By David Sims

David at firstcoffee d*t biz

 

The news as of the first coffee this morning, and the music is Frank Sinatra’s Come Fly With Me album, the cover of which ol’ Frankie always hated because, as he said, it “looks like a United Airlines ad:”

 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM and CRM4Legal by Client Profiles Inc. have been chosen by Reed Smith LLP, one of the 20 largest law firms in the world, to provide CRM technologies and consultancy services.

 

The technology and services from Microsoft and Client Profiles are designed to “complement and enhance the firm’s ongoing commitment to advancing its reputation as a global leader in client service among law firms,” according to company officials.

 

Reed Smith has more than 1,500 lawyers in 21 offices in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. In 2007, Reed Smith was named to the BTI Client Service A-Team, ranking fourth among law firms in the United States for developing and maintaining superior client relationships, according to company officials.

 

Gregory Jordan, firmwide managing partner at Reed Smith and chairman of the senior management team and executive committee, said the firm is partnering with Microsoft and Client Profiles “on a firmwide, global CRM initiative to use technology to help us identify new opportunities for strengthening, broadening and deepening our existing client relationships. The technology will also enable the firm to streamline our methodology for integrating new attorneys that join laterally or through combinations with other firms.”

 

CRM4Legal for Microsoft Dynamics CRM is designed to provide the firm with a global, firmwide database that combines contact data, relationship information, client-matter specifics, practice group specialties, lawyer experience and competencies, opportunity management, client plans and analysis, as well as key financial information.

 

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CRM and ERP vendor NetSuite and CyberSource, a vendor of electronic payment and risk management products, has announced that CyberSource has become NetSuite’s global payment strategic partner.

 

NetSuite officials say they have “integrated support for CyberSource’s global payment acceptance services, risk management products, and payment security services,” which they contend gives NetSuite customers “a strong set of payment tools.”

 

CyberSource eCommerce payment management services available to NetSuite’s customers worldwide include support for credit cards, debit cards and electronic checks, fraud prevention services and token-based, secure storage service, which NetSuite officials say “helps keep sensitive payment data out of merchants’ daily business operations.”

 

“NetSuite has long been in on-demand ERP, CRM and eCommerce applications,” said Carolyn Brackett, vice president, channels and alliances at CyberSource. “As their customers seek to grow their businesses, CyberSource will provide payment products to help NetSuite customers capture and keep more of that revenue.”

 

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Salesforce.com has announced that Cort Software, a provider of human capital management products, has selected the full suite of Salesforce on-demand CRM applications and the AppExchange.

 

Cort officials say they were looking for help to “improve customer service and produced immediate cost-saving benefits, allowing the company to shorten customer response time with less staff dedicated to taking service calls.”

 

Mike Grigsby, director of marketing at Cort Software, said the vendor needed “a way to share information across our sales, marketing and service organizations so everyone could easily access customer data and react to opportunities. We have centralized all of our information for our customer facing staff as well as for our finance.”

 

Cort Software selected the Salesforce Platform to tailor its Salesforce SFA, Salesforce Marketing and Salesforce Service & Support applications. In addition, Cort Software downloaded a number of applications from the AppExchange including Account Intelligence, an AppExchange application from OneSource Information Services that delivers ready-to-use information on more than 16.5 million public and private companies and 18 million executives worldwide.

 

The Salesforce Platform also enabled Cort Software to integrate with Intuit Quickbooks and other legacy systems so that Cort Software’s sales representatives can determine a customer’s contract status and renewal dates.

 

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Contact center firm Convergys has donated $20,000 to Gawad Kalinga to support that organization’s programs and further its mission to eliminate poverty in the Philippines.

 

According to the Manila Sun-Star, Convergys “supports Gawad Kalinga’s vision for the Philippines: for the country to be a slum-free, squatter-free nation. By providing land for the landless, homes for the homeless, and food for the hungry, the organization hopes to ultimately provide dignity and peace for every Filipino.”

 

“Corporate citizenship is a core value at Convergys Corporation. As a company and as individuals, we work to improve lives and build stronger communities. This investment in the betterment of our community is an important step toward creating a strong, healthy environment for our children, families, friends, and neighbors,” Marife Zamora, Convergys vice president and country manager, told the newspaper.

 

The Sun-Star reported that Zamora, along with other Convergys executives Clint Streit, Ivic Mueco, and Stephen Slade, presented the Convergys check to Danilo “Danny” Lagahid, Cebu Provincial Coordinator for Gawad Kalinga, at the opening of Convergys’ newest contact center in Cebu.

 

To date, “Gawad Kalinga has changed lives in over 900 communities throughout the Philippines. Through programs including, Shelter and Site Development, Child and Youth Development, Health, Productivity, Community Empowerment, Environment and Community Values Formation, Gawad Kalinga is working every day to make the Philippines a better place to live.”

 

Convergys’ six state-of-the-art customer care facilities in Metro Manila and two in Cebu City employ approximately 11,000 men and women.

 

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