Customer Relationship Management

WINNER

NetSuite Inc.s NetSuite 9.0

In a crowded field of entrants in the CRM category, NetSuite 9.0 emerged the winner by providing broad value and appeal in a market that is quickly and constantly evolving.

NetSuite, a hosted service, combines ERP (enterprise resource planning), e-commerce hosting, customer relationship management and sales force automation in a unified, Web-based suite of applications.

Further reading

Affordably priced at $4,800 for the first two users and $75 per user thereafter, NetSuite gives midsize companies an affordable way to deploy ERP and CRM applications to users.

The highly customizable interface and easy management won points during judging, as did the availability of graphical summaries of sales data.

NetSuite makes it simple for companies to perform everyday tasks such as inventory management, quantity pricing and matrix list creation from within an application. The application can be customized to fit business processes while giving companies the ability to tap into existing data via XML.

FINALISTS

Click Commerce Inc.s Allegis Ebusiness Suite 7.0

Allegis eBusiness Suite 7.0 gives companies a broad range of tools for managing complex channel marketing and sales processes. It includes components for managing, marketing, selling and services. However, Allegis ability to help companies offload management of partner information into the hands of the partners is what makes it a finalist in the CRM category.

The Allegis workflow engine gives companies a way to manage processes relating to partner programs, such as distributing campaigns through the channel and managing them through completion. The suite also gives companies a way to consolidate and manage complex relationships that affect sales and commissions, such as services handled through partners.

Omnify Softwares Omnify PLM Suite 2.5

Finalist Omnify Softwares Omnify PLM Suite 2.5 gives companies a way to manage product life cycles, including how a products life cycle affects systems from CAD/CAE to CRM. The suite includes components for tracking and managing bills of materials, parts data, change history and inventories.

Because the product integrates with systems from a variety of vendors, ranging from SolidWorks Corp. to SAP AG, Omnify PLM Suite enables companies to use the package with their installed data systems and processes so that users can continue to work primarily within those systems. Complex user roles, including authorization and sign-off rules, can be created in the suite to help companies meet regulatory requirements.

Excellence Awards Winners and Finalists: