TMC editors recently issued their award evaluation results citing Sage Software for vendor vision, leadership and attention to product detail. “The release of Sage SalesLogix Version 7.2 earlier this year marked the product’s tenth anniversary and introduced significant customization, mobility and Web client advancements that are changing the way our customers can offer a unique buying experience to their customers," said David van Toor, senior vice president and general manager for Sage CRM Solutions. "This award is a result of all the effort our product engineers, Sage CRM Solutions business partners, and customers have put into making Sage SalesLogix the most functional and flexible CRM system available." The 10th Annual Product of the Year Award winners will be featured in the January 2008 issue of “Customer Interaction Solutions” magazine.

When Sage SalesLogix launched in 1997, it was the first sales force automation product developed specifically to meet the needs of sales professionals and sales management. Since that date, Sage SalesLogix led the way, garnering multiple industry awards and helping thousands of organizations take control of sales and customer processes.

Sage SalesLogix is an integrated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) suite that includes sales, marketing, service, and support functions, as well as business analytics, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) integration, and mobility solutions.

Industry analysts single out Sage SalesLogix as the leader in the CRM field. An opinion paper published by IDC (International Data Corporation) in May 2007 states that “Sage SalesLogix v7.2 represents the first phase of Sage Software’s state-of-the-art multiclient architecture strategy. With its introduction of this impressive technology release, the vendor reveals itself as a true competitive leader among CRM solution providers.”

What are the components of the Sage SalesLogix product vision? Briefly, the strategy addresses five critical success factors that enable CRM software to enhance business performance:

• Ability to gain business intelligence from your system’s data.
• Software matches user workflows to encourage adoption.
• Tools that enable a flexible workforce to work from anywhere at anytime.
• Effective integration with other systems, including back-office ERP systems.
• Affordability and ease of management with quick ROI and low on-going costs.

Gain Business Intelligence
The Sage Saleslogix system stores detailed customer and business information. Future versions will automatically present this information at critical moments. Service representatives will immediately receive insight into the business value of the client they are speaking with, so they can tailor discussions appropriately. The system will automatically generate alerts based on background analysis.

Business intelligence will be embedded into existing workflow to automatically present information and provide drill-down capability to additional detail. Predictive analytical reports will support extensive what-if modeling. For example, the marketing department could study the impact on total lead count for a potential campaign by varying the mix of e-mail, direct mail, and other methods while holding total budget constant.

For business intelligence to be useful, the quality of CRM data must be very high. Sage Software plans to deliver built-in logic that helps you enter data faster and with higher quality. Entries may be completed automatically based on previously captured information. Utilities will scan data to find missing information and easily correct it, and provide easy integration with external data cleansing services. Built-in processes will assure quality when importing bulk data such as purchased leads.

Works The Way You Do
Ultimately, CRM systems must closely match existing processes and personal work styles to achieve broad-based adoption and enhanced productivity. While all CRM systems can be tailored to some degree, they are often either very simplistic or so complex as to require extensive custom programming.

The deep customization capabilities of Sage SalesLogix through the Application Architect enable customizations to be made quickly and for multiple client types from a single environment. In Version 7.2, Sage SalesLogix further evolved to offer this deep level of customization through codeless, wizard-driven tools.

Sage SalesLogix will empower users to adapt the software to their personal workstyle. A flexible “Center of Work” screen is envisioned, providing a launch pad that will display today’s scheduled work as well as suggested next steps. A graphical display will allow the user to see at-a-glance where they stand on key metrics and goals, such as calls per day and their current pipeline. The system will intelligently present work to be done through alerts and unread e-mail statistics. This Center of Work also will help manage unfinished work—an inevitable problem in sales processes—by tracking items such as new contacts or opportunities only partially entered.

Flexible Workforce
Today’s modern workforce is constantly in touch and work is completed from many locations. Employees need anytime, anywhere access to critical data from a range of devices. Consider the following typical sales call to a customer site:

Prior to the call: Check existing support tickets to understand the customer satisfaction level. During the call: Answer questions immediately regarding available inventory, pricing, and delivery. Immediate access to information advances the selling process. After the call: Send a thank-you e-mail. On the flight home: Use your laptop to assign follow-up tasks, send product literature, and enter detailed notes. Back in the office: Connect up, send e-mails, and synchronize customer information.

These steps need to occur quickly and easily so information is up-to-date and available to all. Today, Sage SalesLogix offers interfaces for Windows, Web, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile clients, with a common customization environment for mobile and Web platforms.

The user experience will be further enhanced by leveraging location-aware technology. Imagine, after finishing a sales call early, the ability to see with the push of button a list of your highest-value customers, presented in order of geographic proximity. Select one and driving directions are sent to your wireless phone or BlackBerry.

System Without Borders
Since the CRM system is the hub of customer interaction, it’s critical that it connects with other systems such as ERP, supplier systems, and relevant web sites. The Sage SalesLogix focus is on integrations that have substantial out-of-the-box functionality and that may be customized further to meet specialized needs.

Interfaces will be included for common operations that require information from the ERP system such as pricing, quotes, orders, inventory, and credit history. These integrations will provide cross-application workflow and respect the security settings of both applications. Additional interfaces will focus on eMarketing, eCommerce, and data quality. Information will be made available for multiple remote devices. For example, a sales representative will be able to use their mobile device to query order status or inventory availability with real-time feedback while meeting with a client.

Affordable And Manageable
Customers need solutions that are affordable, both for initial implementation and ongoing maintenance, and easy to manage. Sage Software plans to offer a graphical administration tool that provides a comprehensive view of all client types, making it easy for administrators to know when a user is having trouble connecting and take quick action.

Starting with Version 7.2, upgrades are more straightforward, even in
highly-customized deployments, as the architecture separates the business logic from the presentation layer.

Sage Software will keep customization affordable by continuing to enhance the Application Architect for the “write once, deploy to many” strategy, enabling customizations to be created once and deployed to Windows, the Web, or to mobile devices.

Today, customers can greatly reduce the amount of specific customization required for their business by purchasing industry-specific customizations from Sage SalesLogix Business Partners. In the future, these partners will be able to use Application Architect tools to further isolate their own customizations, enabling them to upgrade the application without rework or roll-out delays.

In Summary
Sage SalesLogix is a powerful, market-leading CRM product today with a clear roadmap for continued improvement. For customers who value a CRM solution that fully captures the uniqueness of their business, require high flexibility, and deep integration, Sage SalesLogix will continue to be the clear choice.

For a white paper that provides further detail of the future direction of Sage SalesLogix, contact Blytheco today, or give us a call with any questions about Sage CRM solutions.

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Upcoming Sage SalesLogix and ACT! Authorized Training Classes

ACT! by Sage 2007 - Tues., 1/22/2008 ATC Class—This course is designed for the those individuals using ACT! by Sage 2007 (9.0). This course provides the skills necessary to understand... »See all dates for this class Administering Sage SalesLogix LAN v7.2 - Customers Only - Tues., 1/29/2008 ATC Class—This classroom course introduces you to the SalesLgoix Adminstrator and the Architect tools. You will learn to install the remote... »See all dates for this class ACT! by Sage 2007 - Tues., 2/5/2008 ATC Class—This course is designed for the those individuals using ACT! by Sage 2007 (9.0). This course provides the skills necessary to understand... »See all dates for this class

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