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Analysis, opinions, best practices, news and more about CRM

Upcoming Salesforce.com release adds real-time chat

Salesforce.com, which has placed ample emphasis on its Chatter social networking application, will actually begin providing real-time chat functionality as part of an imminent upgrade to its family of cloud-based software, according to a company document.
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SAP lays out cloud strategy post-SuccessFactors deal

SAP announced a broad set of plans to become a player in cloud computing, spanning from a "loosely coupled suite" of business applications to data integration and PaaS (platform as a service) Tuesday during the Sapphire conference in Orlando.

Ex-Oracle, SAP exec Wookey to lead 'most' app development at Salesforce.com

Power has shifted within Salesforce.com's development organization, with John Wookey taking on more responsibility at the cloud software vendor as another executive takes a leave of absence, the company confirmed Thursday.

Amazon Web Services offers one-click purchase of cloud apps from IBM, SAP, others

Amazon Web Services on Thursday announced a new online marketplace that allows customers to buy software and services from a variety of vendors at hourly rates through its cloud infrastructure platform.

Microsoft plans Q4 debut for Dynamics ERP on the Azure cloud

Microsoft is planning to roll out its first "cloud-enabled" Dynamics ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications by the end of this year, the company announced Monday during the Convergence conference in Houston.

Windows 8 roundup: Apps for beer and remote cop cars

Developers have come up with a Windows 8 CRM app called Ultimate Beer Ranger to automate the sales team at New Belgium Brewing, which has already decided it will adopt Windows 8 on mobile devices.

Infor releases first in string of tie-in applications for Salesforce.com

Infor on Monday launched Inforce Everywhere, the first in a series of planned software products that will tie its ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications to Salesforce.com.

Big data helps drive math Ph.D.s to IBM

Big data, and the need to analyze the information that's collected from every interface and sensor imaginable, is increasing employer demand for people with backgrounds in statistics and mathematics.

Salesforce.com shakes up Standard support plan features

Salesforce.com has made a series of changes to its support services that include the removal of certain features from the Standard tier, but which the company says overall will provide a better experience for customers.

Upcoming Microsoft CRM clients may mean more productivity

The productivity of salespeople could jump with the upcoming release of native Microsoft Dynamics CRM applications for specific mobile platforms and put the software vendor ahead of some of its competitors, an expert says.

Big Data Torpedoes Sales Forecasts, Can Cloud Tools Fix the Problem?

Many sales teams have access to automation tools for better visibility. However, when you consider that the average sales rep has from 20 to 50 open sales opportunities at any given time, using those tool have unintended consequences such as escalating the 'Big Data' problem. Cloud-based services may hold the answer.

How CIOs Can Help Facilitate Systems of Engagement

The CEO community is turning to CIOs to help accelerate revenue growth and deepen engagement with customers.

8 CRM Trends You Need to Watch

Customer relationship management vendors and industry analysts discuss which CRM trends will continue to gain strength and what new trends IT professionals need to watch.

Why enterprise software will never be the same

It's a stretch to call 2011 a truly transformative year for enterprise software, given all the old warts that remain, from large-scale IT project failures to creaky legacy systems that will take years and great expense to replace with the latest-and-greatest.

CRM and Sales: If it's Broke, Fix it.

Fixing your CRM system and the sales and marketing organization will take some real time, and should be done in stages. Further, in both CRM and sales there's a serious talent shortage. Sure, there are people on the street -- but just try to find a truly great salesperson or SFDC wizard in New York or San Francisco. So you should grab the employees and consultants whenever you can find them, and expect to fix the software and organizational issues in parallel.

10 essential MySQL tools for admins

The MySQL community is a hotbed of free, open source tools to enhance the performance and health of your MySQL systems

NoSQL standouts: New databases for new applications

Cassandra, CouchDB, MongoDB, Redis, Riak, Neo4J, and FlockDB reinvent the data store

After OpenOffice and Hudson, will Oracle stick with open source?

NetBeans, MySQL, and GlassFish are all likely to remain in Oracle's software portfolio as they have profit potential

Implementing Territories in CRM Systems

Defining and managing sales territories is one of the key responsibilities of sales management. But territories in CRM systems can be one of the hardest parts of the implementation.

Don't Gamble Your Company's Reputation on Data Governance

Today's growing challenge: Data. There is suddenly too much of it, and while firms rush to mine it, they do so without adequate regard for the risks in keeping and using it.