CRM Web 2.0 Updates Available in SalesLogix v7.5 Suite

By David Sims

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

Sage CRM Solutions, part of the Sage Group plc, has announced the new Sage SalesLogix v7.5 CRM suite.

 

Sage SalesLogix v7.5 is described as a "comprehensive connected and disconnected Web user experience," and claims "integration with Web 2.0 technologies so users can access and interact with tools such as Google (News - Alert) Maps, Jigsaw, LinkedIn, Zillow and others."

 

Personalized welcome pages, enhanced lead management and list creation, and productivity tools such as timeline visualization are among other new features.

 

Joe Bergera, executive vice president and global general manager, Sage CRM Solutions, said the product can mash up contextual information from the Web, such as LinkedIn profiles. An online flash demonstration is also available at www.Sagecrmsolutions.com/slx75.

 

"We collected an incredible amount of product feedback this year," said David van Toor, senior vice president and general manager, Sage CRM Solutions North America, adding that the product has features users "and competing CRM providers alike will find impressive."

 

New product functions allow users access to Sage SalesLogix anywhere via a Web browser "without sacrificing usability or functionality," company officials say, since the Web client works with an Internet connection or while disconnected. In addition to sales force automation and marketing campaigns, customer support capabilities for assets, contracts, returns, and defects are now available through the Web client.

 

The Web client allows creation and viewing of targeted lists, as well as new group tabs, data filters, and the ability to select multiple records at once: "Users can see at a glance details with a new summary view and drill down for additional details."

 

Mashup capabilities, powered by RESTful Web services that request data via embedded url-style addresses, enable Web applications including Google Maps, Jigsaw, LinkedIn, Zillow and others to display relevant real-time data in Sage SalesLogix. Graphic controls enable sparkline snap shots of historical data, such as sales pipeline amount over time.

 

Last month Earlier this week Sage CRM Solutions announced availability of the new ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.0) contact and customer management product family.

 

The family counts ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.0), ACT! by Sage Premium 2009 (11.0), and ACT! by Sage Premium for Web 2009 (11.0) among its members.

 

Inspired by customer feedback, ACT! 2009 products focus on enhancing user productivity with improved Microsoft (News - Alert) Outlook integration, calendar and activity visibility, and database search capabilities.

 

ACT! 2009 is available in North America beginning today. Additional local language versions are in development and will be delivered incrementally.

 

"We completed interviews, surveys and usability tests with thousands of customers to improve ACT! functionality," said Joe Bergera, executive vice president and global general manager, Sage CRM Solutions.

 

ACT! by Sage is a contact and customer management product used by over 2.8 million users and over 43,000 additional corporate customers, company officials say, adding that the product is specifically designed to benefit "larger teams of users."

 

New ACT! 2009 features include en masse e-mail attaching — "select multiple Microsoft Outlook e-mails from different senders and attach them to ACT! contacts," company officials say. There's also activity scheduling from e-mails and one-click calendar copy.