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Pitney Bowes is a global provider of physical and digital mailing products and services; the company service techs rely heavily on mobile applications to execute their jobs properly. Mobile devices help the techies get to the job sites, stay in touch with the clients, and ensure that they are carrying the correct inventory with them. Pitney has made its ERP and CRM information available to its mobile staff via the Antenna Mobile Platform (AMP) and its AMPower Service application developed by Antenna Software.

In the words of Paul Weston, Pitney’s VP of CRM systems “[Today] our guys riding around in vans, they can’t work without [the application].” “It’s how they get their days’ work. When they finish a job and want to know where they’re going next, they get that location from their mobile devices.”

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Its almost halfway into 2008, so what have you done till now to get your business online? How involved is your IT department in getting you in touch with your real customers who prefer to purchase online?

Kim Nash discusses three ideas that can make a big difference to your online CRM initiatives in 2008.

DataForceCRM, a provider of online sales tools is offering its online sales software and CRM product for free to all those who register at their site. The software is open source with no user fees attached. The software will be hosted on a dedicated server for each company; fees include hosting and training fees. Features include -

Easy Outlook Calendar, Contact and and Email integration
Powerful Marketing and Lead Management
Deal Closing Sales and Sales Management
Delight your Customers with Support and FAQs
Quickly Quote and Generate Orders
Check Inventory status and build your Product Catalogs
Gain Eye Opening Analytics and Flexible, Powerful Reporting.

InfoStreet Inc has announced the arrival of Version 2 of its web-based CRM application suite, StreetSmart. The offering is aimed at SMBs and is significantly cheaper than competing products, it costs around $10/user and allows your business to track leads, gain customers, and manage your business as it grows.

InfoStreet has pitched its CRM as being extremely sturdy and affordable.

The StreetSmart CRM has the following salient features –

•  Easy access via the web that empowers the field staff

• Ease of customization so that your CRM requirements are met

•  Email-based notification to designated personnel regarding information updates

•  Tracking of business opportunities

•  Easy import of current data

Satellite navigation device firm TomTom has moved from an on-premise to an on-demand delivery model for its CRM. For TomTom, CRM is a mission critical system and the company has put full faith in its SaaS CRM from RightNow’s London-based data center. TomTom feels that the SaaS model will allow it to focus more on its core competencies which lie in the field of satellite navigation.

TomTom feels that the SaaS way is a step in the right direction for empowering its agents all over the world so that they can offer better customer service. Tighter cost control, better resource allocation, better use of infrastructure are some of the benefits that TomTom hopes to accrue as it prepares to acquire more customers and braces for exponential growth.

SaaS is fast moving from being an SMB-specific service into the mainstream enterprise market. Cost is no longer the driving force that propels SaaS; it is now a legitimate solution for business issues.

Welch’s, a manufacturer of jellies and juices, has opted for a SaaS-based BI offering for managing its transportation logistics. The company is just one of the many enterprises that are increasingly bypassing on-premise solutions and turning to niche SaaS vendors.

Welch’s chose Oco over Oracle in their search for a solution that could offer them the big picture as well as the granular details at the same time without having to summarize the data too much. Oco, which has an established presence in retail, offers data integration and warehousing as well as reporting as a service. Within a few weeks of implementing Oco, Welch’s are talking of increased business opportunities such as obtaining better order sizes from customers who order three-quarter truckloads and in the process the company saves on freight.

Research by Aberdeen Group reaffirms Welch’s decision as a good one; according to a report by the research firm, the top 20% companies that succeed in completing BI projects on time are likelier to outsource their requirements to third-party vendors that include SaaS providers. SaaS providers with niche capabilities help enterprises fill in the gaps with respect to data integration, data quality, and laying down the rules for disseminating information in a better manner to all users.

It’s like an inexorable march of conquest for Web 2.0, with another CRM vendor acknowledging its role in helping businesses connect with customers and potentials. The new range of CRM products from Sage available on-demand and on-premise will provide users with option of collecting data from online resources.

