Chapter 6
http://www.cw360ms.com/j302/articles/103409.htm
Survey proves CRM pays
by Daniel Thomas
Almost 40% of companies have seen a "solid
return on investment" on customer relationship management (CRM)
packages, according to a survey of more than 250 executives responsible
for e-business and CRM service at Global 2000 companies.
The WebSurveyor study revealed that companies are assessing return
on CRM software and services by measuring:
- Increases in customer loyalty and retention
- Increases in productivity
- Increases in sales.
http://www.vnu.co.uk/Analysis/48733
Just give us the facts
Steve Masters [04-03-1998]
As we enter the knowledge age, many believe
organisations will exploit a previously unmined asset and that
the user will finally win the data access battle.
A data warehouse is a flexible environment
made up of technologies that take an organisation’s operational,
historical and external data, consolidate it into a separately
designed relational database, manage it and then mould it into
a subject-oriented format for users to access and analyse. The
above document, although written a few years ago, provides useful
information on data warehousing including its characteristics,
the technology supporting it and it can be implemented
http://www.cw360ms.com/j302/articles/100220.htm
Middleware - the cement to hold a business
together
by Philip Hunter
Middleware is the software that glues
together different applications. As the cost of this integration
is huge, you must know how it works and how to develop a middleware
strategy before the costs run away with you.
It is well known that for any substantial IT project, integration
accounts for at least 70% of the budget. More difficult to measure
is the extent to which the integration effort can be reduced by
adopting a sound middleware strategy based as far as possible
on standard products and common procedures. The term middleware
was coined in the mid-1990s to describe the software that facilitates
integration between applications, and within the components of
a single application distributed across different hardware.
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/itweek/specials/2000/ecommerce2/13.html
Web integration
Technology that enables different applications to be easily
integrated has only emerged in the past couple of years. All methods
of integrating the supply chain rely on middleware such as COM,
CORBA or Enterprise Java Beans. The advent of eXtensible Markup
Language (XML) has made the particular choice academic.
One increasingly popular integration option is the enterprise
portal, which integrates back-end systems both with each other
and with the Web. From a single point of access, usually a Web
browser, the user can see into a variety of applications, from
email and Lotus Notes databases to complex enterprise resource
planning (ERP) systems. An enterprise portal can be a simple Web
site from which users can access data or a system enabling users
to carry out transactions, update data and request personalised
information. Some sites described as portals allow access only
to historical data, while others allow access only to structured
data. The more useful portals will allow access to structured
data.
This document discusses the benefits of
integrating enterprise-wide data and information and the use of
an enterprise portal in making information available to users.
It covers a number of topics mentioned in the chapter. Read the
document and use the information to answer the revision and discussion
questions at the end of the chapter.
http://www.c-interface.com/issues/9909/9909_whoisansw.htm
Who Is Answering Your E-Mail?
Online customer service is evolving.
Is yours up to par?
Dianne Porter
Net Effect Systems (North Hollywood, California)
recently released a report stating that 67 percent of online transactions
are abandoned because of inadequate customer support. The report
estimates that 5.75 percent of visitors to e-commerce sites begin
a purchasing transaction, but over two-thirds of those customers
never complete the purchase because of a lack of real-time customer
support. Traditional call centres have always stressed the importance
of excellent customer service and, as those centres evolve into
media-rich customer contact centres, most realise they must bring
that same level of excellence into the online environment. Rubic
Inc. (Westport, Conn.), a Web site consultant company, conducted
a recent study that revealed businesses are losing customers and
money due to a lack of pre- and post-sales customer support.
The above article discusses why it is
vital for organisations to implement a system that gives customers
fast and efficient response, what such a system should include
and how technology can provide what is required. The article serves
as valuable additional material to the discussion of CRM.
