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Brighton House Associates, LLC has launched Brighton House Associates SalesDesk. BHA SalesDesk is web-based software designed for hedge fund managers and marketers.

The BHA research team is dedicated will continue in updating the database to deliver a constant flow of qualified sales leads; BHA’s proprietary database currently consists of data from 20,000 proven hedge fund investors.

Founded in 2006 by veteran hedge fund marketing professional Daniel McDermott, Brighton House Associates, LLC offers solutions for the sales and marketing of hedge funds. Today, Brighton House customers include Wall Street brokerage houses, multi-billion dollar hedge funds and funds-of-funds, and industry service providers.

Recent figures released from analysts at IDC showed that the Western European CRM market grew by 6.3 percent to reach a value of €2.2 billion (£1.5 billion or $2.96 billion). Sales of CRM on-demand product increased 40 percent in 2006.

As a result of the results, IDC has increased its five-year forecast, with analysts explained it as “showing … confidence that the sector will continue to grow as businesses buy into the market for the first time and companies that already have some CRM applications continue to invest, buoyed by growth in the European economy.” Additionally, IDC now sees on-demand CRM applications as soon to make up almost half of the net market growth of the entire European CRM market.

Bo Lykkegaard, programme manager at European Enterprise Applications, stated upon release of the report that “Early CRM adopters, especially in the financial services and telecommunications sectors, are investing in CRM again, while the low-end segment is seeing a significant impact of software-as-a-service.”

Recent figures released from analysts at IDC showed that the Western European CRM market grew by 6.3 percent to reach a value of €2.2 billion (£1.5 billion or $2.96 billion). Sales of CRM on-demand product increased 40 percent in 2006.

As a result of the results, IDC has increased its five-year forecast, with analysts explained it as “showing … confidence that the sector will continue to grow as businesses buy into the market for the first time and companies that already have some CRM applications continue to invest, buoyed by growth in the European economy.” Additionally, IDC now sees on-demand CRM applications as soon to make up almost half of the net market growth of the entire European CRM market.

Bo Lykkegaard, programme manager at European Enterprise Applications, stated upon release of the report that “Early CRM adopters, especially in the financial services and telecommunications sectors, are investing in CRM again, while the low-end segment is seeing a significant impact of software-as-a-service.”

Recent figures released from analysts at IDC showed that the Western European CRM market grew by 6.3 percent to reach a value of €2.2 billion (£1.5 billion or $2.96 billion). Sales of CRM on-demand product increased 40 percent in 2006.

As a result of the results, IDC has increased its five-year forecast, with analysts explained it as “showing … confidence that the sector will continue to grow as businesses buy into the market for the first time and companies that already have some CRM applications continue to invest, buoyed by growth in the European economy.” Additionally, IDC now sees on-demand CRM applications as soon to make up almost half of the net market growth of the entire European CRM market.

Bo Lykkegaard, programme manager at European Enterprise Applications, stated upon release of the report that “Early CRM adopters, especially in the financial services and telecommunications sectors, are investing in CRM again, while the low-end segment is seeing a significant impact of software-as-a-service.”

Recent figures released from analysts at IDC showed that the Western European CRM market grew by 6.3 percent to reach a value of €2.2 billion (£1.5 billion or $2.96 billion). Sales of CRM on-demand product increased 40 percent in 2006.

As a result of the results, IDC has increased its five-year forecast, with analysts explained it as “showing … confidence that the sector will continue to grow as businesses buy into the market for the first time and companies that already have some CRM applications continue to invest, buoyed by growth in the European economy.” Additionally, IDC now sees on-demand CRM applications as soon to make up almost half of the net market growth of the entire European CRM market.

Bo Lykkegaard, programme manager at European Enterprise Applications, stated upon release of the report that “Early CRM adopters, especially in the financial services and telecommunications sectors, are investing in CRM again, while the low-end segment is seeing a significant impact of software-as-a-service.”

The big news this week down NetSuite, Inc. way was the on-demand business management software providers’ announcement that flagship product NetSuite is available wirelessly on mobile devices including BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Palm Treo.

NetSuite credited third-party application developers Antenna Software, Explore Mobile and iEnterprises for extending NetSuite via NetSuite’s SuiteFlex development and integration platform.

SuiteFlex is designed to enable the extension of NetSuite to third-party systems, the creation of third-party vertical applications within NetSuite, and the customization of end-to-end business processes for end-users.

Antenna Software’s AMPower for NetSuite mobile solution provides the ability to access and update essential customer and order information in real-time from the NetSuite system from “a variety of” wireless handheld devices.

