The CRM Week In Review
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[December 16, 2005]

The CRM Week In Review

By TRACEY E. SCHELMETIC
Editorial Director, CUSTOMER INTER@CTION Solutions
 
This week, open-source CRM provider SugarCRM announced the beta release of Sugar Suite Version 4.0. TMCnet's David Sims reveals that the update introduces new functionality such as advanced reporting and customizable dashboards, campaign management, workflow management and access control, e-mail processing and enhanced lead sharing. David also confesses that he hates the band Toto. The CRM Week in Review hates Toto, too. Coincidence? I think not.
 
Salesforce.com and TMCnet's Robert Liu announced this week that the on-demand solutions provider will usher in the latest phase of its product evolution with the introduction of Salesforce Sandbox, a product development and testing service that provides customers with a replica of their existing Salesforce deployment no matter what level of customization or amount of data is stored on-demand across their entire enterprise.
 


   
 


In response to Salesforce.com's announcement, RightNow issued a statement that they were, in fact, in the sandbox first.
 
German software giant SAP AG announced this week that Waste Management, a North American provider of waste and environmental services, has taken advantage of the company's "Safe Passage" program. In conjunction with this announcement, the company also revealed several other new customers. The CRM Week in Review says, "Glückwünsche!"
 
Verint Systems, which provides analytic software-based solutions for communications interception, networked video security and business intelligence, announced this week that it has expanded upon the functionality of the STAR-GATE Communications Interception Solution. The enhancements to STAR-GATE are meant to address the emerging communications interception requirements for VoIP and broadband packet-data services more effectively. The CRM Week in Review is only a bit disappointed that the introduction of STAR-GATE doesn't refer to that mysterious Egyptian wormhole portal thingie that MacGyver goes running through on the Sci-Fi channel.
 
This week, speech technologies provider Voxify discussed how call centers can radically change their operations for the better using speech. Please take a moment to read the case study, as it presents the benefits of speech very clearly, and both the speech industry and the editors who cover it are just perplexed by the call center industry's resistance to speech. Be bold.
 
Here's a story to give anyone who does b-to-c sales a shudder. The FTC this week announced a $5.3 million fine against DirecTV for violations of the Teleservices Sales Rule (TSR) passed two years ago by the FTC. DirectTV and its telemarketing representatives were found guilty of not only calling names on the Federal Do-Not-Call registry, but also ignoring the FTC-mandated rules on call abandonment. Get thee to a compliance solutions provider, DirecTV!
 
AIM Technology this week issued good news about the benefits its solution has brought to UK teleservices provider MM Teleperformance (a subsidiary of Paris-based SR. Teleperformance) in its call center operations for the British Airports Authority (BAA), an organization that makes one think of sheep.
 
Finally, the CRM Week in Review can't resist pointing out the launch of a new high-tech toilet that "rinses and warms one's bottom," despite its obvious lack of a connection to CRM. Considering the weather we've been having in the Northeast lately, such an announcement can't help one from feeling…well, warm.
 
See you next week, intrepid CRM adventurers.
 
Tracey Schelmetic is editorial director for CUSTOMER INTER@CTION Solutions. For more articles please visit Tracey Schelmetic’s columnist page.  
 
 

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