Information Systems for Management- Research Conference Paper Essay

Information Systems for Management- Research Conference Paper - Essay Example Although there will be a good deal of positive emphasis on CRM's there will also include the other view point concerning the challenging areas that need improvements such as: project management, data conversion, customer relationships within the business, and the integrity of the CRM as a whole process. As stated previously, CRM's projectile aim is to consider the customer/business relationship first and foremost (ORC Macro, 2005). How a CRM goes about providing a company with a successful customer/business partnership is quite simple. It consists of a business process that uses correlating software along with traditional marketing methods such as: sales and other supportive measures to "retain and improve customer loyalty" (Penner & Ginsky, 2005). This type of strategy has proven very promising as a recent survey taken shows that 81% of some of the most reputable corporations have initiated CRM programming in the past three years and now have promising sketches to expand their basic CRM capabilities into 2004 through 2005 (Microsoft Business Solutions 2004, p.4). Factual evidence offers validity that CRM implementation is indeed on the rise and because of it almost 50% of firms utilizing CRM's services have had their revenue stack up very competitively against their competition over the past four years (Microsoft Business Solutions 2004, pp.1-4). Great prospects are available for CRM adaptation, which will soon be understood much more comprehensively through the research in this paper. CRM, in an integral whole part, forms the sound base structure for corporations to improve their already existing software systems. This creates a whole new highway of business which will be discussed later throughout this research project. Another area of focus this research will attempt to explore is the top three competitors which offer the services of CRM. These are: Oracle, Siebel and Sap, three of the most influential corporations offering some of the finest and top-notch software for all levels of companies. The main company focus will be Oracle due to the fact that it happens to be the most prestigious and quantifiable software corporation offering Integrated Customer Relationship Management solutions (Oracle, 2005). It happens to offer the most accurate, up-to-date key tools for customer success and the best thing is all entities within a company can draw on one main data source, if Oracle is the software of choice. Also, another reason the focus is so heavily on Oracle is due to the verifiable ability the software presents in assisting companies with their; "revenue, interaction costs, and customer relations" which stand unprecedented (Oracle, 2005). Study shows that this corporation leads Siebel and Sap, (han ds down), quite possibly due to the more user friendly interface of the system as well as the company's validated software track record also. The main purpose and aim of this research is to give validation and provide information into how CRM implementation aids in the long term success of a company. The fact that CRM does provide substantial assistance to companies in regards to building a more personal relationship with each customer, based on their own individual needs, and