What is an xRM? and Why is it an xRM?

There used to be a time when the only information organizations ever used to keep was basic data such as names and phone numbers only to be able to contact their clients when required. Rolodex was the rage and then a spreadsheet that kept information in a single place accessed when needed. When someone said Personal Information Manager, it meant something and everybody used to be awestruck.

And then came along contact managers such as Outlook, where more information could be stored about contacts. Even then just the basics, and enough to be able to touch base with a client when necessary. The real power game started when these contact managers started to realign and become a CRM.

CRM is a technology. Most organizations fail to realize this aspect. CRM or Customer Relationship Management software are not simply software but a whole element of technology and process realignment, as well as business redesign. When a pizza place is called for delivery, the customer is greeted by name. Repeat orders are highlighted and the customer can reorder with the representative preempting this option. This is the beauty of a Customer Relationship Management software. Products and services are aligned with the customer, the customer is well known within the organization through the software, and several business processes are impacted.

Then what is xRM? When a CRM platform is so powerful it can integrate seamlessly any part of a business operation and interconnect across departments and processes to create an all knowledgeable software within an organization, it is an xRM. While the CRM is a technology, xRM is a technological phenomenon. It is a powerful way to bring a business on the same technological platform, align all business data together and be able to manage and serve all stakeholders together.

Next up, but why do organizations fail to realize the potential of this technological phenomenon called the xRM?

(Author: NoorJehan Arif is a functional consultant for MS Dynamics CRM and is the founder of the site Disco Dynamics - which is currently a work in progress)

Dynamics CRM Online to expand into 32 more markets

Microsoft plans to expand Dynamics CRM Online, its competitor to the successful Salesforce.com cloud service, into 32 more markets later this year, the company said Sunday.

The expansion will happen in near conjunction with the next version of Microsoft's customer relationship management service, known internally as Dynamics CRM "5." There are 1.1 million paid users of the CRM line, said Marie Huwe, general manager for Microsoft Dynamics marketing.

"This is a really big thing for our business. We're making a big bet on CRM Online," she said. "I'm sure you've heard Steve Ballmer say, 'We're all in.'"

Indeed, the Microsoft CEO in March told an audience of University of Washington computer engineering students that the software superpower is playing its hand for cloud computing. CRM Online is just one of Microsoft's many cloud services. And like many of the others, CRM Online has a formidable online foe – in this case, market-leading Salesforce.com.

Magic Quadrant for Sales Force Automation

22 July 2009 Robert P. Desisto
Gartner RAS Core Research Note G00168995

Oracle CRM On Demand joins salesforce.com and Siebel as leaders in the sales force automation Magic Quadrant.
Despite slow sales due to the economy, organizations continue to invest in sales force automation (SFA). Gartner has not seen a drop-off in customer requests for help with vendor evaluations related to SFA. We have seen slightly more emphasis on software as a service (SaaS) due to tight capital budgets and the use of smartphones to drive salesperson adoption. Most vendors have come up with service and/or integration capabilities with fast-growing social networks, but sales organizations have been relatively cautious in embracing social-networking integration with SFA.