CRM News

marketwatch.com
July 14, 2008

::: Helpstream joins the Oracle PartnerNetwork :::

Helpstream, which provides on-demand collaborative customer service solutions, has become a member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork. At the same time the company is integrating its products with Oracle CRM On Demand to provide customer self service and community capabilities. The integration of the products will enable customers to tap into the advantages of Web 2.0 and engage their customers in a more collaborative manner. This means a huge leap forward for the customer-facing processes of a business.

Helpstream hopes to connect customers to information and to one another thereby integrating them as a community, this not only helps in problem resolution but also in brand promotion.

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informationweek.com
July 11, 2008

::: A look at business apps in the iPhone app store :::

When it comes to corporate business applications for the iPhone 3G, users are getting the most support from vendors that provide customer-relationship management and business intelligence software. For those using their iPhones for business, software providers are increasingly allowing access to their offerings via the Safari browser, yet there are few native iPhone apps to choose from. Just 24 applications grace the business section in the App Store - out of a total of about 500 App Store offerings on iTunes - proving the iPhone remains largely a consumer device.

Users of those native App Store apps will enjoy more of the iPhone features and user-interface functionality than those using the iPhone simply as an Internet browsing device into corporate applications.

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foxbusiness.com
July 10, 2008

::: KANA Wins 2008 CRM Excellence Award :::

KANA Software, Inc. a world leader in multi-channel customer service, announced today that Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC)’s Customer Interaction Solutions magazine has named its knowledge solutions, part of the KANA Suite, a recipient of a 2008 CRM Excellence Award. KANA’s solutions were recognized for providing demonstrable business improvements at some of the world’s largest and best-known companies.

KANA offers intelligent solutions for multi-channel customer service, spanning phone, e-mail, collaboration, chat and Web self-service - all of which leverage a shared knowledge source to ensure quality, consistency and customer satisfaction.

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mycustomer.com
July 08, 2008

::: CRM market still on the up, say Gartner and AMR :::

According to Gartner, sales of CRM software rose dramatically in 2007, driven in part by the take-up of software as a service (SaaS) offerings, according to analyst group Gartner. Global spending on CRM software surged in 2007 to roughly $8.1 billion, a 23.1% jump over 2006’s total of about $6.6 billion.

Some 53% of sales were concentrated in the US and 32% in Western Europe, but the emerging markets were the strongest: sales of CRM software increased by more than 40% last year in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. “The market was driven by greater contributions from emerging regions, continued rapid adoption of SaaS, and a continued focus on investments that promote customer retention and enhance the customer experience,” noted Sharon Mertz, Gartner research director.

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marketwatch.com
July 09, 2008

::: iMagicLab acquires assets of 5Square.com :::

iMagicLab, which considers itself America’s leading software provider for automobile dealers, ihas announce today that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of privately-held 5Square.com, a provider of Web-based Sales Force Automation (SFA) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications for the automobile retailing space. iMagicLab will integrate 5Square’s SFA and CRM software into its DealerCRM(TM) platform to provide a more expanded suite of integrated applications that address each of its core customer groups. iMagicLab expects to retain 5Square’s key employees and existing operations in Westlake Village, CA and will continue to support 5Square’s current customer base.

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