Research, articles, and tips on CRM, Business Intelligence, ERP, supply chain management, and other enterprise applications. - Archive for April 2014

5 Best Practices for Data Quality Management

Data governance is everybody’s business, which is why several best practices involve getting business users involved with data quality …

Midsize Companies Plan Big Push into Big Data

Research commissioned by Dell reveals that 41 percent of midsize companies already have at least one Big Data initiative, while 55 percent …

Smartphones Will Boost IVR's Customer Service Image

Interactive voice response (IVR) is a self-service technology customers love to hate. But visual IVR on smartphones and other mobile devices …

7 Tips for Getting a Great Software Deal

Fiscal year-end has long been considered a good time to negotiate with software vendors like Oracle and Microsoft. But is it?

How to Bring Customer Focus to CRM

Too many CRM systems are designed to organize data, not actually improve customer relationships. Four tips can help companies improve their …

5 Reasons a 'Data First' Strategy Works

A system-centric approach to standardizing enterprise data and reporting rarely works, says Pedro Cardoso of BackOffice Associates, who …

How to Buy Social Customer Service Software

As the importance of social customer service grows, so do the number of solutions designed to help companies provide it. Here's how to …

Review: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013

Reviewer Paul Ferrill finds much to like about Microsoft Dynamics 2013, including a revamped and mobile-friendly interface.

Startup Spotlight: InsightSquared's Data Analytics

InsightSquared is experiencing triple-digit annual growth, thanks to its SaaS applications designed to make data analytics more accessible …

5 ERP Blunders and How to Avoid Them

Don't sabotage your ERP implementation even before you begin. Avoid these five mistakes that can wreck ERP projects.