CRM - January 2009 - (Page 26)

GOOGLE AND CRM CRM systems, a wonderful metamorphosis takes place: Suddenly, your office productivity applications become CRM applications. Salesforce.com has clearly embraced Google productivity, but other CRM players have given nods to Google in terms of interface and development. Many have picked up on the trend of dashboards and homepages, either explicitly linking information to a module built for the popular iGoogle Web page or living up to its spirit with similar widgets. Sage’s fall 2008 release of SalesLogix 7.5, for example, includes a dashboard full of widgets; users can customize the look and feel with familiar drag-and-drop moves. And, believing that many customers were using Google’s online email service, a few Italian developers created DolceGMail on SugarCRM’s SugarForge platform, allowing users to add Gmail contacts, emails, and attachments directly into SugarCRM. Google Maps is a player, too. Outpacing pioneers such as MapQuest, it’s become a mainstay on cellphones, dashboards, and Web sites, and has found fertile territory at the heart of enterprise mashups to guide salespeople and field reps to cusinto is oversimplifications,” Smith said at a recent panel. “‘[The cloud] as the only answer’ is an oversimplification. There will be a series of platforms behind the scenes—and that’s going to be where disruption happens.” He went on, “Some companies are ahead of the curve, like Salesforce.com. Some that are not talking about the cloud may be losers.” Whether the CRM industry sees Google as a threat or an opportunity is a complex question. “Google is a faceless entity people aren’t sure how to deal with,” Kaplan opines. “It will have to overcome that if it is serious about becoming more businessoriented.” He explains that, whereas a company like Salesforce.com in the B2B market is successful in creating a corporate culture and a public face to support that focus, Google’s approach results in a minimized public persona. The superpower is viewed differently for those reasons. People are less apt to find a support number for Google and call up a service rep. It’s also difficult to compare Google to any other software company. In The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google, author Nicholas Carr points out that Google’s founders were once quoted as saying that the company’s ultimate goal is to pursue artificial intelligence—and what some might call a pipe dream is an idea that only becomes possible in light of the data flowing through Google’s pipes. “As we spend more time and transact more of our commercial and social business online, that database will grow ever wider and deeper,” Carr writes. “Figuring out new ways for people—and machines—to tap into the storehouse of intelligence is likely to be the central enterprise of the future.” Tapping into a storehouse of intelligence sounds like prime territory for CRM—and there’s little doubt that Google is helping to blaze that trail. Contact Editorial Assistant Lauren McKay at lmckay@destinationCRM.com. www.destinationCRM.com “You get what you pay for—and if the loss of privacy and security are the price of free, I’m ready to pay for my Web-based services.” tomer locations, define delivery routes, and embed geolocation into operations. The beauty of the cloud is that users don’t have to get stuck with one solution. Kaplan says that Google’s recent security upgrades affirm cloud computing’s viability. “The beta version just wasn’t up to snuff,” Kaplan says. “Now they’re beginning to demonstrate they have those capabilities.” He goes on, “One of the other things is the IT department is no longer seeing SaaS as just a threat, it’s seeing that it does satisfy their business users and can help with IT management.” The cloud architecture itself is changing, according to Gartner analyst David Mitchell Smith.“What people tend to fall Google’s Enterprising Acquisitions Google may not be the most voracious predator, but thanks in part to a fat checkbook it’s certainly no slouch. Focusing mainly on startups, many recent purchases have played (or may soon play) a role in its push into the enterprise. • Upstartle (March 2006)—Web-based word processor, Writely. • JotSpot (October 2006)—Collaboration tools (wikis, spreadsheets, calendars, forms) are now offered as Google Sites. • Tonic Systems (April 2007)—Enables information from presentation software such as PowerPoint to be saved in an HTML page or PDF. • Postini (May 2007)—Enterprise-caliber email encryption and archiving. • Zenter (June 2007)—Online presentation tools. • GrandCentral (June 2007)—No specific product plans have been revealed, but telephone management software could be integrated into Google Apps for contact management. SOURCES: CRM RESEARCH, TRADE-RADAR.COM 26 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | JANUARY 2009 http://www.Salesforce.com http://www.Salesforce.com http://www.Salesforce.com http://www.TRADE-RADAR.COM http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - January 2009

CRM - January 2009 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point The Shots Heard ’Round the World 30,000-Foot Views Of the Cloud Stuffing the Ballot Box— With Complaints The Marketing Line for ’09 CRM on Twitter Technology Helps Insurance Weather the Storm Required Reading The Google-ization of CRM The Feedback Funnel Email: What’s Inside? Shake Your Moneymakers Lead Sweet Lead Incentives at the Speed of Lightpath Sales Contentment for Content Management A Worthwhile Excursion Into Call Recording Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Connect Pint of View

CRM - January 2009

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