CRM From CDC's Pivotal, JMsolutions and DealerUps' Auto CRM, Effective CRM and British Air, Salesforce's Winter '07

David Sims : First Coffee
David Sims
| CRM, ERP, Contact Center, Turkish Coffee and Astroichthiology:

CRM From CDC's Pivotal, JMsolutions and DealerUps' Auto CRM, Effective CRM and British Air, Salesforce's Winter '07

By David Sims
[email protected]

The news as of the afternoon cappuccino, as First Coffee will be traveling until Monday afternoon this will have to last you until next Tuesday, and the music is the Woodstock soundtrack.

What's that? "Which one?" Isn't it past your bedtime, sonny?

CDC Software, a wholly owned subsidiary of CDC Corporation and a provider of enterprise software applications, has announced that The 401(k) Company has chosen the Pivotal Customer Relationship Management (CRM) suite of software applications.

CDC officials say it's because of its industry-specific functionality, which will allow 401(k)'s employees to "develop deeper insight into their clients' needs, preferences, and influencers," accompanied by tools that will help automate multi-step processes, track performance and, the hope is, provide better team collaboration.

A subsidiary of Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Financial Services, one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world, the 401(k) Company is focused on employers' defined-contribution plans. The 401(k) Companies provide clients with such services as record keeping, plan consulting and compliance, employee communications and trustee services. The company also interfaces with fund providers to administer plans.

The 401(k) Company will use the Pivotal CRM for Financial Services application to create a single view of client information, minimize multiple silos of information, facilitate universal insight and improve cross-departmental communication and coordination, while ensuring exceptional customer care.

The company hopes Pivotal CRM will also help them institute a "corporate memory" to better understand historical information and improve operational efficiency by streamlining manual processes.

"We chose Pivotal CRM because it… fits the unique requirements of our industry, right out of the box, while also offering the flexibility to customize to our individual needs," said Michelle LeCates, senior vice president, Plan Consulting, The 401(k) Company.

JMsolutions, whose Web-based products and services are geared towards automotive dealers, has acquired the business of DealerUps, Inc., an automotive software company, which specializes in customer relationship management (CRM).

The DealerUps CRM acquisition allows JMsolutions to expand its RetailSuite product offering of beginning to end integrated solutions, thus providing dealers with an array of technology products and services.

With a software system that tracks customer information and purchase preferences, the DealerUps CRM product supports the first stage in a dealer's sales process. JMsolutions is also pitched to dealerships looking for process improvement and a tool for lead management, desking software, consulting, and other services.

"The DealerUps CRM enhances JMsolutions' mission of helping dealers achieve greater success through innovative products and services," said JMsolutions President Scott Barrett, adding that it uses his company's AAX used vehicle inventory management product and ProFi F&I Menu product.

DealerUps, Inc. was founded in 2000 by Ted Rubin and David Lampert. They will join JMsolutions and continue to be based outside of Orlando. The company's remaining associates, who are located throughout the country, have been extended offers to join JMsolutions as well.

Clarisa Rojo, CEO of Software Effective Solutions Inc., a provider of CRM software, has announced that British Airways will test Effective's mobile module software for its Executive Club program mobile communications.

British Airways, UK's largest international scheduled airline, which flies to over 550 destinations worldwide, will begin testing Effective Mobile's suitability to upgrade and manage its cellular communications with its Executive Club members.

In other words, there's no danger of First Coffee encountering the product during my travels this week. The last time I got into one of those VIP clubs was in Dubai when we had a nine-hour layover. I walked in one of them, I forget which one, and asked for an application form. They gave me one, and I said "I'll sit at a table and fill it out," herded the family through and spent the nine hours in relative comfort.

Mrs. First Coffee tut-tutted at how declasse and rude that was, but I notice she stayed and rather enjoyed the free drinks and buffet.

The airline plans to use Effective Mobile to send information and special offers to Executive Club members in real time, directly to their mobile phones, and allow members to make their reservations on their mobile phones as well.

"Not only will the airline be able send real time messages and offers to members of its Executive Club, Effective's Mobile module will also allow Executive Club members to make their reservations directly on their mobile phones, whenever and wherever they are," notes Rojo.

Salesforce.com has unveiled Winter '07, the upgrade to its CRM: "All components and applications created with Apex code and the Apex on-demand platform will be able to be shared via Salesforce's AppExchange directory, enabling all the innovation that Apex unleashes to benefit the entire on-demand community," Marc Benioff, Salesforce's chief executive, said.

Look for a beta for its Apex code to be made available later this year.

Navatar Group and salesforce.com have announced the availability of Navatar Group's Institutional Desk CRM in the Financial Services category on salesforce.com's AppExchange.

Navatar Group's Institutional Desk CRM provides what company officials describe as "an integrated on-demand CRM for research, sales, trading, and marketing functions within a capital markets firm."

Built on the Apex on-demand platform, the Institutional Desk CRM is being marketed as a tool to help optimize client relationships, improve sales and increase commissions. The base version is free of charge.

And Cognos, a vendor of business intelligence and performance management products, has announced two initiatives to provide joint Cognos and salesforce.com customers with what company officials say is "a more complete and consistent view of enterprise information for making better business decisions and driving improved performance."

The salesforce.com news just keeps on comin'. Right90, a vendor of sales planning products, has announced the certification and availability of the Right90 Demand Forecaster for salesforce.com's AppExchange.

The tool provides a real-time view of sales forecasts, variances, risks and opportunities. By using the capabilities of salesforce.com's Winter '07 release and the Apex on-demand platform, Right90's integration to the Salesforce suite of on-demand CRM applications can deliver rapid results for all types of manufacturing companies.

If  read off-site hit http://blog.tmcnet.com/telecom-crm/ for the fully-linked version. First CoffeeSM accepts no sponsored content.

What's the number one VoIP conference in terms of attendance? What's the leading VoIP expo for exhibitors in terms of lead generation? And which VoIP industry event will feature special attractions for service providers, resellers, and the enterprise and SMB market, as well as an overview on the future of IP Telephony? Answer: INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO EAST, January 23–26, 2007. See you in sunny Ft. Lauderdale!



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