At Web 2.0 Expo in New York, an Instant Solution for CRM Integration

The first Web 2.0 Expo in New York kicks off today. About 120 vendors will be showing off the latest in software and services related to community, Web-contributed content, and other aspects of Web 2.0.

Among the exhibitors will be SnapLogic, a client of mine, who just announced an OEM deal with MindTouch. The two companies have created a new software solution that extends CRM applications such as SugarCRM to include live data from other business systems, such as finance applications, databases, and more. The diagram below captures the gist of the solution.

Why is this useful? Now a salesperson reviewing customer data in a CRM application can also see relevant data from other business systems. Is this customer due for a maintenance renewal? What's their payment history? Do they typically pay on time? Have other sales, marketing, or support people left comments offering advice about working with this customer? Deki for CRM puts answers to questions like those right in the CRM application window, formatted in a readable, editable wiki workspace.

Five years ago, a solution like this would have entailed tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars and a six- to twelve-month roll-out of a major CRM application like Siebel. SnapLogic and MindTouch put the solution together in a matter of weeks. Customers can have it up and running in a day.

You can read more about Deki for CRM here.