubt of this assumption, referring to any of the links above will contain price gems served up by Agassi. Here’s a sound bite: “We don’t believe in buying customers.” Ouch!

Just in case those of you in the industry needed help getting through next week, Centive and Theikos now have a reason for your existence. And those of you who run business without CRM, you’re listening, too.

Centive, an on-demand strategic sales compensation management solutions provider, and Southborough, Mass.-based Theikos, a provider of CRM-related services and solutions, have released announced survey results indicating an overwhelming dissatisfaction with spreadsheet-based sales compensation management systems and their “inability to drive sales performance.”

Completed this month, the survey of U.S. sales and finance executives sponsored by Centive and conducted by Theikos found that 92 percent of respondents continue to use spreadsheets or homegrown-based systems to manage sales compensation, despite said dissatisfaction.

In hard figures, the dissatisfaction comes in the form of the seventy percent or so that believe these systems were less than satisfactory in providing strategic value. Cost of implementation has got to be the only thing holding these folks back, right? Unless people really do just like to complain…

Other survey results included:

• 61 percent expressed dissatisfaction with the ability of their sales incentive management system to support financial reporting and compliance initiatives.

• 66 percent rated their current system as "unsatisfactory" in terms of ability to model new compensation plan scenarios.

• 70 percent expressed dissatisfaction with the timeliness and quality of reporting and analytics in their sales incentive management system.

• 74 percent reported an inability to provide real-time data to sales and finance executives and sales representatives.

• 88 percent reported no integration between their CRM and sales compensation systems.

To drive home the point, Centive CMO Bob Conlin stated that "These results validate findings of [earlier surveys which have shown] that the majority of mid-size companies today fail to manage sales compensation strategically or to invest their sales incentive dollars effectively.”

Theikos is a provider of services and solutions for the on-demand world. Theikos is a gold-level Salesforce.com partner and leading AppExchange developer, with offerings including implementation, development services, outsourcing services, and software from the AppFactor On-Demand Solutions division. Founded in 2000, Theikos is headquartered in Southborough, Mass. (that’s outside Boston, press material points out to The Chump) and has offices in the United States, India and Singapore.

Centive, headquartered in Burlington, Mass. (a bit further outside of Boston), is a leader in on-demand strategic sales compensation management.

Though JabberDog is something that sounds like a reason to complain to your neighbors, it is in actuality a new voice broadcast feature suite.

InsideSales.com, a provider of on-demand customer relationship management products and services introduced the product to act as enhancement to the InsideSales.com computer telephony integration functionality. InsideSales.com CTI, in turn, provides telephony automation to marketing, sales and customer support capabilities to the InsideSales.com hosted CRM.

Abilities touted in JabberDog include those to create voice broadcast initiatives from any contact list within the CRM; to record messages or any length from any location; to tailor messages for voice mail or live-answer scenarios; to call multiple numbers per contact; to schedule voice broadcasting times to maximize response and respect privacy; to define the number of outbound phone lines; to set up call transfers; to screen; and to fully integrate a “Do Not Contact” capability with contact opt-out feature.

InsideSales.com is a provider of on-demand sales automation and customer management software. InsideSales.com sales, customer, and / or lead management solutions are employed at 200 companies worldwide, including Franklin-Covey Public Seminar Division and Whisper Creek Log Homes. InsideSales.com headquarters are “nestled in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains in Springville, Utah.”

Representatives of Open Solutions Inc. have announced that Pacific Coast Bankers’ Bank has selected its enterprise-wide data processing platform, minimalistically known as The Complete Banking Solution, and other Open Solutions applications.

PCBB is reportedly the second-largest bankers’ bank in the United States in terms of assets under management and provides correspondent banking services to more than 400 independent community banks across the country.

In addition to The Complete Banking Solution, PCBB will implement Open Solutions’ financial accounting suite, cView MyVision and Report Wizard.

Open Solutions Inc. offers a fully featured strategic product platform that integrates core data processing applications built on a single centralized Oracle relational database, with internet banking, cash management, CRM / business intelligence, financial accounting tools, imaging, digital documents, Check 21, interactive voice response, network services, Web hosting and design, and payment and loan origination solutions.

Infusion Software, a provider of on-demand CRM solutions, was able to celebrate 90 days of its Infusion CRM with the release of some nice figures. Infusion CRM is a web-based sales and marketing solution for small business.

In this 90 day period, say company statistics, over 100 small businesses have selected Infusion CRM software. Meanwhile, Infusion has increased its workforce in the last 90 days by 10 percent, adding five new employees to the customer loyalty, technology, and marketing and sales departments.

