CRM- September 2008 - (Page I7) Sponsored Content September 2008 7 CRM Grows, and Goes, Far and Wide NEW SEARCH-POWERED OFFICE/MOBILE INFO ACCESS EXPANDS CRM'S VALUE The reach of CRM is expanding dramatically, across and beyond the enterprise’s virtual information landscape as well as the physical boundaries of its offices. Classic, highly structured systems that formerly defined the state of the art are now only one element of the CRM universe—a very important element, but nevertheless, only one. As Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told DestinationCRM.com recently, “Some of the most exciting things I see going on would never fall in[to] the classic definition of, quote, CRM…I mean, everything has a tracking-and-relationship aspect to it.” The CRM universe is growing beyond salesforce.com and Seibel to include tech support email, corporate intranets, ERP systems, customer support databases, etc. ACCESS IS THE CHALLENGE, NOT VOLUME Last year, and for the first time, more smartphones were sold than laptops, according to Smartphones 2007: The ARPU Generation Machine, a research report by InStat (Reed Elsevier). Furthermore, In-Stat projects a 30% compound annual growth rate for smartphones over the next five years, mostly from use as laptop replacements. Smartphones and similar mobile devices are inevitably becoming the equipment of choice for the sales force and others who spend face time at customer sites. Providing them with rapid, flexible and comprehensive access to CRM resources will increasingly become critical to both their and the enterprise’s success. DON’T FORGET THE CLASSICS capabilities at whatever level and scope it chooses, and to expand across its information landscape at its own pace through simple license upgrades that require no interruption of service or additional installation. DELIVERING ON THE CRM PROMISE This broadening out of CRM depends not on the creation of new sources or systems— enterprises already have massive and continuously growing volumes of relevant, but diverse information. Rather, it relies on solving the practical challenge of identifying and accessing the specific information needed for the task at hand, fast enough to make a difference. New, search-based CRM information access solutions solve this challenge, not only for those working in offices, but also for the mobile workforce. These solutions introduce tremendous flexibility that essentially transforms the whole CRM space into a malleable resource that each user can tap and adapt to meet their particular, immediate need. Searchbased information access enables “just in time” and current customer/prospect profiles and history; snapshots of current conditions for management, sales, service and support; cumulative collections for determining and assessing trends and opportunities; etc. MOBILE ACCESS GROWS CRITICAL TO SUCCESS Businesses don’t adopt new models and concepts in lockstep. While expanding the universe of CRM-related information is undoubtedly where things are heading, current CRM implementations still hold volumes of latent value. Search-based information access realizes this value by providing ad-hoc, flexible exploration that complements the structured reporting common to traditional CRM systems. In addition, these new access solutions also enable the mobile workforce to tap into the wealth of CRM information just as easily—and in the same form and format— as if they were working back at the office. FAST START, EASY GROWTH The availability of enterprise-class, search-based information access solutions that can be rapidly deployed frees CRM from the limitations of structured reports and cumbersome adaptation processes. It gives people in offices and those on the go the same, flexible capability to discover and access the information that they need right now to best serve the customer and the enterprise. That’s the promise that CRM systems held out. Now it’s a reality. Can You Really Download EnterpriseClass, Mobile Information Access and Support? This was one of the questions that IDC explored in their January 2008 white paper “Searching for Information Access Solutions: Can it be Delightful?” Download the complete IDC report and find out, visit: www.coveo.com/MobileCRMOFFER Obviously, search-based information access solutions like these immediately help office-based workers. But full-fledged, search-based mobile information access is also critical to the enterprise’s success. Need proof? Few enterprises are comfortable with the wholesale introduction of a new capability, even one as potent as search-based information access. Consequently, enterpriseclass capabilities like these typically involve lengthy evaluation, heavy advance planning, and complex implementation. However, it is now possible to very rapidly download and deploy enterpriseclass solutions that, out of the box, meet the vast majority of information access needs, and that can also be rapidly adapted to customized uses. In fact, Coveo’s G2B Information Access Suite, including G2B for CRM, is built on a technology platform that is sufficiently powerful, complete and sophisticated to support the entire enterprise in terms of flexibility, scalability, security and speed. This enables the enterprise to provide initial ABOUT COVEO SOLUTIONS, INC. Coveo has radically simplified the delivery and deployment of platform-class Information Access solutions for office and mobile access to critical information located anywhere across the enterprise. The Coveo G2B Information Access Suite provides knowledge workers with an unrivalled ability to obtain a 360-degree view of the information they need to drive business. Built on leading-edge searchplatform technology and winner of numerous industry awards, Coveo’s search-powered business applications deliver industry-leading competence and consumer-style ease of use, a radically easier implementation that takes less than 24-hours, and “black-belt” level customer support. For more information, or to try Coveo G2B solutions free, contact our Sales department at 1.800.635.5476 or visit our website at www.coveo.com. http://DestinationCRM.com http://salesforce.com http://www.coveo.com/MobileCRMOFFER http://www.coveo.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.