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This article discusses the adoption of customer relationship management (CRM) software by the retail industry in the U.S. It is said that the retail sector is managing relationships with millions of consumers, compared with clients in business-to-business sectors. Most retailers have implemented call center and data-gathering CRM software and are beginning to wade into analytics and customer segmentation. According to retailers, the process of moving from quarterly business intelligence reports to real-time customer segmentation is difficult because large retailers are collecting highly complex and granular information on their customers that can vary greatly from business to business. Though the number of packaged applications is at an all-time high, that doesn't mean mainframes are going away.

The article suggests that though personalization technologies did not live up to their media hype during the dot.com boom of the late 1990s, some companies including the Schwan Food Co., have successfully integrated the technologies into their electronic commerce divisions. The Schwan Food Co. traces its roots to a family dairy business that sells ice cream door to door. It has grown into a frozen-food giant, with five million customers in 48 U.S. states. The company's popular Web site which serves as a key customer sales channel; The company was highly successful in translating the personalized experience customers get in their homes and through the call center into the online experience. INSET: The Privacy Dilemma.

This article reports on the response of users to the announcement on June 4, 2004 of Sanjay Kumar's departure from Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) It disheartened some users who liked his focus on improved customer service, but it pleased others who had been concerned about his oversight of a company charged with accounting irregularities. According to a longtime CA user, they don't need the distractions of the accounting irregularities, so Kumar should fall on his sword and get out of the way. Carmen Huff, president of the North America Ingres User Association and lead database administrator at Alliance Data Systems Inc. in Dallas, said she welcomes the investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's Office into CA's accounting practices. Chris Poole, president of the Florida CA Users Group and senior analyst at Convergys Corp. in Jacksonville, credited Kumar with dramatically improving the quality of products when he took over as CEO. Specifically, he said, Kumar pulled CA workers off development of new products to produce a patch for its Unicenter line of management tools. Some analysts said Kumar's decision to leave CA may have been prompted by pending legal action by federal authorities. CA Chairman Lewis Ranieri issued a statement Friday suggesting that Kumar's departure will help settle the government's investigation of CA.

Microsoft Corp. announced in May 2004 that it plans to extend the support phase for business and developer products to a minimum of 10 years. The support policy updates the timetable that the software maker set in October 2002. The old plan called for five years of mainstream support and two years of extended support. Under the updated policy, there will be a minimum of five years of mainstream support followed by five years of extended support. But the new mainstream and extended support policy will apply only to software released during the past five years, said Peter Houston, Microsoft's senior director of servicing strategy. The mainstream support phase provides for no-charge incident support, support for warranty claims and hot-fix support, as well as paid per incident support and support charged on an hourly basis. Some customers who have yet to migrate off older products may consider paid extension options from Microsoft or third-party vendors, unless they decide to run the products unsupported. Several users said they have been forced to keep older versions of Windows and other Microsoft products as a result of application dependencies involving software built by third-party vendors. INSET: Microsoft Unveils Team System for Visual Studio.

This article focuses on the need for marketing relationship management software, which can allegedly boost productivity and campaign effectiveness, to overcome technical and cultural hurdles in its deployment. According to Linda Hecht, director of marketing at geographic information systems vendor Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. (ESRI), as the company grew and added more people to marketing, the company experienced a limit on productivity. Hecht has a marketing staff of 180, but with 40 products to market to 40 industries worldwide, she could allegedly not manage the workload. In 2003, ESRI turned to marketing resource management (MRM) software to automate routine actions and improve strategic planning. Such tools, provided either as extensions to customer relationship management (CRM) packages or as stand-alone offerings, are designed to incorporate every aspect of marketing, from initial concept through the evaluation of completed campaigns. While the number of MRM implementations is still relatively small, analysts allegedly expect strong growth in the area as companies look to extend efficiencies gained in traditional CRM strongholds, such as sales force automation.