The Infusion CRM on-demand solution is an all-in-one system for sales and marketing automation. Intriguingly (and therefore not surprisingly attracting customers after all) Infusion Software offers a service guarantee stating that “If a customer hasn’t doubled their investment after using the software for one year, Infusion will buy the software back for twice the licensing and setup fee paid.”

The company has reported revenue increases of over 125 percent every year since 2003.

Infusion Software promises further “new products, more services and additional employees” within the next twelve months, but no concrete specifics. By year 2010, says the company’s statement, “Infusion Software aims to be the leader for CRM solutions to the small business market.”

Infusion Software, an emerging growth technology and services company, delivers on-demand CRM web-based software solutions for small businesses. Infusion Software is a privately-held company headquartered in Arizona.

Selectica, Inc., a provider of sales execution and contract management solutions, shuffled around the management team a bit today. In are Bill Roeschlein as vice president / chief financial officer; Terry Nicholson as chief operating officer of contract management solutions; and Steven Goldner as vice president, engineering. From the board of directors, out are John Fisher and Thomas Neustaetter.

Selectica chairman / chief executive officer Stephen Bennion said of the three entrants: We are excited about the new energy, skill sets and industry experience being brought to the Company…” “Company” was quoted with a capital “C” and Bennion did indeed mention “skill sets.”

CPA Roeschlein comes over to Selectica from his spot as vice president of finance / corporate controller of Ultra Clean Technology, a US $250 million publicly traded contract manufacturing firm.

The previous post held by Nicholson, M.E., was vice president of business development for PC Helps, LLC, provider of software support to North American corporate end-users. From 1999 to 2005, Nicholson was COO at I-many, Inc., provider of contract management solutions. At I-many, Nicholson saw over a growth in annual revenue from US $10 million in 1999 to more than US $40 million in 2005. Sadly, however, it seems Nicholson is no relation to bad boy Jack of film fame.

Goldner, M.E., was last seen acting as vice president, of engineering and operations for Active Decisions, Inc., a provider of guided selling applications under Knova Software, Inc.

Meanwhile, tacked on to the positivity in announcing the new acquisitions, Selectica also announced that Fisher and Neustaetter had resigned from the board of directors, “effective immediately.” No statement from either was forthcoming, with the pair merely indicating that “they must end their board service in order to devote more time to the management of their respective venture capital firms.” Yes, they “must end.”

Why must they end? These recent personnel moves at Selectica all go back to August, which featured the announcement of financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2007 and its opposite and equal reaction, i.e. the taking on of Bennion as chairman.

Reflecting the term ending June 30, 2006, revenue was down US $1.9 million to US $5.2 million. Net loss for the fourth quarter was US $2.6 million, or US $0.08 per share. With the announcement came the official naming of Bennion to a higher position, he having served as Selectica chief financial officer since September 1999 and having actually sat as interim chief executive officer from September 2003 to October 2004.

In what press material called a “mutual decision,” former CEO Vince Ostrosky was called upon then to step down so as to “better [serve] by a more streamlined management structure.” With a new board figurehead installed, you’ve got to figure a few heads will roll.

Robert Jurkowski, formerly CEO at Intacct Corporation, was also named to the board at that time.

Selectica’s board of directors now has five members, three independent.

Founded in 1996, San Jose, Calif.-headquartered Selectica specializes in automating complex business processes in the areas of sales execution and contract lifecycle management in linking CRM and ERP systems. Among Selectica clientele are ABB, Alcoa, Applied Bio Systems, Bell Canada, Cisco, Dell, General Electric, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, Hitachi, International Paper, Juniper Networks, Rockwell Automation, Seton Hospital, Tellabs, Time Warner, Triad Hospitals and 7-Eleven.

China Telecom: Now how’d you like to sign that baby up for implementation?

PacificNet Epro was able to bag this one, announcing today the firm’s engagement to enhance the CRM service level and telemarketing management capability of China Telecom’s customer service center known as the “10000 Information Hotline.”

Company officials cited the following “deliverables” undertaken as part of the contract: Development of Outsourcing Telemarketing Program, Call Center Workflow Design, Business Management, Project Return On Investment (ROI), Critical Success Factors on Customer Affinity, Five Steps of Customer Service and Telemarketing, How to Design Effective Telemarketing Script, and Customer Service Agent Role Playing Sessions.

As though more excuses were needed to justify doing business in 21st century China, PacificNet CEO Joseph Levinson reiterated the importance of the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games and the infrastructural changes due to the event in China. “We believe that our fundamentals are stronger than ever and that market opportunities for sustainable growth and profitability in China’s CRM, telecom and e-commerce services are vast.”

