INTOUCH : Technology to Aid Productivity

The productivity issues plaguing the country can be at least partially addressed by implementing appropriate new technology to help manage and organise customer processes. That’s according to Microsoft’s general manager of CRM (customer relationship management) Brad Wilson who visited New Zealand last month to support the launch of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.
He said Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 helps manage and integrate information flows and most importantly it employs an easy-to-use and familiar environment just like Outlook which integrates with Excel and Word documents. This means marketers can use CRM tools and data management tools as an extension of their desktop applications.
The features are designed to answer the many challenges facing businesses and customer relationship management at the moment with increased concerns over compliance around privacy, data storage and spam.
Wilson has 20 years of experience in the technology industry, including more than 10 years in CRM. Wilson has received CRM Magazine’s ‘Influential Leader Award’ for his innovative ideas, achievements, and strong leadership in the CRM market for the past two consecutive years. Before joining Microsoft, Wilson was the worldwide vice president of marketing for PeopleSoft.
He said one of the most important developments in Microsoft’s latest CRM release is the move to enable organisations to deploy these solutions either hosted, as in Software as Service, and also in the more standard on-premise licensing model.
One of the first companies to deploy Dynamics CRM 4.0 in New Zealand is Phoenix Recruitment which will use the technology as hosted service. Phoenix managing director Jenny Durno said the move was made because the company has exhausted the potential of its current system and the appeal in having partner host the service was strong. M