MySAP CRM 4
0
On
June 17, 2003 SAP released the latest release of mySAP
Customer Relationship Management (mySAP CRM 4.0) at SAPPHIRE '03,
the firm's international customer conference. The latest version
mySAP CRM 4.0 builds on the analytics, marketing, and sales
functionality of previous releases, while focusing on industry- and
business-specific processes. The software adds more than 20 new
processes and more than 30 enhancements to total more than 280
end-to-end industry-specific processes. Although SAP's chief
competitor, Siebel, is still regarded as the one to turn to for
deeper capability and functionality in key industries, analysts say
that SAP will reestablish itself within the CRM market especially
with mySAP CRM 4.0. SAP announced in September that it further
bolstered the analytics software in version mySAP CRM 4.0. According
to the company's press release, the new capabilities include
real-time analytics; marketing optimization; sales, marketing and
service business planning; and out-of-the-box analytics
scenarios.
Additionally,
the company announced that it will launch an online network aimed at
fostering collaboration between software developers and customers.
Meanwhile, an article from CRMdaily.com presents views on mySAP CRM
4.0 ability to compete with Siebel or other best-of-breed vendors in
the consumer and packaged goods
vertical.
The
customer-centric solutions from mySAP CRM 4.0 help in planning,
building and maintaining profitable customer relationships. It
provides flexible access to SAP and non-SAP solutions through a
single interface. mySAP CRM 4.0 is a highly configurable system,
designed to automate all customer-related business processes. It
provides a fully integrated environment to operate in real time,
without the expense of developing and maintaining interfaces for
back office systems. mySAP CRM 4.0 provides support for all the main
interaction channels, including web, Internet, telephony, e-mail and
face-to-face communications, all from one
database.
Customer
Relationship Management is more than a collection of office data,
marketing techniques and sales force automation. It is the mental,
organizational and technological foundation to align all business
processes around the needs of the individual customer. Actually,
mySAP CRM is proving so successful, a recent industry report cites
it as the world's second most popular CRM
solution.
Beyond vertical
capabilities, mySAP CRM 4.0 has several other key attributes worth
noting:
Usability of
mySAP CRM 4.0: SAP with mySAP CRM 4.0 makes strides on the usability
front by making further use of the SAP Portal and introducing a
totally redesigned interface for Customer Interaction Center (CIC).
However, it’s more than a pretty face, and early benchmarks suggest
improved performance.
mySAP CRM 4.0
NetWeaver: mySAP CRM 4.0 is the answer to the significant
integration and data management problems CRM users face. The CRM
suite takes the most advantage of the NetWeaver stack of any of the
mySAP product lines. The biggest impact will come as users uncover
the power of Master Data Management (MDM) to construct an
application-independent customer data model and the messaging to
share customer data with an application or customer
touchpoint.
mySAP CRM 4.0
xApps: The 18 released SAP xApps mean very little to the
customer-facing world today, but every best-of-breed vendor should
take notice. SAP has historically been a slow follower at best,
allowing significant new markets to emerge before coming up with its
own. The inability to support innovative customer needs forced good
and loyal customers to turn to best-of-breed vendors to satisfy
their needs. Now, xApps offer SAP and its customers a method to
compete quickly and deliver innovation to customers outside of the
normal delivery cycles.
