We Blog CRM

Attention, bingo addicts!

PacificNet, Inc., a frequent newsmaker these days at CRMchump, announced today that its Take1 Technologies subsidiary has introduced a new line of gaming machine products: Electronic Bingo Machines.

Electronic Bingo Machines are pretty much what you’d expect, with no paper and ink needed! The Take1 Bingo Machines are based on a client-server computer network architecture, with players buying electronic bingo tickets using an electronic bingo terminals in a sales outlet. This automation promises to allow for a faster game and for play from any location that’s linked to the central electronic bingo server. Both features naturally increase the bingo operator’s revenue.

Software for the machines was co-developed by PacificNet’s software outsourcing unit Pacific Solutions Technology in Shenzhen, China.

PacificNet was even kind enough to provide a little scintillating history for those of us in the biz but not in-the-know about the game itself: Bingo is a form of lottery which can be traced back to a game called Lotto, played in Italy in 1530. When Italy was united in 1530, the Italian National Lottery Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia was organized and has been held at weekly intervals to this date.

Take1 Technologies, a member of PacificNet group, is a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of multimedia entertainment and communication kiosk products. Take1 Technologies is based in Hong Kong and markets and distributes its products around the world including in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe, China, and Southeast Asia.

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.

Databazaar.com, currently the fifth largest online U.S. retailer specializing in IT peripherals, has announced its intent to enter the India market.

Company talks with offline partners owning independent distribution and logistics chains were reported in Telegraph India’s online edition today. Databazaar would comprise the online platform for the unnamed potential partners of the new venture.

Despite Telegraph India’s enthusiasm and fascination with the IT toys supplier, the plans are only in an embryonic stage. Oney Seal, Databazaar.com founder/chairman acknowledged in the newspaper that “the company’s research on internet use in India indicated the great demand for online retailing,” but was quoting as stating “The plans are, however, still at a drawing board stage” and “Currently, it is not viable for us to have our own distribution and logistics hub with warehouses like we do in Florida.”

Reportedly, Databazaar has earmarked some $2 million for initial investment and “should have a pilot model ready by the next year for the metros.”

Databazaar currently employs 100 in a Calcutta business process outsourcing company called – originally enough – Databazaar India.

“Databazaar to sell in India” by Sohini Mookherjea can be read in full at the Telegraph India website.

These days, hardly twenty-four hours goes by without news from a certain enterprise software provider in the Philippines; ever since the company’s “reverse merger” with software firm SFWJ, a media blitz of Software Effective Solutions Inc.’s deals and agreements has emanated from the island nation.

Today, SES has announced its agreement with Fibercom, a leading fiber-optic and systems integrator operating in the Far East.

Fibercom, based in Manila, Philippines, is a leading fiber-optic and advanced technologies system integrator. The company is a major local distributor of Samsung fiber-optical cables, video broadcasting equipment, data communication and wireless transmission infrastructure, and is involved in turn-key projects for enterprises and the major telecom operators.

SES Inc. is a Philippine-based software company providing enterprise software to small enterprises, medium-sized enterprises and telecom operators in functions such as workforce management, call centers, and resource management. SES’ latest addition to the market is Effective, a flexible software platform for organizational functions such as sales/marketing, service delivery, resource and operations management. SES’ flagship product is Effective CRM.

Philippines-based enterprise software provider SES continued on its year-end roll last week, with CEO Clarisa Rojo announcing just before the holidays (and presumably, even SES employees got some well-deserved time off) that Gilat Satellite Networks had installed the Service and Marketing and Sales modules of SES’s CRM suite in its regional offices in Bangkok.

Gilat has installed SES’s Effective CRM (that’s a pretty funny name) modules for sales and service management of its operations in several Asian countries. Gilat’s Bangkok office will use Effective to enhance sales, marketing and customer service activities in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and other countries where staff and equipment are located.

