The news as of the first coffee this morning, and the music is different versions of Warren Zevon’s “Lawyers, Guns and Money” First Coffee’s found on YouTube. Waddy Wachtel and Blondie Chaplin’s version as Joint Lawyers was pretty good, as was Jordan Zevon performing with The Wallflowers on David Letterman. Ol’ Warren’s solo acoustic version isn’t bad either:

 

Infusion Software, a vendor of eMarketing software, has announced the company has changed its name to Infusionsoft, and its Infusion CRM product has been rechristened Infusionsoft.

 

“Our new corporate identity represents a brand unification,” said Clate Mask, President and CEO of Infusionsoft, adding that “now is the right time to capitalize on Infusionsoft’s momentum.”

 

Infusionsoft offers an eMarketing tool “designed for entrepreneurs that enables them to convert more leads into customers automatically,” according to company officials, who say the “hands-free automation tools inside Infusionsoft that execute what would otherwise be complex, marketing sequences empower entrepreneurs to grow their businesses without having to grow staff.”

“Until now, small businesses have only had CRM, or separate, incompatible tools as the only option when it comes to marketing to new and existing customers,” said Mask. “We provide a way for the entrepreneur to grow his business by automating his marketing to prospects and customers.”

 

The company’s URL remains intact. Along with the name change, Infusionsoft has updated its corporate identity including changes to its Web site. The privately held, Inc 500 company, based in Gilbert, Arizona is funded by Mohr Davidow Ventures.

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OpenSpan, whose officials call the firm the “enabler of the New Enterprise Desktop,” have announced that OpenSpan has joined the Oracle PartnerNetwork, a global business network of more than 19,500 companies.

 

Being a member “enhances OpenSpan’s ability to provide dynamic integration of Oracle Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with legacy applications,” OpenSpan officials say, adding that, at present, the OpenSpan Platform has been licensed for use with Oracle’s Siebel CRM applications on nearly 20,000 desktops.

 

The OpenSpan Platform is a software platform using “the interactions between applications and the underlying operating system,” company officials say, explaining that this “simplifies the integration process across both legacy and modern application platforms, including Web services.”

 

A number of enterprises are using the OpenSpan Platform to enhance integration of Siebel CRM with legacy applications, specifically to integrate data between Siebel CRM applications and “virtually any legacy application,” according to the firm, including Windows and other desktop-based applications, like Java, Host, Web, and DOS applications.

 

It can expose business process workflows that span Siebel CRM applications as Web services consumable within a SOA environment, and assist in the migration or upgrade of Siebel CRM applications, allowing an enterprise to use existing investments in legacy data and business logic as one upgrades or migrates to Siebel, company officials say.

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Aspen Marketing Services, a privately held marketing services agency, has announced a partnership with Xtime, a vendor of service CRM and scheduling products for automotive dealerships.

 

Company officials believe Aspen’s existing multichannel automotive CRM capabilities, Identify! Plus and AppointNet, will be bolstered by Xtime’s Web-based platform to provide automotive dealers with call scheduling products.

 

“Aspen’s partnership with Xtime is a win-win for both parties and for the entire automotive dealership community,” said Patrick O’Rahilly, Chief Executive Officer of Aspen. “By integrating Xtime’s capabilities into Aspen’s current automotive CRM offerings, this new partnership provides dealers with the opportunity to make sure a customer’s telephone call never goes unanswered.”

 

The Aspen-Xtime partnership combines Aspen’s existing call handling and backstopping capabilities with Xtime’s scheduling and service management applications. The partnership will impact more than 500 automotive dealerships, including major dealer groups, such as Group 1 Automotive, and will bring the total number of dealerships Aspen services to more than 5,000 nationwide.

 

Founded in 1986, Aspen Marketing Services is headquartered in West Chicago, Illinois.

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Maximizer Software, a vendor of CRM products for small to medium-sized businesses, has announced financial results for its first quarter ended February 29, 2008.

For the first quarter of 2008 the company’s total revenues increased 10 percent to $4.4 million compared to $4.0 million in the corresponding quarter of 2007. Operating expenses and cost of sales were $4.7 million compared to $4.1 million in the corresponding quarter of 2007.

 

Other expenses were $0.1 million, the same as the corresponding quarter of 2007. Net loss under generally accepted accounting principles was $300,000 compared to net loss of $200,000 in the corresponding quarter of 2007.

John Caputo, President, Maximizer Software, said the launch of their Entrepreneur Edition in February 2008 “completes our product line of Maximizer CRM 10 products.”

The Americas region recorded revenues of $2.8 million in the first quarter of 2008 compared to $2.4 million in the corresponding quarter of 2007. The EMEA region recorded revenues of $900,000 in the first quarter of 2008 compared to $1.1 million in the corresponding quarter of 2007.

The Americas region recorded net income of $100,000 in the first quarter of 2008, the same as the corresponding quarter of 2007, compared to the EMEA region’s net loss of $100,000 in the first quarter of 2008 compared to net income of a nominal amount in the corresponding quarter of 2007, and the Asia Pacific region’s net loss of $300,000 in the first quarter of 2008, consistent with the corresponding quarter of 2007.

“Maximizer Software’s accounts receivable increased as at February 29, 2008 compared to February 28, 2007,” due to the release of Maximizer CRM 10 in November 2007, said Kam Sandhu, Vice President Finance and Administration. “Working capital decreased during the same period due primarily to an increase in deferred revenue from the continuous growth in the company’s annual maintenance program.”

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Concentrix, a British independent CRM specialist, has launched a range of Easy-Start CRM Packages featuring a choice of three CRM products — Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage CRM, and FrontRange’s GoldMine Premium Edition.

 

Peter Elgar, Concentrix Marketing Manager said because CRM systems help companies grow, “we get a lot of enquiries from smaller businesses looking for quick implementation of quality CRM software. Our Easy-Start CRM Packages offer rapid, affordable and comprehensive implementations of what, in our opinion, are the best CRM products available for SMEs.”

Unless the client has a particular product in mind, Concentrix officials say, they will carry out a free business assessment to determine the CRM software “most suited” to the customer’s requirements. They will then configure the software, install it on the customer’s premises, import data, train staff how to use the system and provide support and maintenance, and have it operational, in just one week.

Ian Dawkins, Managing Director of Concentrix, said “that’s a short space of time for a properly configured CRM system.”

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