Sage views the incorporation of Web 2.0 standards as a step forward in offering mobile CRM. Sage is confident that it will be able to provide a consistent user experience irrespective of the user’s choice of device. If indeed it succeeds Sage will perhaps have a one-up on mobile CRM efforts of companies like Microsoft which has tied up with iEnterprise and RIM and Oracle which has tied up with Nokia.

Sage has already introduced internet mash-up capabilities for ACT by Sage, Sage CRM and Sage SalesLogix.

As with most things in life, you succeed with mobile CRM when you keep it simple and do not fall into the trap of overt complexity. Mobile CRM helps companies achieve ROI on their CRM investments faster as it improves the efficiency of the field staff and frees more people to be on the field. Mobile CRM puts CRM within the reach of those who are outside the office confines but yet have a pressing need for accurate information. It enables you to execute remote transactions.

The increased virtualization of business is the main driver of mobile CRM. Businesses can be run smoothly without a substantial office-based staff. This brings several cost benefits. Mobile CRM serves to connect the workforce on the move and enables those with flexible work hours to report in real time and share information when required.

Theoretically, mobile CRM can boost sales by putting you in touch with your customer and customer information so that you can communicate with them via email, text, or voice at the most opportune moment. Customer queries can be addressed quickly. A reduction in desk-based tasks, lower overheads, positive response from customers are some of the benefits that companies mention in favor of mobile CRM.

The best time to implement a mobile solution is when you feel that your field executives are better empowered with access to information. This means that the best time is now. Select a wireless CRM solution that works well with a range of mobile devices such as laptops, mobile phones, PDAs, etc. Also, the software should load and run smoothly across multiple platforms. It should scale with your business. Basically for any company availing mobile CRM is akin to entering uncharted territory and they should be aware and informed about their own requirements so that they can correctly compare and evaluate vendor offerings. The mobile CRM market is set to become a major contributor to the global CRM industry, it’s on the upswing. Even if you are not considering an immediate deployment, keep yourself abreast of the latest in the field of mobile CRM. Ensure that you do not sink too much time and money in a mobile CRM project that is too device specific or too dependent on a given operating system.

Consider the fact that working with a small screen and keypad is not easy, so choose a device and a navigation system that allows the company persons to access CRM functionalities smoothly. The mobile CRM should satisfy your security concerns, especially since the device storage may be carrying sensitive information.

NetBooks is taking complete management accounting to the small businesspersons. SMBs have traditionally found it difficult to unify all their databases and different elements of their business management such as CRM, sales order workflow, production, inventory management, outbound marketing, and, bookkeeping do not usually have the same data. For a price of $200/month, NetBooks offers you a complete management suite for five users that offers you functions like CRM (called Marketing coach by the company), accountant, and bookkeeping.

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In what could be a great move from the perspective of developers as well as channel partners, NetSuite has announced the release of NetSuite Business Operating System (NS-BOS), which is an open source development platform. NS-BOS will allow ISVs and VARs to create solutions targeted at specific verticals.

NS BOS includes core application capabilities, ISVs only need to add features relevant to a particular vertical that it chooses to target. An inbuilt SaaS infrastructure so that third-party applications can be hosted by NetSuite. The SuiteScript D-Bug, for real-time code validation online for faster building of applications. The SuiteBundler allows ISVs to repackage the solutions and deliver to another customer without having to do substantial coding work anew.

ISVs will share the revenue gained by acquiring new customers with NetSuite for the base suite. NetSuite also announced three vertical customizations built by its partner ISVs. These are Supply chain management for manufacturers, by SPS Commerce; Integrated CRM and ERP for government contractors, by Daston Corporation; and
Total commerce management, automating and integrating key business processes including supply chain management, procurement, competitor monitoring, and pricing, by IntroScape.

NS-BOS will be a big help for third-party vertical application developers who are looking to shift their applications based on the client/server model on to the SaaS model. NetSuite has appointed Michael Ni as the VP for industry solutions and ecosystem. Ni will be responsible for taking the platform initiatives to the next level and help businesses make the transition to the SaaS model.