Mobile CRM technology -- long hailed as the solution to keeping
mobile sales and field service staff connected and armed with
up-to-date information, only to see disappointing returns -- is now
grabbing the attention of Software as a Service (SaaS) vendors.
In mid-July mobile application developer. That follows last
month's release of eMobile from Entellium, a Seattle-based startup
that is taking on established SaaS CRM vendors such as
Salesforce.com and NetSuite. Entellium's release features a sliding
menu that allows users to navigate the system with just a thumb --
similar to Apple's popular iPod.
SaaS (or on-demand) CRM, generally praised for its intuitive
user interfaces and widespread user adoption, would seem to have an
advantage when it comes to winning over a mobile salesforce that
can be fickle when it comes to welcoming new technology.
"Yes and no," said Sheryl Kingstone, senior program manager with
the Boston-based Yankee Group. "Primarily because Salesforce
acquired Sendia, they have a leg-up in embedding into a mobile
architecture."
Simplicity does matter in mobile CRM, she added. Because
Entellium is relatively new, "they can start fresh instead of how
the traditional CRM vendors just shoved their CRM onto the device
to see if it works."
First Rate Financial, a Bellevue, Wa.-based mortgage lender,
looked at both Entellium and Salesforce.com when it went shopping
for a new CRM system five months ago. The company selected
Entellium for its 24-hour support, price and adaptability,
according to Mike Colagrossi, president and CEO. First Rate
Financial also adapted Entellium to fit its 10-step sales process,
which is similar to a traditional loan process.
Now, the mortgage company is leveraging the deployment on
eMobile, connecting its mortgage sales team while they're on the
road at open houses, CPA and real estate offices.
"From a manager's perspective, I don't bring a laptop in the
field. It's just very clunky," Colagrossi said. "When we looked at
Entellium and Salesforce, we had ideas of price point, versatility,
and customisability. When we launched the mobile application, it
pulled from modifications we did."
According to research from the Yankee Group, users of mobile CRM
are warming to hosted applications. In a recent survey, more than
40% of mobile CRM users said they were interested in having a
service provider manage their applications, while more than 70%
said they were somewhat interested.
However, companies such as Antenna Software Inc., a Jersey City,
N.J.-based mobile technology platform provider that focuses on
sales and service, can offer a bit more.
"If a customer has Siebel and SAP and lots of databases they
want to expose, that's where Antenna has the advantage," Kingstone
said. "Most of the time, unless users just want accounts and
contacts, they want to get into extra databases. If you just want
account management and call logging, that's where Salesforce and
Entellium have the advantage."
Yankee Group recommends that companies considering mobile
deployments let business process frameworks that enable best
practices drive the project; that the tools span multiple systems;
and that firms make the deployment part of an overall application
roadmap, such as CRM, SFA or service implementation, considering
business cost, form factor and connectivity.
This article originally appeared on SearchCRM.com.