This article illustrates how information technology (IT) infrastructure at the author's company increased the value of its products and services, and thus increased company profitability. I work for a company that sells basic commodity products such as food service disposables and janitorial supplies. Our customers can buy these things from many suppliers. One of the main reasons they buy from us is that we use IT to significantly increase the value of the products we sell. When customers buy from us, they get a customized package of value-added services that fit their specific operating needs. They can order using our Web-based order entry system or their EDI systems. They get daily updated sales history reports through our Web site that show their usage of our products at each of their locations, by supplier, product and volume over any time period, from one day to three years. To bill customers, we can send them electronic invoices or statement billings in any format they need in order to automatically import them into their accounts payable systems. We format and preprocess the invoices or statement bills to insert whatever special general ledger codes or other data their accounting systems may require. All of these services enhance the value of our products. We work with customers to enable them to control who in their company orders our products and which products they can order. Because of these services, we don't have to compete on price alone. Our prices need to be close to those of our competitors, but we don't need the lowest prices to win new business. In this way, IT delivers part of all the products we sell. IT helps my company actively manage its profit margins.

At NetWorld+Interop in May 2004, MCI Inc. and Nortel Networks Ltd. both tried to put their financial problems behind them and get on with business as usual. But they continued to be dogged by concerns among users about their business practices and their ability to provide reliable customer service. The concerns were voiced after MCI CEO Michael Capellas and Malcolm Collins, president of enterprise networks at Nortel, delivered separate keynote addresses at N+I. Each company also used the conference to detail plans for IP-based conferencing products, with MCI announcing a technology partnership with Microsoft Corp. and Nortel disclosing a similar deal with Polycom Inc. But MCI, which emerged from bankruptcy protection in April, also said last week that it plans to lay off 7,500 workers after losing $388 million in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Nortel is being investigated by securities regulators in both the U.S. and Canada for possible accounting improprieties, and three weeks ago the company fired its CEO and two top finance executives. Nortel disclosed that a federal grand jury in Texas has issued a subpoena seeking accounting records and other documents as part of a criminal investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas. INSET: MCI Forced Into Layoffs, Says CEO.

Deals with the complaints about the level of service given to customers by offshore technical support operations of major high technology companies in the United States. Complaints on the quality of service from the call center of Dell Inc. in India; Approach of Microsoft Corp. in choosing its product support services; Tips in selecting overseas call centers.

Highlights the help desk system adopted by the American Airlines Federal Credit Union based in Fort Worth, Texas. Information on how the help desk system technology operates; Software being used for the help desk system; Previous help desk operation of the credit union.

Focuses on the role of help desk in solving computer problems of customers in the U.S. Costs of help desk; Application of remote support tools by Level 1 agents; Assisted service functionalities included in remote support products.

States that top executives and rank and file employees of Microsoft Corp. have to pitch in to handle the onslaught of customer calls from corporate and home users of its Windows operating system that was afflicted with the W32.Blaster worm. Vulnerability of the Windows operating system; Patch software released by Microsoft online which Windows users can use to deal with the computer virus; Details on the issue.

Discusses the implementation of customer relationship management (CRM) project based on the book "The CRM Project Management Handbook," by Michael Gentle. Objectives of CRM; Attributes of customer that companies consider when creating and providing products and services; Characteristics of systems maturity.

States that PeopleSoft Inc. has started promising to pay refunds to some new or upgrading customers if it is acquired and the products they purchased are discontinued. Hostil bid launched by Oracle Corp. to buy PeopleSoft Inc.; Letter sent by PeopleSoft to a potential customer; Reason for the refund strategy of PeopleSoft.

Reports on the approaches of Microsoft Corporation's Passport service and Web authentication services of Liberty Alliance Project to Web identity management. Release of specifications by Liberty Alliance for a standards-based mechanism for simplified sign-on and user identity management; Redirection of a user accessing a password-protected site under a Liberty-based system; Second phase of the Liberty specification.

