The Real-Time Enterprise
Craig Conway is betting PeopleSofts future on the real-time enterprise. So, too, is TIBCOs Vivek Ranadive. Microsoft has spent millions establishing its RTE initiative, called Agile Business. Siebel is pushing forward with its impressive RTE offering, called Universal Application Network. Recent advances in real-time analytics from companies such as Teradata are adding fuel to the RTE fire. Leading IT...
Putting a Lid on CRM Implementation Costs
Until recently, implementing CRM software meant either engaging an implementation company that has been trained and/or certified by the vendor or using internal IT resources.Neither choice is optimal. By using an external implementer, you are theoretically buying expertise and experience, but be prepared to pay an extra 0.5 to 2.5 times the cost of your software for it. Also,...
Welcome to the Customer Contact Center
On a recent client visit, I had the pleasure to spend the morning listening in on some customer service calls. I dont think I will ever forget one particular exchange between a customer and a service agent:Customer: "Hello, I am phoning you today about the e-mail that I sent to you earlier this week concerning the problem I am...
Building the Business Case for CRM
In my last column, "CRM Projects: Why the Doom and Gloom?" (see eWeek, April 23), I suggested successful CRM initiatives are possible, but they require a company to set base-line metrics and improvement objectives for the parts of the business that will be automated. They also require companies to regularly measure and report on the accomplishment of each objective.In...
CRM Projects: Why the Doom and Gloom?
A number of leading it analysts (gartner, meta group and others) continue to claim that greater than 50 percent of all CRM projects fail to meet user expectations. Ive been in this business for 17 years and have helped more than 300 companies worldwide to implement their global customer relationship management initiatives. In my experience,the success rate of most...