CRM Latest Trends - Integration

For a Free 15 minute discussion with an ACT! Certified Consultant, including an online demo or to answer any questions related to CRM, ACT! etc. call Dave Lewis Toll Free 866-836-8916. Click here for more information about ACT!

For many years the desire to link all aspects of a business has been growing. In the past, software was fundamentally segregated, for example, accounting, sales, marketing and production were all working on separate software, which was not linked. At higher levels of management, data would filter up in the form of reports from various departments. The mind of the manager was the focal point. Management would then have to lead the company based on the conclusion of disparate reports, and non internal factors such as the economy, trends in the industry and so forth.

The Holy Grail of CRM has come to be the display in one location of all relevant data for a company. From the perspective of a CRM package such as ACT!, which is Sales or Marketing based, such data as accounting and order tracking was available only with hand coded add on products. Various enterprise systems have attempted to customize their products to an enterprise level client, with mixed success.

Many times office politics was more a factor than the quality of the product in the success or failure of the project. Sheer size of the integration in enterprise level installs, along with the disparate interests and turf of software products, such as accounting and marketing made overwhelming obstacles to success. Millions of dollars were lost in the attempt.

Dictating to the client from the perspective of the software vendor, rather than truly conducting a Needs Analysis from the perspective of the client, and customizing the software as a result, actually occurred on occasion.

Many vertical market products such as accounting for manufacturing added on other applications, such as contact management. Often these add ons, while sometimes overly functional were rejected by Sales and Management as hopelessly inappropriate. As a result the prospects for integration have seemed dim, particularly when "web based" became popular as an excuse for useability.

In the end the best hope may lie with experienced outside consultants who are willing to listen to the needs of the client, and design a product that suits the budget and functional requirements of the situation. And should we mention training, quantification of results and review?

For more information and a fairly complete diagram of this process from CRM magazine go to:

http://www.destinationcrm.com/articles/images/jan04/PDF_Article3736.pdf

For a Free 15 minute discussion with an ACT! Certified Consultant, including an online demo or to answer any questions related to CRM, ACT! etc. call Dave Lewis Toll Free 866-836-8916. Click here for more information about ACT!