Cisco Systems, with the support of Microsoft, has
released Cisco Unified CRM Connector 3.0, a customer relationship
management (CRM) application tightly integrated with Microsoft
Dynamics CRM 3.0.
It is designed specifically so that small- to medium-sized
businesses (SMBs) can gain access to customer information on
inbound and outbound calls, thus increasing operational efficiency
and providing an improved customer experience.
Unified CRM Connector 3.0 helps to provide a complete view of
the customer, including current and past purchases, sales
information, order status, account relationships and billing
information. When a call is received by Cisco Unified CallManager
or Unified CallManager Express, Unified CRM Connector 3.0
automatically links to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM system and
provides on-screen pop-up windows of the customer contact record
and phone call activity so that a service agent can track the
call.
The same information and capabilities are also accessible
remotely, so sales and service personnel in the field can tap into
the network. New customer data or phone call information is
uploaded back into the system, so the next interaction with the
customer picks up where the last one left off.
"The combination of Cisco Unified Communications with Microsoft
Dynamics CRM helps companies increase employee productivity and
customer satisfaction while reducing costs," says Brad Wilson,
general manager, Microsoft Dynamics CRM at Microsoft.
Other features in Unified CRM Connector 3.0 include an IP phone
service that automatically pushes customer information to Cisco
Unified IP phones from inbound calls that uniquely match a customer
record. The IP phone lookup service allows users to view customer
contact information from any Cisco XML display-capable Unified IP
phone. Additional features include click-to-dial functionality for
accessing CRM contact records, call duration tracking, and detailed
call information capture.