In mid-December, seemingly everything changed for heretofore little-known SES when completion of a reverse merger with software firm SFWJ was announced. With that announcement, Rojo declared that SES would be “concentrating its resources to gain leading position in CRM market for small and medium-sized enterprises in Asia Pacific, with a special focus on telecom operators.” Following the deal came a handful of subsequent announcements and agreements from Rojo et al.

SES inked IBM Philippines to a deal in which the Asia Pacific offshoot of the big company would be reselling SES Effective Customer Relationship Management suite in the country. Communications equipment provider Huawei Technologies also got aboard the SES bandwagon, purchasing SES’ CRM suite to enhance management of their equipment procurement and integration operations in the Philippines.

Gilat Satellite Networks designs, develops and markets satellite and hybrid networking products, services and solutions to operators in 85 countries. In the Asia Pacific region, Gilat works with service providers such as Bharti, China Unicom, ChinaSat, HCL, Optus and Tatanet, and has recently completed a $60 million round of financing.

SES Inc. is a Philippine-based software company providing enterprise software to small enterprises, medium-sized enterprises and telecom operators in functions such as workforce management, call centers, and resource management. SES’ latest addition to the market is Effective, a flexible software platform for organizational functions such as sales/marketing, service delivery, resource and operations management.

PacificNet, Inc., a provider of CRM and telemarketing services, ecommerce, gaming and mobile internet services in China, announced today that its PacificNet Epro subsidiary has been selected by China Unicom’s Shanghai branch to provide CRM consulting and call center training services.

Under terms of the agreement, PacificNet Epro will enhance the CRM service level and telemarketing management capability the China Unicom customer service center known as the “10010 Information Hotline.” The scope of the consulting project will cover key areas including customer service and telemarketing management, development of outsourcing telemarketing programs, call center workflow design, business management, project Return on Investment, customer affinity, designing effective telemarketing scripts, and improving customer service agent capabilities.

According to figures from China’s Ministry of Information Industry, China Unicom recorded 1.3 million new users in November 2006, including 373,000 CDMA users. China Unicom now has 105 million GSM users and 36.13 million CDMA users. Meanwhile, China Telecom added 690,000 new fixed-line users in November 2006, and China Mobile signed up 4.67 million new users in November, bringing its total users to 296 million.

China Unicom is one of the major mobile operators in China operating GSM and CDMA mobile networks, local and long distance fixed-line phone service, data communication including internet service and IP phones, value-added telecom services, wireless paging and other services.

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.

PacificNet Epro is a provider of outsourced call center, telemarketing, CRM, VAS and IVR services with over 15 years of field experience in greater China in the areas of outsourced call center services, training and consulting services, and call center management systems.

PacificNet Inc., a provider of Customer Relationship Management, mobile internet, e-commerce and gaming technology in China, announced today that its PacificNet Games Limited (PacGames) subsidiary has received orders from two more casinos in Macau, China for multi-player electronic gaming machines.

Interestingly enough, PacificNet chairman / CEO Tony Tong commented on not being able to comment about the terms of the deal: “Although we cannot divulge the specifics on these sales due to the highly competitive current market in Macau, we do want to convey our rapid progress in the Macau gaming market to our shareholders and the gaming world."

Alongside the announcement, PacificNet publicists made note of recent Reuters reports on the popularity of multiplayer gaming machines in Macau, with the trend reportedly away from traditional, individual terminal games towards multi-player, shared experience games. Said Merrill Lynch analyst David Anders to Reuters India: "A powerful and developing trend over the next two years will be the movement toward multi-station, communal play gaming devices.”

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.

Suddenly, once-quiet Philippines-based enterprise software provider SES is making moves. None other than SES CEO Clarisa Rojo herself announced today that none other than IBM Philippines would be reselling the SES Customer Relationship Management suite in the country. Rojo stated that "Thanks to IBM Philippines’ leadership position in the market, this collaboration marks a milestone in SES’s strategic penetration of the Asia Pacific market and a giant step forward for our company." We believe it.

Rojo and SES also announced today that communications equipment provider Huawei Technologies had purchased SES’s CRM suite to enhance management of their equipment procurement and integration operations in the Philippines.

