We Blog CRM

I really like the concept of web-based and the unlimited possibility of SaaS excite me. This particularly delivery model has progressed so much that even enterprise applications such as CRM and ERP are now easily available on the web. One of the main concerns with distributing CRM on the web is security.

Web-based ERP provider BScaler has upgraded security at the system binary level to safeguard against intrusion or a breach. The company whose product range covers CRM, Service, Operations and Accounting functions for small and medium-sized businesses, has focused on increasing security at the data center, the internet, and at the application. The company has turned its Unix/Linux OS into a read only and has secured the system binaries. By doing so the company believes that it has increased the level of difficulty for unauthorized personnel trying to break in.

Newly installed security features include a secure 24/7 access-controlled data-center, commercial grade firewalls for the production servers, and state-of-the-art monitoring software. 128-bit SSL encryption over the internet and role-based accessibilities ensure appropriate access to data. The company hopes to broaden the customer-base of its web-based total business management product and hopes to implement a strategy for targeting Importers, VARs, Resellers and Distributors.

You want to know how ERP affects you in daily life? Check out the Junction Solutions white paper entitled “Tracing the Genealogy of an Outbreak.” (Sensitive or nauseous readers probably will want to skip not only this particularly entry, but the white paper as a whole.)

Using the simile of researching family genealogy (hence the title), paper author Nick Bova seeks to illustrate the difficulties facing food processors who for one reason or another must trace product back to its source. Said investigation can require “tracing the lot back through handwritten ledgers to the grower, block, field, etc.”

Naturally, in the Information Age, certain errors can lead to horror stories: “all it takes is one zero that looks like a six in one entry to send the entire investigation in the wrong direction…”

With proper methods of data collection and storage, argues “Outbreak,” most headache-inducing labor and mistakes can be avoided. When such a long-ranging ERP system is in place, lots can be traced back to the source in four minutes or less.

The author also sees problems in the nature of industrial food processing. Since “A typical day’s run in a high-speed environment may involve numerous batches of the same types of ingredients, with the next batch being added to the previous one without stopping production. … it is unlikely the machinery will be cleaned between runs, as that would be inefficient and unnecessary under normal circumstances. In short, after awhile you can’t tell where one batch ends and the next begins.” Ick.

Because of this sort of issue, argues the paper, even conventional ERP systems may not be enough to prevent efficient recall of potentially dangerous product.

Towards the end of “Outbreak,” the ‘paper briefly touches upon “the risks of bioterrorism affecting the food chain.” As though you weren’t sold already, eh?

Consona CRM today announced the release of Onyx Adaptive CRM Version 6.0, KNOVA v. 7.1, and the interestingly-named Million Handshakes v. 4.5. The trio of pieces are the first fruits of joint labor between Consona and the now-subsumed Onyx Software Corporation, which was acquired from Consona roughly ten months ago.

The Consona CRM release promises a full suite of functionality, including sales, service, support, and marketing automation; service resolution and knowledge management; business process management; and business intelligence.

Enhancements touted in Onyx v. 6.0 include a SQL generation framework, new calendar functionality, a robust user interface configuration framework, and a comprehensive group collaboration tool named “Assignment Studio.”

KNOVA v. 7.1 is a service resolution and knowledge management solution; Million Handshakes v. 4.5 is a marketing automation and customer dialog solution from new technology partner Million Handshakes. Both are established atop the core Onyx CRM solution.

Meanwhile, Consona snagged another partner in Camisa Technologies; the two come together in an ERP-CRM integration partnership. Isn’t that nice?

The partnership seeks to deliver strengthened integration between Made2Manage ERP and CRM front-office system Sage SalesLogix. The new integration offering has been christened Camisa Connect and was reportedly developed by experienced integration specialists working directly with current Made2Manage customers.

Software evaluation company Technology Evaluation Centers has launched its Enterprise Resource Planning Evaluation Center. The TEC ERP center seeks to “help organizations conduct a thorough and successful requirements-gathering phase.” Specifically, that’s to

• determine the right type of ERP system for the given enterprise;

• examine how each solution addresses management requirements;

• designate crucial operating criteria that any solution must meet to be viable in the given environment; and

• analyze each solution’s capacity to support company growth and operations, over time.

In conjunction with the release, the TEC website is running an article entitled, “Enterprise Resource Planning for Services: Has Software as a Service Become Service-oriented Architecture for Small to Medium Businesses?” by Neil Stolovitsky.

ERP-CAD data integrators Elmo Solutions this week released Agni Link, a live bidirectional ERP-CAD connector for SolidWorks and Microsoft Dynamics/GP.

Agni Link is touted as “the only application of its kind that offers a unique and reliable way to unify SolidWorks and Microsoft Dynamics/GP databases” and “typically pays for itself in 60-90 days.”

Established in 1979, Elmo Solutions is a leader in the creation, management and publishing of engineering documents and metadata. Elmo Solutions also offers a range of services related to ERP and CAD data integration.