Focuses on the customer service provided by Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America Inc. Challenges faced by Mitsubishi regarding development of a customer service program; Details on major information technology vendors involved in Mitsubishi's customer initiative; Information on improvements in Mitsubishi's customer service system.

Reports on the opportunities found by information technology managers in emerging service-oriented architecture approaches built around Web services technology. Capabilities of service-oriented development model; Requirements for building service-oriented framework; Problems to be solved in building service-oriented architectures.

Explains that information technology can customize data structure depending on who will use the information. Use of XML by the Caterpillar company to customize owner's manual of its products; Importance of customizing data to fit into the customer's specific needs.

Deals with the measurement of the return on investment (ROI) of customer self-service initiatives. Impact of convenient, stress-free shopping experience; Advantages of a Web-based self-service application implemented at 3Com Corp.; Overview of the implementation of abstract ROI metrics at Omnicom Group Inc.

Talks about persuading consumers and employees to adopt Web-based customer self-service technology. Advantages of Web-based self-service technology; Requirements in introducing Web-based software system at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina; Technique used by Take Lands' End Inc. in persuading customers to adopt self-service applications.

Reports on some emerging business enterprises in the United States which helped some companies reached out their customers through the marketing technologies offered. PlaceWare Inc.; NeoCore Inc.; Revenio Inc.

Focuses on the efforts of online retailers to improve their customer-care technologies. Efforts of retailers to attract cruise buyers; Applications of a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP); Answering technical questions from customers.

Reports on the electronic-mail and web surfing service, called Internet in the Air, being offered by Air Canada to its commercial passengers onboard its Boeing 767 aircraft. Speed of the data sent to and from the airplane; Provider of the system; How the Pentium-based servers on each airplane works; How Web access is provided to passengers; Key role of compression for Cathay Pacific Airways.

Focuses on the expectations of e-customers on the services of online companies. Advantage of installing real-time communications technologies in satisfying customers; Details on the experiences of companies in adopting real-time technologies; Tips in using real-time technologies.

Focuses on the investment of brokerage companies in wireless services for its retail customers. Details on the growth of wireless-trading options; Reasons why other brokerages do not offer wireless services; Challenges faced by brokerages in using the wireless technology.

Focuses on the action taken by Larry Ellison, chief executive officer of Oracle Corp. to dispute reports that users are unhappy with the company's capacity-based pricing scheme. Increase in sales of the company's Oracle8i software; Pricing of the software; Reactions of customers on the pricing scheme.

Focuses on the factors that keep customers of Microsoft Corp. from upgrading their systems to Windows 2000 despite the release of the first service pack for the system. Areas where the system has experienced high installation; Other factors that held back the deployment of the system.

Focuses on the effects of the legal distraction caused by the antitrust trial on the customer service and business planning of Microsoft Corp. Comparing Microsoft with IBM Corp. who experience a similar case; Effects of the case in making business decision; Provisions that could negatively affect Microsoft.

Provides information on the in-room technology services of hotels in the United States. Installation of Digital Subscriber Line service, T1 lines and broadband connections; How the network access is being offered in hotels when guests are outside their rooms; Other technological-related services offered by hotels.

Focuses on the privacy issue on the collection of consumer data by Web sites. Rate of privacy postings in 1999; Debate on the issue of Internet privacy; Efforts of Nokia Corp. to develop a unified privacy policy; Criticisms on privacy postings by Web sites.

Focuses on the collection of personal data by Web sites of online retailers. Purpose of collecting data from online consumers; Trends in personalization in serving online consumers; Challenges faced by online retailers.

Focuses on the benefit offered by online communities in establishing potential customers. Challenges in developing online community; How online community improve customer relationship; Tips for building online community.

Features news and information on the computer industry in the United States. Suspension of a Microsoft Corp. program for customers; Report by Network Solutions Inc. on mistakes in Web address domain names; Increase in SAP AG software sales; Revenues of Lucent Technologies Inc.

Deals with the challenges faced by companies in retaining their online customers. Benefit offered by online commerce to mothers; Guidelines for using the Internet in finding dream stuff or cars.