Huawei Technologies will be employing SES’ Equipment Management tool to “enhance control of the purchases of equipment components from outside manufacturers and their integration into Huawei’s own products.” Huawei’s product line consists of wireless products, core network products, network products, applications, software, and terminals; the company clientele list includes communications companies in over 100 countries. "This very exciting deal opens up a vast horizon for SES. Huawei is fast becoming a leading vendor in the communications industry," said Rojo.

On Friday, Rojo and SES were able to announce completion of a reverse merger with software firm SFWJ. With the announcement, Rojo declared that SES would heretofore be “concentrating its resources to gain leading position in CRM market for small and medium-sized enterprises in Asia Pacific, with a special focus on telecom operators.” Competitors, you have been warned.

Huawei Technologies is a provider of next-generation telecommunications networks; the firm currently serves 28 of the world’s top 50 operators and claims one billion users worldwide. Huawei employees 56,333 employees, with about half in research and development. Huawei’s R&D centers are located in Bangalore, India; Silicon Valley, Calif.; Dallas, Texas; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; and “several centers throughout” China. The company claimed sales of $8.2 billion in 2005.

SES Inc. is a Philippine-based software company providing enterprise software to small enterprises, medium-sized enterprises and telecom operators in functions such as workforce management, call centers, and resource management. SES’ latest addition to the market is Effective, a flexible software platform for organizational functions such as sales/marketing, service delivery, resource and operations management.

Philippines-based enterprise software provider SES announced completion of a rare “reverse merger” on Friday. Fellow Filipino software firm SFWJ acquired 100 percent of SES shares and has replaced its board of directors and management with those of SES. All SES assets, businesses and operations have been merged into SFWJ.

Of course, with the announcement came SES’ window of opportunity to seize the PR moment. SES thus spun the reverse merger announcement as “concentrating its resources to gain leading position in CRM market for small and medium-sized enterprises in Asia Pacific, with a special focus on telecom operators.”

“Today, most small to medium-sized organizations, especially in the Asia Pacific region, lack computerized CRM tools. Most CRM tools designed for telecom operators (such as Clarify, Microsoft and others) are very expensive, complex and require long implementation processes…” said now SFWJ CEO Clarisa Rojo.

SES’ latest addition to the market is Effective, a flexible software platform for organizational functions such as sales/marketing, service delivery, resource and operations management.

Sage Software India announced the appointment of Patni Computer Systems Ltd has been chosen as a Sage Software business partner for positioning and implementing Sage CRM SalesLogix solutions in India. SalesLogix reportedly has over 45 customers in India across a number of verticals.

As for near-future strategy, Sage Software India managing director Thomas Abraham stated in the announcement that “Sage Software India is targeting manufacturing, insurance and financial services companies in India with this partnership in the initial stages…”

Patni intends to launch solution frameworks in early 2007.

Sage CRM SalesLogix v7 was released in August 2006 and is designed to assist advertising sales reps manage dealings with media buying agencies and clients. Inclusive in the software are features such as customer profiling, prospects, agencies, media buying houses, and customer interaction history. According to company figures, SalesLogix is employed by 300,000 users at over 7,300 companies.

Sage Software is a provider to more than 2.6 million small- and mid-sized business customers in North America. Sage products support accounting, operations, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking, merchant services and the specialized needs of accounting practices and the construction, distribution, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. Sage Software is a subsidiary of The Sage Group plc. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now has 5.0 million customers served by 10,500 employees worldwide.

PacificNet, Inc. has announced its annual stockholders meeting for 1pm local time on December 15, 2006. The meeting will be held at in Beijing, China, and, just in case you’re in town, the press release for the event does give the exact address: The big do goes down in Room 2309, Building A, TimeCourt, No. 6 Shuguang Xili, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 10028.

Victor Tong, President of PacificNet said: "We welcome all PACT shareholders to come to the PACT China Headquarters in BJ, meet the management in person, and review our business on December 15, AGM day. We’d like to remind all shareholders to please cast their votes prior to the AGM date to ensure that their votes will be counted in time."

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.