CRM or Clientele Service; that is the question!


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What to choose between implementing a CRM system and a Customer Service in terms of development and investment priority? And why should we choose, is not your CRM software the foundation on which Customer Service is based?

And for what purpose do we implement a CRM? To serve Sales and support the growth of the business or to serve the Customer and improve the quality of the Customer Experience? Or to inform Marketing to guide them in the development of new products that meet the new needs of customers and allow the company to increase its turnover?

For all this, right? So, “foundation” is perhaps the key word here!

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6 good reasons to go on the Cloud for Startups and SMBs


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Although it’s been one of the most talked-about buzzword of the last few years, surprisingly, there are still a lot of misconceptions regarding the benefits of moving to, being on and operating on the Cloud. Nevertheless, there are still many good reasons to go on the Cloud for Startups and SMBs. So maybe it’s time to take a second good look at it and give it a second thought… if you haven’t yet.

The basic premises remain the same:

  • forget about hardware, we’ll provide it
  • forget about licensing, we’ll provide it
  • you only pay for what you use

So why not give the Cloud a first shot or, some may say, to give your company a second chance!

6 good reasons to go on the Cloud for Startups and SMBs

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Custom Software Development or serving Strategy instead of Technology


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Do we have to remind the positive impact on both productivity and profitability of Custom Software Development and digital technologies? Not really. Nevertheless, it might be interesting to understand its nature, how this impact comes into play, at which levels.

A 2015 study from Deloitte & MIT Sloan shows that digitally mature enterprises are very much focused on globally integrating digital technologies such as Integrated Systems, Social Media, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud to transform their business process while enterprises digitally less mature are concentrating on solving specific problems with specific technologies.

The key words here being « globally integrating » ; it’s by integrating globally digital technologies that enterprises transform their business process and their way of doing business, therefore, there must be a global integration strategy of digital technologies and Custom Software Development into play.

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Choosing An ERP


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Choosing an ERP is always a difficult decision that has significant economic consequences. It needs research and proper evaluation because it influences your organization in many different ways. Long term commitment to a software and its vendor comes after this step. Implementation process lasts for such a long time and it takes huge amount of resources. Therefor you and your consultants need a clear understanding of your requirements and characteristics for a product. Here is a list of equally important though less considered items for evaluating and choosing an ERP product. (more…)

Does Cloud CRM systematically answer all your questions / needs?


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Many clients from medium and large enterprises that we meet have migrated their CRM in the Cloud or are seriously thinking about it. On the other, and as surprising as it may look, we have also met others who have set a Cloud CRM and are on the verge… of coming down from their cloud!!!  In fact, just recently, while attending the CFO Summit in the USA, we were quite surprised to find out that many enterprises were not that satisfied with a well-known Cloud CRM solution and are seriously looking to a tailor-made CRM solution!

This is the story for this post; why should you migrate to a Cloud CRM and why should you look into a more traditional, some would say a more, personalized solution?

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Sales and Productivity – the case of CRM Solution


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Companies today have many means to use to increase sales and achieve corporate objectives! Moreover, several of these means (strategies, tools, tactics, etc.) are the heart of the managers and executives annual Strategic Plans.

Marketing for example can play within the entire range of tactics and tools, whether traditional marketing with advertising, media placement, direct marketing, promotions, etc., or Marketing 2.0 with a wide assortment of technologies for collaboration and profiles in Social Media… this, of course, if you’re an aficionado of Web 2.0 and already have an Enterprise 2.0 footprint – a digital footprint.

Human Resources may, for its part, contribute to the achievement of objectives by providing additional or better qualified resources, resource allocation, training, or help with developing and deploying a Knowledge Management strategy, etc.

And then there’s IT….

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Obsolete IT applications – issues for entrepreneurs


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So let’s jump merrily into the depths of the nightmare of every entrepreneur: IT investment. I say nightmare because it’s a field of expertise for which the vast majority of entrepreneurs have absolutely no basis for appreciation or evaluation.  There is little or no reassurance for a decision-maker faced with a 100, 200, or even $500,000 decision, which choice will likely have a major impact on productivity, thus profitability and the future of the business.

So… to help the entrepreneur in this situation, and I believe there will be more and more who need help in the years to come, because the stakes are the same and are just as important as ever: Business Process Automation, increasing productivity, mobile workforce, accessible information, increased quality of Business Intelligence, improved decision-making processes, integrity and security of company data, etc., all of course with the ultimate goal; increase Profitability and improve Customer Satisfaction.

The Problem

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The Database – always at the heart of a company’s business reality


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Amazingly, 25 years ago, the only people who spoke of Databases (DB) were the IT folks. They were perceived within large enterprises, not just as geeks but as business gurus. They held the secret formulas, some sort of modern day sorcerers.

Over time, the variety of databases available has diversified. Databases infiltrated the universe of many different departments of businesses; be it the Sales Force with its CRM, Human Resources (HR) with a homemade Access application, the Finance department with their multitude of Excel sheets (even if strictly speaking, they’re not really databases, it must be pointed out that Excel still manages the largest amount of data stored globally), Production and Purchasing with their ERP, etc. And that’s without counting the best years of Visual FoxPro,  which has been replaced by SQL, Oracle and many others…

Since that time, we have bandied about the term across levels of business, for example: “I think we have that into our Database”

Good evening, tonight on Discovery: The Adventures of Databases…

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Web applications or Windows ? No, Web applications & Windows!


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The debate has been raging for over a decade and the heights the confrontation and rivalries. So, what is it, Web applications or Windows? At the time, these two diametrically opposed visions each had hard core advocates who had sworn allegiance to the death. Much water has passed under the bridge since then and today we understand that reality is not quite so simple; not everything is black or white.

The vast majority of businesses – be they big, medium or even small – have purchased numerous office software programme licenses from Microsoft (Windows, Office, SharePoint, etc.) since the arrival of Windows and a great many of these have invested in the development of applications custom built in Microsoft’s .Net framework or other platforms. And today, almost all IT managers are turning to the Web applications where they are seriously considering or at the very least evaluating their options there.

Walking the Web applications / Windows high wire with my business

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Client Database vs CRM – 12 fundamental questions


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It seems that everyone has been in CRM mode since the beginnnig of the New Millennium; CRM 1.0, CRM 2.0, Social CRM, CRM-in-the-Cloud, etc., it’s the Buzz word of the moment. Surprisingly, we forget that the 90’s was the Golden Age of Database; at the time every business invested heavily in a Database. Who doesn’t recall VisualFoxPro. But that was another time…

The fact is that it’s all well and good to put into place a sophisticated CRM with advanced management functions, with or without plug-ins for Social Media; it will never compensate for the deficiencies or the absence of a Database that properly reflects the reality of your business situation. Equally, you are no further ahead if your CRM system database needs to interface with other IT systems used to run your business.

When it comes to choosing between a CRM and a Database, one must evaluate needs that vary depending on the size, industry sector, and above all the size of the Sales Force/ Customer Service and customer base of your company.

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