Telemagic, ACT! etc. are all junk. True Sales Automation systems provide the features of those, plus what's called "customer information management" features. These CIM systems manage all customer demographic information, as well as all transactions with a customer. Sales, order entry, logistics/shipping, customer service, customer support, and even product development all work off the same customer data.
The CIM market is somewhat crowded, and (excuse the B-school language) fragmented. It's not clear who the survivors will be, but I think VNTV and SCOP will be among them. CLFY is on the bubble, and RMDY needs some more features. I'm not too familiar with many of the others. Call up Siebel and ask them for their 10-K, and see what they say in the competitive analysis section.
I'd be curious to see the H&Q report. Don't type the whole thing in: I assume the report is protected by US copyright laws, and we don't want to see you carted off to intellectual property jail. |