Representatives of Infor closed out their week with the announcement that the company’s Infor ERP LN had been selected by Aurrenak Sociedad Cooperativa, a provider of tooling design and manufacturing for the automotive industry in Spain.

The business-specific ERP solution was implemented in order to update Aurrenak Sociedad Cooperativa’s IT systems by centralizing and streamlining most company management information in engineering, production, sales, purchasing and finance functions.

LN will be installed over a Microsoft Windows platform and SQL Server database. The installation is slated for completion in March 2008.

LN was chosen after a long selection process, during which solutions offered by the key providers in the market were evaluated. Infor was selected on the basis of its proven track record and deep domain expertise in understanding the problems and meeting the needs of industrial equipment and machinery manufacturers.

Aurrenak Sociedad Cooperativa, created in Vitoria in 1974, is dedicated to tooling design and manufacture for the smelting industry; the company employs over 100 and boasts revenues of €20 million (approximately $27 million).

Spectra Colors Corporation, a specialized supplier of dyes for inks, coatings, foods, drugs, cosmetics, paper, household products and wood stains, recently selected the Deacom Integrated Accounting and Enterprise Resource Planning software system in replacing its homegrown UNIX System.

Prior to the DEACOM ERP selection, the Kearney, NJ-based Spectra Marrero chose to deploy Deacom ERP based on the company’s specialization in the chemical, dye, and coatings manufacturing industries.

Blackbaud, Inc. chief executive officer Marc Chardon today announced that the company has released its technology platform, code-named Infinity. (Well, you have to like that name: We’ll say a 8.8 out of 10 on the CRMchump Mathematical Mind-bending Moniker Scale.)

Released together with Infinity were Blackbaud Direct Marketing (or The Software Formerly Known As “Bullseye”) and Blackbaud Enterprise CRM (or The Software Formerly Known As “Galileo”), a pair of information management solutions designed for non-profit organizations. The products were pre-released to selected customers in March.

Early adopters include the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Celebrating its 40th anniversary of working to save a national treasure, CBF has 190,000 members and relies on its large direct marketing program to maintain support, to encourage advocacy, to establish volunteer restoration programs, and to educate on events and issues affecting the Chesapeake Bay. The Foundation uses Blackbaud Direct Marketing in managing numerous concurrent projects.

Blackbaud bills itself as “the leading global provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations.” Among the Blackbaud clientele of almost 16,000 organizations are the American Red Cross, Dartmouth College, the WGBH Educational Foundation, Episcopal High School, Lincoln Center, Cancer Research UK, Special Olympics, and the Arthritis Foundation. Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Toronto, Ontario; London, England; Glasgow, Scotland; and Sydney, Australia.

Luxoft, said to be Russia’s largest provider of high-end IT outsourcing services, has announced an extension to its extant agreement with investment bank Deutsche Bank.

Luxoft President and CEO Dmitry Loschinin and Deutsche Bank’s Daniel Marovitz, COO of Technology for Deutsche’s Global Banking Division, finalized the agreement during the big CeBIT German-Russian IT Summit, which promotes cooperation between German interests and those of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Under terms of the agreement, Luxoft will provide development resources in Russia and the Ukraine to “enhance and further innovate” the CRM package Client First. Client First is currently used by more than 5,000 Deutsche Bank employees across Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region.

Luxoft was founded in 2000, and today has operations in Russia, Canada, the UK, and Ukraine. Luxoft boasts research and development centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Dubna and Omsk, Russia; Kiev and Odessa, Ukraine; and Vancouver, Canada. Among Luxoft clientele are Boeing, Deutsche Bank, IBM, UBS, T-Mobile and Dell.

Infor announced this week the company’s new “Mobile Order Management” (a.k.a. – you got it – MOM), a product that seeks to enable field sales personnel in the distribution industry to process orders remotely using a PDA, laptop or any other mobile device. MOM is designed to integrate with any ERP system, regardless of vendor.

Using MOM (which isn’t very nice if you think about it), field reps can remotely inquire about the status of an order; add, change or remove charges, line items and order line level comments; and search for customers and ship-to addresses. Other features include the ability to perform manual price overrides, and apply a discount or mark-up percent.

“Ours is a service-driven business and our employees need quick access to inventory and order information to meet customer demands,” said Bruce Streiff, Crest Industries CFO, explaining why they wanted to work with MOM.

And once again, CRMchump has to give props to the ever-witty David Sims over at TMCNet’s First Coffee blog for his closing line, which cannot be topped: “Additional modules complaining that you don’t call her often enough, telling you how to raise your kids, witching about your husband or wife, asking why don’t you move closer and reminding you that ‘you used to do that when you were that age’ optional.”

(Blogger’s note: I believe Sims knows that “to witch” is not a proper verb … perhaps he meant something else…?)