German business software supplier SAP has agreed to
combine its CRM product with Blackberry wireless handheld devices
manufactured by Research in Motion (RIM).
The service, available later this year, will allow salespeople
in various industries, including consumer products and
pharmaceuticals, to manage their customer accounts more easily and
efficiently, SAP said at its Sapphire international customer
conference in New Orleans.
The application, which requires no manual synchronisation, will
allow sales representatives in the field to update and access
information they need for their sales calls anywhere and at
anytime. For example, they could immediately check the status of an
open order when consulting with a customer.
Bill McDermott, chief executive officer and president of SAP has
been using the service internally for some time to keep track of
sales in near-real-time and referred to it as a "powerful
tool".
A customer survey conducted by SAP before Sapphire revealed that
one of their biggest demands were mobile applications. "This is an
example of how we aim to deliver solutions that meet these
demands," he said.
The Blackberry application complements SAP Mobile Sales, a
component of the mySAP CRM application, which can run on both
notebook computers and handhelds.
Under their agreement, SAP and RIM will contribute engineering,
marketing and sales resources as well as consulting capabilities to
the partnership.
John Blau writes for IDG News Service