Deals with the problem faced by online companies on customer services. How companies respond on the service inquiries of customers; Companies that standout in offering services. INSET: Taking Care of the Customer.

Offers a look at ways of companies in linking everything from e-mail systems to call centers to give customers consistent information. Policies overhauled by Mortgage.com for its customer-service capabilities; How KeyCorp benefited from Web-enabled customer relationship management investment; Challenges encountered by Sandella's Cafe in West Redding, Connecticut in deploying Web-based client and server versions.

Focuses on the expansion of customer service options of companies doing their business on the Web as call center outsourcers revamp their traditional operations for exploding online opportunities. Capabilities of the service to be launched by APAC Customer Services Inc.; Challenges to systems integration and customization.

Discusses the components of Microsoft Corp.'s plan to improve customer service support. Includes sending of engineers to visit customer sites; Offering of more options for support contracts; Employment of a greater percentage of phone support personnel with practical experience.

Presents tips on how a company and its supplier can conduct a meeting about the year 2000 date conversion problem. Why managers should met with their essential business partners about the problem; How managers should consider the meetings in order to avoid being an inquisitor; Factors to consider when making a meeting; Benefit of reviewing survey results. INSETS: Tips for a Good One-on-One;Something to Talk About.

Deals with the approach of companies, banks and airlines for answering the inquiries of customers according to their classification. Companies that have adopted the automated customer classification approach; How banks benefit from such approach; Disadvantage of the approach.

Deals with the advantages of digital video disc (DVD) and electronic-mail-based (E-mail) customer service technologies to online retailer NetFLix.com. Price of renting DVD online; How the service of the company works; Estimated increase in selling DVD units in 1998; Other services planned by the company to customize with E-mail customer database.

Focuses on IBM's MQSeries, a passenger boarding system of Delta Air Lines Inc. How message-oriented middleware can replace the code customers have used to link older applications; Comments from Roy Schulte, an analyst at Gartner Group Inc.; Advantages of using the MQSeries. INSET: There's a time to get tough.

Focuses on the move of Camelot Music Inc. to pull customer data from a data warehouse into a data mart to develop an advertising campaign thats target grandparents during the holidays. Boost in sales made by the campaign; Information on systems tried by the company for its campaign.

Reports on the proliferation of World Wide Web-based customer-service systems. Systems that respond to customer E-mail over the Internet; Companies offering Web-based customer service softwares; Information about the softwares.

Details the technical and business obstacles faced by manufacturers using computer technology in customer services. Problems encountered by Riverwood International Corp. in setting up collaborative forecasting links with unidentified customers; Vendor-managed inventory technology used by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other retailers.

Discusses the effect of enterprise resource planning system (ERP) on customer service. Effect of ERP on the operations of the United Sugars company; How ERP systems work; View of customer service professionals on the issue.

Focuses on the benefits of using smart cards in paying for subway transit fares in London, England and for fast food chain purchases. Advantages of the cards; Contract value given by London Transport for implementing and maintaining the system; Information on the use of smart cards in McDonald's restaurants in Germany.

Offers a look on the NetworkMCI Fund program of MCI Communications Corp. designed to attract customers with financial incentives. How Egon Zehnder International gained benefits from the program; Advantages offered by the MCI program; Comments from Stephen Adams, director of information technology in Egon; Comparison made by Adams on the MCI program from other programs.

Focuses on the idea that companies must consider concerning information technology (IT) that it is not originally designed to serve customers. Examples of how IT sometimes fails; Classes of customers that must be recognized by business and IT managers; Key tasks that IT distributors must perform.

Focuses on Microsoft Corp.'s service for the corporate enterprise customer. Expectations on Microsoft's Windows NT 5.0; Reactions from customers.

Reports on how the Internet helped Sallie Mae company in improving its customer services. Function of a variety of options on Sallie Mae's Internet Self-Service menu; Improvements on the use of the World Wide Web feature.