CRM - July 2008 - (Page 16)

and Zoho,” he recalls. “Now, you have to keting Vinay Iyer did not rule out any possibilities. Though he admitted that include Oracle and SAP.” On the other hand, Ray Wang, princi- SAP programmers had downloaded the pal analyst at Forrester Research, says he iPhone software development kit, he believes that while SAP is taking steps concluded that the iPhone is just not toward being Web 2.0–friendly, only ready for the enterprise yet. (NetSuite time will tell if the German giant will and Salesforce.com are among those reap the rewards. “I think [SAP is] get- that disagree.) SAP executives declined to set a preting there,” he explains. “I think some of the new features they’ve done [will] cise date for the offering’s general availimprove collaboration and take advan- ability, but Wang says a BlackBerry-native application of SAP—not just accessing tage of more Web 2.0 features.” A major point emphasized through- CRM on a phone-based Web browser— is a key differentiator. “Beout the conference was the ing able to platform things extension of the partnership “One year ago, between SAP and Research I’d say the leaders for on RIM as well as other applications is going to give In Motion (RIM), the CanaSAP a real edge,” he adds. dian wireless communica- CRM 2.0 would be Another development tions provider behind the Salesforce.com and that Wang feels wasn’t development of BlackBerry Zoho. Now, you have talked about enough at mobile devices. Just days Sapphire was SAP’s growbefore, they had unveiled a to include Oracle ing ecosystem with cusversion of the latest SAP and SAP.” tomers, partners, and users. CRM software rebuilt to natively integrate with the BlackBerry. “[The ecosystem] was given less credit When asked during a Sapphire round- by most people during the show,” he table discussion if SAP had plans in the argues. “The key thing is that [SAP’s] works to also operate with other mobile ecosystem continues to expand.” Greendevices such as Apple’s iPhone, SAP berg agrees, thinking that SAP has fiCRM Vice President of Solution Mar- nally grasped the value that collabora- tion can have for all parties involved. “[The] ‘management of customers’ is no longer management, but engagement,” he says. Wang also characterized SAP’s decision to put a 12-to-18-month delay on the launch of its midmarket-oriented Business ByDesign software as a good move. “I think it’s smart to realize that you might have potential issues, and to slow down and come back [in order to] focus in on certain markets and engineering,” he says. The stars may be starting to align for SAP, but while Wang believes Sapphire showed plenty of promising future technology, he suggests that not enough emphasis was placed on the company’s execution.“The demo you saw with CRM showed you what could be possible, but it isn’t something that’s available yet,” he explains. “When you look at it, you can see where this vision is going. But when you actually went down to the show floor and talked to customers and systems integrators, you [heard that] they had some success in terms of putting these pieces together. If SAP would elevate more of those stories in CRM or other areas, customers would say, ‘Hey, look—I want to do that, too.’” —Christopher Musico CRM on lilyofthevalley: Alright, so microsoft crm is kinda of a stupid system, but I will work with it anyway. [19 days later:] [ ]everyone have fun playin in the sun while I attempt to conquer Microsoft CRM. [2 days after that:] Sending out a Twitter to anyone who uses Microsoft CRM. Please help me! The microblogging site is rapidly becoming a destination of choice for the Web 2.0–savvy, and users of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 are certainly among them. (One Twitterer even goes by the handle “msdyncrm.”) In honor of this month’s cover story—see “Is Microsoft Winning the CRM Race?” on page 20—we decided to check out what the Twitterverse had to say about Redmond’s new baby. Want to follow CRM magazine on Twitter? You can find us at www.twitter.com/destinationCRM. justinrummel: MS CRM, I H8 you and you[r] IE REQUIREMENT georgebarnett: @ceibner didn't even know MS did CRM products. well done though :))) markush: @jowyang Microsoft is heavily trying to unify CRM and social media. Read an interview a few weeks ago from a Redmond dev. manager. mamchenkov: Investigating migration path from Microsoft CRM to SugarCRM. It looks like many wheels are already invented. :) Koolpep: Sitting in a very interesting Microsoft CRM meeting. Amazing new product. Even though I usually dont like MS so much :-) 16 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | JULY 2008 www.destinationCRM.com http://Salesforce.com http://Salesforce.com http://www.twitter.com/destinationCRM http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - July 2008

CRM - July 2008 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point CRM’s a Social Animal SAP Looks to ‘Change the Game' CRM on Twitter CRM to the Max A Prescription for Satisfaction Required Reading Cover Story: Is Microsoft Winning the CRM Race? Jumping into the SaaS Pool Say What? Another Bright Idea Out of Edison A Small Biz Blossoms Biting Off the Right Amount Something for a Rainy Day Connect Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - July 2008

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