China Telecom is the largest fixed service telecommunications provider in China, which includes data, the internet, and the XiaoLingTong PAS wireless system. China Telecom is the leading provider of fixed line telecommunications services in China, providing voice, data, image, multimedia and telecommunications and information services in 20 municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions in China with a subscriber base exceeding 200 million.

Beijing- and Hong Kong-headquartered PacificNet Inc. is an investor in and operator of companies that provide outsourcing, e-commerce, and value-added services in China, such as call centers, telemarketing, direct response television marketing, CRM, interactive voice response, mobile applications, and communications product distribution services. PacificNet corporate clients include China Telecom, China Mobile, Unicom, PCCW, Hutchison Telecom, Bell24, SONY, TCL, Huawei, American Express, Citibank, HSBC, Bank of China, Bank of East Asia, DBS, TNT, and the Hong Kong government. PacificNet employs over 2,300 in China with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Macau, and branch offices in 26 provinces.

In a move made possible by the massive Siebel Systems acquisition, Oracle Corp. has announced the creation of a customer relationship management business unit in Australia, a unit that will support Oracle’s newly acquired customer base of Optus, Telstra, Westpac and others.

Mark Innes, former Australia/New Zealand managing director of WebMethods, was named leader of Oracle CRM Australia in August of this year. Innes has immediately been a very good boy for Oracle, spreading the word among Oz’ customers that “they can stay with current installations or make the move to Oracle’s Fusion suite, which reportedly will be available in 2008.

Oracle will employ about 100 in the center.

NetSuite, Inc. today announced an addition to its flagship NetSuite product and in NetSuite CRM+: NetSuite Partner Relationship Management plus (or, you guessed it, PRM+). PRM is a philosophy within the CRM philosophy which focuses on partners as customers.

NetSuite sees itself as a pioneer in second-generation PRM as, in 2003, the firm introduced joint lead, opportunity management and service management functions in a combined CRM/PRM product. The PRM+ release is a return to the old philosophy, bringing the integration of PRM and CRM together with the back-office transactional. CRM and PRM processes addresses back office element for sales management and order fulfillment, inventory availability, returns processing, and partner incentive compensation management.

"NetSuite is on a mission to correct the misguided course of customer relationship management that other CRM vendors have charted and too many companies have followed,” declared Zach Nelson, captain of the Enterprise – sorry, CEO of NetSuite. “NetSuite is setting the correct course with PRM, CRM and the back-office facilitating a seamless business process.”

PRM+ is available now in NetSuite and NetSuite CRM+. Partner commission is available in the Incentive Compensation module for $299 per month; Advanced Partner Center access is available for $49 per month per partner.

Incidentally, there’s a nice piece on PRM’s history – mostly dominated by NetSuite – over at TMCNet.com. The PRM market, even taking into account its limits as a very small niche market, remains very small beyond the efforts NetSuite and a few indies are pouring into it. TMCNet editor David Sims concludes that PRM “never really took off the way some hoped it would. Nevertheless it remains a good idea, workable in places. Just don’t bet the ranch on it.”

NetSuite, Inc. is billed as the leader in on-demand business software suites and the fastest-growing software company in North America, according to the Deloitte Fast 500 study. NetSuite seeks to enable management of accounting, enterprise resource planning, CRM, and e-commerce.

FireSocket, a software company providing solutions for automotive dealers, today announced significant enhancements to its enterprise-wide customer relationship management platform DealerSocket. The upgrade focuses on the automotive service department and includes dynamic appointment scheduling, service management and follow-up support tools.

FireSocket focused the new features on the areas of automotive service and repair, stating within the release announcement that “as much as sixty percent of the average automotive dealership’s profits” come from these departments.

According to FireSocket CEO Jonathan Ord, the company channeled energy into the “industry-wide challenge” of optimizing service scheduling, a phenomenon known as “pace of play.” Managing the schedule of vehicles against specific technician and resource availability is a problem of some complexity for nearly all dealerships. “Most don’t fare well,” said Ord. “Controlling and managing the pace of service is one of those ‘make or break’ issues in creating the ideal customer experience for a service department’s customers.”

Touted upgrades to the DealerSocket platform include improvements and/or augmentation to service calendar, media mail, survey functionality, roll-up reporting, and loaner and rental vehicle functions.

Based in San Clemente, Calif., FireSocket is a CRM software provider focused on providing the DealerSocket platform. Today almost 500 dealers use the DealerSocket solution in sales, customer communications and service department operations.