Posted in cloud computing, CRM, Open Source, SaaS, salesforce.com, SugarCRM on Oct 30th, 2009 No Comments »
A lot of us in the technology industry think of concepts like open source, SaaS and now cloud computing as old hat. And for most buzzwords, there is usually a generally accepted definition – and that’s that. But the marketing engines in Silicon Valley (and beyond) have done such a number on SaaS and now [...]
Posted in CRM, social CRM, social media, twitter on Oct 28th, 2009 3 Comments »
Conversations with customers of late have unearthed some interesting takes on measuring the value that social media and related marketing initiatives bring to a company, and how they’re changing the way in which marketers will be measuring their impact. There’s still something of a chasm between knowing that social media is important and actually justifying [...]
Posted in CRM, Customer Conversations, SugarCRM on Oct 26th, 2009 No Comments »
Just a quick note to invite the Outsiders crowd to join in on what is promising to be a great conversation between myself and a great Sugar user Control Technology. The webinar is being hosted by 1:1 Media, and you can register online here. The webinar will take place Wednesday, October 28 at 11Am pacific [...]
Posted in Open Source on Oct 26th, 2009 No Comments »
This morning’s buzz over the White House’s use of open source to manage its Web properties via Drupal is in many ways comedic. As Matt Asay points out in his blog, the value that open source brings to the table is still very much misunderstood, and the fodder you see floating around on the Web [...]
Posted in CRM, social CRM, social media, twitter on Oct 22nd, 2009 3 Comments »
In the world of B2B selling…such as selling CRM software to the head of IT at a business…I’ve watched as salespeople will jump through hoops to try to gain access to the decision marker. Whether it’s the VP of technology, a business’ COO or a director, the ability to gain access to the person with [...]
Posted in cloud computing, Conferences, CRM, social CRM, SugarCRM on Oct 22nd, 2009 No Comments »
It’s been a hectic week here at Sugar HQ…lots of awesome stuff going on. A really great partnership with Open-Xchange was announced, and some great partner-driven events are going on in Copenhagen and Lyon, France. Speaking of events in Europe – SugarCRM is putting on two great CRM Acceleration events in both London and Munich [...]
Posted in CRM, social CRM, social media, web 2.0 on Oct 21st, 2009 2 Comments »
I heard a lot about how social media is driving a social revolution that businesses are being forced to react to. Paul Greenberg, among others, has highlighted this extensively in the past. The idea is to create value from what businesses learn about customers at the social and emotional level, or to put another way, [...]
Posted in CRM, social CRM on Oct 20th, 2009 1 Comment »
Recently I’ve been working with colleagues on some surveys that we’re planning to dispatch to customers in an effort to more finely tune our definition of a “lead,” and at the same time measure the level of CRM expertise a potential client has when they begin the sales process with us. In the process, it’s [...]
Posted in CRM, Microsoft, Open Source, social CRM, social media, SugarCRM on Oct 20th, 2009 No Comments »
SugarCRM is partnering with open source groupware provider Open Xchange, a move that offers yet even more choice for enterprises of all sizes looking for affordable, flexible software solutions. But the move is a little more than a “Microsoft alternative” situation. While Open-Xchange does of course handle a lot of the tasks as Microsoft’s tool, [...]
Posted in cloud computing, Open Source, SaaS, SugarCRM on Oct 16th, 2009 No Comments »
I recently came across this post by Gartner analyst Brian Prentice, in which talks about his perception that the “narrative” behind open source is fading away. But let’s be clear here. While the romantic open source narrative is failing, Open Source continues to get stronger. And it’s doing so because it is becoming an integral [...]
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