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9/1/06 - How to Research a Reference
Today, I wanted to share suggestions from readers about their best practices as it relates to checking out references from software vendors. We will continue the discussion next week, so feel free to share your best practices too.
One reader offered the following: "Be sure to include references that the vendor didn't necessarily provide - perhaps someone in a user group or local area. The vendor will likely provide only happy customers, and it is important to get perspectives from a broader segment."
References from vendors are handpicked. They often represent the best of the best rather than a representative of the good and the bad. If you rely solely on vendor references, make sure you provide a criterion that matches your operations - industry sector, size of implementation, choice of database, etc.
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
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TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK (more)
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eOn Communications unveiled its eNterprise series of telephones that deliver innovative applications, provide greater ease-of-use and give Millennium Converged Communications Platform customers greater flexibility in meeting the diverse desktop communications requirements of today's enterprises.
Oracle unveiled Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management 9, the latest product to be delivered from Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise 9 suite. PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management 9 demonstrates Oracle's commitment to continuing enhancement of its applications as part of the "Applications Unlimited" program, while furthering Oracle's strength in business intelligence.
62 percent of customer relationship management (CRM) users surveyed in the UK think that the financial services sector, compared to any other, is leading best practice when it comes to client management. That is according to a survey of CRM users commissioned by CDC Software. According to those surveyed, the financial services sector is a clear leader in the implementation and utilization of CRM within their business. This is followed by the legal sector with 32 percent and the hi-tech sector with 6 percent of the vote.
Comergent Technologies announced the Comergent Offer and Order Management eBusiness Solution. The offering is tailored to support communication services providers in their 'quad play' to be a consumer's single source of data, video, and voice services integrated over wireless and wire line networks.
Aspect Software announced the general availability of Aspect Enterprise Contact Server 6.2, offering an application that blends automatic call distributor (ACD) functionality and computer-telephony integration (CTI), while delivering greater capacity and improvements to availability and security.
Surado Solutions announced the roadmap for the next major release of its CRM product line, including the next generation of application design capabilities in Surado CRM 5.1. Surado CRM CAD caters both to small business owners who want to create industry specific applications in house as well as enterprise development teams who want to develop applications that extend and leverage the features and functionality of traditional CRM software.
CDC Software announced that the latest release of its Ross OnePlan applications are now available. These applications provided as on-demand Software as a Service (SaaS), enable customers to buy, implement and begin using the technology in a very short time period.
Building society, Britannia, has launched a new call centre tool that lets customers hold in a queue without being stuck on the phone. Britannia Building Society is rolling out an innovative call handling system - QueueBuster from call centre technology vendor Netcall - that holds the customer in a virtual queue, letting them hang up and get on with everyday life.
SAP announced global availability of the latest version of SAP xApp Resource and Portfolio Management (SAP xRPM), a composite application that helps companies align projects and services with corporate objectives for increased business agility. Working across a company's existing IT environment, the application provides a consolidated view into enterprise-wide business portfolios and delivers new capabilities that help organizations better prioritize allocation of resources -- including people, equipment and budgets.
Sage Software announced that Pathways Home Health, Hospice and Private Duty, a community-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization, is using ACT! by Sage Premium for Workgroups to centralize information on referral sources who drive the organization's activities and community leaders who assist in achieving the organization's mission.
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 Research Notes (more)
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Evaluating Maturing in Contact Centers: A Performance Management Research Study - Ventana Research undertook this research study to evaluate the maturity of contact centers worldwide, assessed by region, industry and size. We determined maturity by communications channels and services supported, how performance is measured and what technologies are deployed. In the analysis, we applied the Ventana Research Maturity Model, placing centers at one of four levels for increasing maturty: Tactical, Advanced, Strategic and Innovative.(Ventana Research)
|  | | Get a Starbucks Card loaded with $5 and qualify to win an iPod nano when you participate in a survey! - Performance Scorecards and Dashboards - A Ventana Research survey - Do scorecards, dashboards and performance alerts really bring about strategic alignment? Do they facilitate the best use of a company's resources and coordinate the efforts of every member of the organization? Ventana Research, our trusted research partner, is conducting a short survey on the topic of Performance Scorecards and Dashboards. Get a Starbucks Card loaded with $5 and qualify to win an iPod nano when you participate in our survey!(Ventana Research)
| | | Why Microsoft CRM Is the 3rd Choice - In this document, Microsoft CRM is given a comprehensive review including "Global Perspective" by CRM expert, Mr. Paul Greenberg, auther of "CRM at the Speed of Light" and Executive VP of CRM Association US.(GCCRM)