Explore Mobile’s Explore Order Entry allows sales reps to retrieve, update and take orders via their mobile device and have them uploaded into NetSuite with that ever-magical “click of a button.” Said COO and partner of Explore Mobile Jeremy DeSpain, “Our solution originated as a proof-of-concept to the extensible product capabilities SuiteFlex was going to open up for third-party development.”

iEnterprises’ Mobile Edge for NetSuite is a pre-built application that allows BlackBerry and Windows Mobile users to connect and extend NetSuite CRM and ERP capabilities to their handheld while away from the office.

Xtime, Inc., a provider of CRM solutions for service operations, today announced that Ferman Automotive Group of Tampa, Fla., has committed to a group-wide rollout of Xtime’s flagship software product, ServiceCRM.

Xtime’s ServiceCRM combines consumer web scheduling, service BDC automation, advanced shop control and sophisticated service marketing.

Xtime now provides CRM solutions to automotive service operations in over 700 dealerships; company figures show that over 1,000,000 appointments have been booked via Xtime. Privately held and based in San Mateo, Calif., Xtime investors include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, RPM Ventures and France Telecom’s Innovacom.

Ferman Motor Car Company and its affiliated dealerships sell and service thirteen automotive brands from eighteen locations in the Tampa Bay area. The company sells more than 12,000 new and over 6,500 used include Acura, BMW, Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Jeep, Mazda, MINI, Nissan, Pontiac and Volvo cars each year. Ferman is reportedly one of the nation’s oldest family-owned and operated automotive groups in America with a foundation date of 1895.

Happy anniversary, Sage Sales Logix!

So wished the folks at Sage Software this week, having first announced the 10th anniversary edition of Sage SalesLogix (now v. 7.2) during the company’s Insights 2007 business partner conference in April.

Perhaps they’re trying to jog our memories a bit because we still haven’t gotten them a gift yet…

CinTel Corp. announced its signing of a stock purchase agreement to acquire fully one hundred percent ownership and equity interests of Bluecomm Co., Ltd. for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $6.5 million. Bluecomm is a Korea-based DBM (Database Marketing) and CRM solutions provider.

Bluecomm entered the CRM business in 2005 and has special expertise in DBM and HSC solutions. HSC stands for “Home Service Center,” which is a bit of Kenglish known outside the Korean market as “call center and telemarketing services.” The Home Service Center market has grown rapidly in recent years, with market size ultimately expected to reach over $380 million in 2007.

Bluecomm’s is valued at approximately $6.9 million and the firm’s biggest win seems to be its exclusive contract to host HSC solutions for Pizza Hut Korea.

Founded in 1997, CinTel introduced what is touted as “Korea’s first dynamic server load balancer” and has now produced technology products including NAND flash memory packaging, LCD assembly, semiconductor packaging and testing specialists. CinTel also produces solutions for memory applications for home appliances, semiconductor and TFT-LCD application products.

That sober note you hear sounding emanates from Accenture, that international management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. A recent study outsourced by the firm and undertaken by BPRI Group implied that, overall, tech firms are alienating customers with customer service that is average at best. Firms supplying such average or below-average service risk losing up to 73 percent to competitors.

The research was based on a survey of 1,200 technology consumers in North America, Europe and Asia, and interviews with executives at vice-president level and above at 35 global consumer technology companies, each with at least $1 billion in annual revenue between August and November 2006.

The survey of customers of consumer technology companies was fielded between January and March 2007 by the Lightspeed Consumer Panel and included consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Japan.

Other statistics revealed an interesting perception gap between those on opposite sides of the buy-sell equation:

? 81 percent of customers surveyed who rated their service satisfaction as “below average” said they will purchase from a different supplier the next time.

? Although 75 percent of executives said their companies’ provide “above average” customer care, 58 percent of consumers rated their satisfaction with customer service as average or below average.

? When consumers rate their service satisfaction as merely “average,” the likelihood of their buying again from that same company falls by almost half from 51 percent to 27 percent.

? 48 percent of consumers surveyed said they share their negative customer-service experiences with friends and family.

? 42 percent of customers surveyed said they had to access customer-service channels multiple times to resolve their problems.

? 61 percent of consumers surveyed said they believe that technology has not improved customer service.

? And as for that 78 percent mentioned above, here it is: That 78 percent surveyed said the service they receive is “at or below” the level competitors offer.

Upon releasing the results, Brett Anderson, managing director for Customer Relationship Management in Accenture’s Communications and High Tech Practice, declared the numbers to be “a wake-up call that customer service should no longer be relegated to a mere instrument for extracting costs out of the business. Instead, this service should be a powerful and crucial investment target for accelerating full-throttle toward delivering high performance.”

For more information on Accenture’s “Customer Service” report, click here.