Salesforce.com announces 'Chatter' social-networking app
Salesforce.com opened its annual Dreamforce conference by previewing Salesforce Chatter, a social-networking application the vendor dubbed a "Facebook for the Enterprise." Read more...

Cloud won't do for critical applications, SAP says

Microsoft tries to tempt users of competitors' tools with CRM Online deal

Ellison: Fusion Applications in 2010

Benioff plays nice to Oracle at OpenWorld

SAP offers 'free' CRM for ERP buyers

Salesforce.com renewing push into customer service

Salesforce.com sets sights on the smallest businesses

Appirio aims its new SaaS app at large services businesses

SAP customers pledge support, but want more

More CRM Stories

CRM Tips: The Trouble With Activity Management
The whole point of a CRM system is to improve revenue productivity and the quality of customer interaction. That means measurement. So why shouldn't measurement look beyond output and examine the activities that contribute to revenue, closed cases, and happy customers?

CRM Deployment: Users Can't Set Timetable
With most enterprise applications, the executive champions and the user community are typically measured and have manageable expectations. Think accounting. With CRM, it isn't necessarily so.

Data Loss Protection and Your CRM System
Information Leak Prevention (also known as Data Loss Protection) is a fairly well established area for security software, but most of the marketing noise is about protecting financial system data from unauthorized access or transmission. Why is this functionality so important for a CRM system?

Four Dirty Little Secrets of CRM Requirements Lists
For many enterprise systems, requirements lists from various companies look pretty consistent. Not so with CRM systems. What do you have to do differently to evaluate, prioritize, and satisfy CRM requirements? Consider these four tips.

CRM: When Should Customer Service Run the Show?
Most customers think about CRM as a sales and marketing system. But in many industries, the customer actually has more contact with customer service. When should CS be running the CRM show, and what changes when they do?

CRM: How Marriott Broke Down Customer Data Siloes
Make every interaction meaningful: It's the Marriott philosophy. This is not an easy task given the multitude of Marriott brands and the plethora of campaign management tools used to contact customers. By partnering with brand leaders and marketing leaders, Marriott's IT department built a unified framework for engaging with customers. The project enabled Marriott to exceed its revenue goals while sending customers fewer, more targeted communications.

CRM Tips: The Fixed Price is Not Right
Many companies buy CRM consulting services the way they buy hardware: Fixed price. What if this just isn't the right model, no matter how good a price you get?

More Jobs Vanish: IT's Gains Are Real People's Losses
Improved IT means many jobs cut in this recession have been cut forever, some job hunters are now learning. While long-sought efficiency improvements have arrived, not everyone is celebrating.

CRM Tips: Don't Let Leads Die Prematurely
Even if you're not a Monty Python fan, "Bring out your dead" from The Holy Grail movie is a sick but funny sequence. That vignette is surprisingly relevant to how you handle leads in your CRM system.

Meet 'The Fixer' for Troubled IT Projects
Consultant Jason Coyne shows up at your IT project for one reason: To cure it or kill it. In this Q&A with CIO.com, Coyne explains why he's one part doctor, one part marriage counselor, and how he helps IT teams at odds with a vendor or integrator recover from near disaster.

Editors' Picks

Watch the most compelling Super Bowl ads of years past from the likes of Intel, Iomega, EDS, Apple and Xerox, then vote for your favorite in our reader poll. As the technology used to create NAND flash memory continues to shrink, bit error rates and reliability issues are increasing, forcing solid-state memory makers to look for alternatives. You're ready to advance, but your manager is asleep at the switch. Here's how to get ahead without a boost from your boss. These applications can help you turn your raw video into a snazzy presentation.

IT Jobs

hot topics

Get the latest news, reviews and more about Microsoft's newest desktop operating system.

• Apple
• E-book readers
• Google
• iPhone
• Mac A to Z
• Microsoft

special report topics

General Mills, Genentech, San Diego Gas & Electric, University of Pennsylvania and Monsanto top the list.

"How would you like to never reboot again? That's what ksplice promises for Linux users...." Read more "Google Buzz looks like it will be an interesting application. But those who use it need to be very aware..." Read more "Facebook's new redesign makes it easier to get at the service's most useful tools -- with one big exception...." Read more "Microsoft has concluded that..." Read more More Software Blogs See all Computerworld Blogs