| | | Siebel + Oracle > SAP? - Oracle just announced to acquire Siebel. Technically speaking, this will make Oracle the number one CRM vendor in the world, even though the official legitimation has to wait until early 2006. There is however, another saying that SAP is catching up fast that she will likely replace Siebel as the CRM leader one day or the other. Would Siebel + Oracle > SAP in CRM in the coming years? We don't know yet. But it makes sense to have an individual review on each of them to see how they are doing so far and listen to what 443 survey respondents have talked about their image and product.(GCCRM)
| | | Why Oracle CRM Is Only the 4th Choice - An Independent Survey and Perspectives from Global / China Experts on Oracle(GCCRM)
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 White Papers (more)
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The Proof is in the Call Center - Determining the ROI for contact center technologies can be a challenging task, particularly since it's so difficult to map direct correlations between a software implementation and intangible performance gains. In the paper, Richard Bucci, Associate Consultant, the Pelorus Group, interviews etalk customers to uncover tangible productivity gains specifically associated with the use of quality monitoring and recording products. (etalk)
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All That Data - Smart CIOs are experimenting with new Web-based technologies to integrate their customer data applications without having to rip out their legacy systems. But before they plunge into the implementation, they need to craft a data management strategy.(CIO Magazine)
| | | Katrina: Lessons Learned - It's been a year since Katrina struck: Are you prepared if it should happen again? Read our special coverage for advice on getting your company's disaster recovery plans in order.(CIO Magazine)
| | | Microsoft Offers Unlimited Support For Legacy Products - New contracts can extend service for as long as the customer needs it--but not all products will be covered, Microsoft says. (InformationWeek)
| | | Voices of CRM: Martha Rogers on Return on Customer - In our latest podcast, Martha Rogers, who co-authored with Don Peppers six books on marketing and customer relationships, discusses her concept of Return on Customer, Customer Lifetime Value and how forward-thinking organizations are measuring the customer experience.(SearchCRM)
| | | Banks Lose Interest in Online Customer Service. - Half of banking websites unable to answer basic customer questions(CRM2day)
| | | Duet Forms Glue for SAP and Office - "Customers wanted the ease and familiarity of their Office environment and yet wanted the ability to access and use the robust, secure business processes from the SAP back-end systems," says Dennis Moore, executive vice president and general manager of emerging solutions at SAP. (CRMDaily)
| | | Looking Out for the Art of the Possible - The growth of handhelds will mean that information presentation and input technology will evolve to meet changing requirements. In addition, convergence of fixed, mobile and multimedia technologies will come. And peer-to-peer technologies will proliferate as organizations seek to distribute ever-greater quantities of information. (CRMDaily)
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 Case Studies (more)
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DoubleClick Increases Customer Satisfaction with Service Strategies - DoubleClick needed a way to quantify their stance as the industry leader with hard facts. DoubleClick's key vision is to differentiate from their competition through world class service. By adapting their organization to industry best practices they insure that they can leverage their unparalleled global support infrastructure to deliver customer driven, one-on-one service.(Service Strategies Corporation)
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September 11th-13th, 2006: Annual Call Center Exhibition (ACCE) featuring the ICMI Knowledge Exchange - Annual Call Center Exhibition - The Global Gathering Place - Sept. 11-13, 2006 - Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, WA - $200 Early Bird savings through July 28, 2006 - For event details, or to register visit: http://www.ACCEicmi.com
| | | September 11th-13th, 2006: Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit 2006 - Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit 2006 - September 11-13 - Announcing the 7th Annual Gartner CRM Excellence Awards
| | | September 17-20: AFSM International's 2006 World Conference - AFSM International's World Conference brings together top-level corporate leaders in the technology services management industry. For over 30 years, this event has remained the largest gathering of technology services professionals from around the world. This is the only global event where you will find vast opportunities for learning, sharing and advancing your career as well as progressing your organization's ultimate goals and successes. For more information or to register, please visit www.afsmi.org or call 239 275-7887, ext 35.
| | | September 25th-27th, 2006: The 8th Annual Conference for Help Desk Professionals - Would you like to learn how to transform your Help Desk into a Service Desk, gain skills that will contribute to both your personal and professional development, and hear proven case studies that put theory in practice, AND do all this at a fabulous hotel on the Riverwalk in San Antonio? The 8th Annual Conference for Help Desk Professionals September 25-27 is where you can do all that and more. For more information, please visit our website at www.helpdeskconference.com or call us at 425-398-9292.
| | | October 3rd-5th, 2006: Marketing Mobile Services - Targeting, marketing and delivering consistent customer experience to maximize AR
| | October 10th-13th, 2006: INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO WEST - Call Center 2.0 co-located with the 14th INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & Expo that will be coming to San Diego on October 10-13, 2006 at the San Diego Convention Center. Call Center 2.0 is expected to attract an estimated 1,900 attendees with an overall conference of 9,000 attendees.
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| CRMAdvocate Stock Index |
| CRMSI | 51.51 |  | 0.35% |
| Dow Jones | 11,457.19 | | 0.72% |
| Nasdaq | 2,195.92 | | 0.62% |
| S&P 500 | 1,311.06 | | 0.63% |
| Top Gainers |
| Convergys | 21.2 | | 0.64 |
| Amdocs | 38.36 | | 0.53 |
| Vignette | 14.29 | | 0.51 |
| Top Losers |
| ICT Group | 28.52 |  | -0.70 |
| Verint | 32.92 | | -0.43 |
| SPSS | 25.28 | | -0.42 |
| Complete Stock Index |
| As of close 08/31/06 | |
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