BOSTON, Dec. 3, 1998 — At the DCI Sales Force Automation Conference & Exposition today, Microsoft Corp. announced five winners of its Industry Solution Awards (ISAs). The awards were presented in a ceremony at the exposition theater in the Hynes Convention Center.
Microsoft ISAs are designed to recognize developers of software applications in the customer management industry. Winners were selected by an independent panel of judges who scored entries based on their use of the Microsoft® Windows NT® Server operating system and the BackOffice® family of products to provide tangible business benefits in customer management. To participate in the Industry Solution Awards, vendors were asked to provide an example of a customer that had improved their business by implementing the vendor’s solution.
“Microsoft is pleased to see such a fast-growing number of ISVs creating powerful solutions for customer management,”
said Holly Henson, group manager for enterprise applications at Microsoft.
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This year’s winners are leaders in delivering superior business value to their customers. Their applications coupled with Windows NT, Microsoft SQL Server
™and BackOffice are enabling businesses to do more and succeed further. The end result is customer satisfaction, the ultimate goal in this industry.”
“Today’s customer management ISVs have created an impressive array of solutions for Microsoft BackOffice,”
said Christopher Fletcher, manager of enterprise business applications for Aberdeen Group Inc.
“Microsoft’s business approach has allowed ISVs to build complete, powerful and reliable customer management solutions on the Microsoft technology platform – including Microsoft SQL Server, Windows NT Server and Exchange Server – that offer their mutual customers a real return on their investment.”
Award Winners Selection Committee
The judging panel included Hugh Bishop of Aberdeen Group, Rich Bohn of Denali Group Inc., Jim Dickie of Insight Technology Group, Christopher Fletcher of Aberdeen Group, Judy Hodges of International Data Corp., Matt Purdue of Sales & Field Force Automation magazine, Barry Trailer of Trailer Vavrika Inc., Larry Tuck of Sales & Field Force Automation magazine and Jack Gold of META Group Inc.
The winners in the four ISA categories specific to customer management are as follows:
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Best Mobile Sales Solution: SalesLogix Corp. for SalesLogix Sales Information System;
Customer Implementation – Getinge/Castle Inc. SalesLogix Sales Information System is sales automation software that provides all the ease of use found in most contact management software while still delivering the powerful customization, flexibility and scalability required for growing sales organizations. SalesLogix is a practical and cost-effective sales automation solution that can be implemented in weeks rather than months so that companies immediately realize gains in efficiency.
SalesLogix Corp. is a leading provider of sales and support automation software for companies that have outgrown low-end systems but don’t want the cost and complexity of high-end solutions. Combined with industry-standard Microsoft BackOffice technologies, SalesLogix’s pragmatic approach and extensible architecture allows companies to immediately implement sales automation and then gradually customize it to exact requirements.
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Best Customer Service and Support Solution: Platinum Software Corp. for Clientele for Customer Support. Customer Implementation – Command Software Systems Inc. Clientele is a customer relationship management application that enables companies to gather, organize, track and share customer information. Whether customers are measuring the effectiveness of a marketing campaign, working on a complex sales opportunity or providing customer support, Clientele gives them the information needed to attract more customers and keep them satisfied. Nearly 2,500 customer sites worldwide use Clientele throughout the company to simplify and automate business processes and manage customer relationships. The Clientele product line delivers flexibility, scalability, competitive total cost of ownership, quick return on investment and ease of use.
Platinum Software Corp. is a provider of client/server ERP business applications for midsized organizations worldwide. Its full ERP suite includes front-office applications for customer service, customer support, and sales and marketing, as well as back-office applications for accounting, manufacturing and distribution. Platinum Software leverages the technology of Microsoft BackOffice, Windows NT and
SQL Server to provide midsized companies and divisions of large corporations with optimum flexibility and functionality in enterprise client/server solutions.
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Best Inside Sales Solution:
Saratoga Systems for Avenue. Customer Implementation – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG & E). The Saratoga flagship application Avenue provides customers using Microsoft BackOffice with an easy-to-use customer management and sales force automation system that can be utilized enterprisewide to enhance customer relations and optimize sales effectiveness. The Avenue software is designed to empower account executives with the ability to respond quickly and effectively to the diverse needs of their vast customer base.
Saratoga Systems has been delivering customer management solutions since 1987. Saratoga differentiates its technology from other sales solutions in the areas of flexibility, compatibility and usability, allowing customization that addresses the requirements of the marketplace and the needs of the user.
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Best Overall Customer Management: Pivotal Software Inc. for Pivotal Relationship 98.
Customer Implementation – Government Computer Sales Inc. Pivotal Relationship 98 provides an integrated, 360-degree customer relationship management system that empowers sales, marketing and customer service professionals to work together to build and sustain productive, one-to-one relationships with customers and business partners. Pivotal Relationship 98 allows organizations to manage all the interactions, transactions, information and knowledge that make up their entire customer life cycle.
Founded in 1991, Pivotal is a privately held corporation that serves companies engaged in business-to-business commerce. Pivotal products are designed and optimized for midenterprise business units, marketing and support users. Pivotal’s
full customer relationship management capabilities, once the exclusive domain of larger, much more complex and expensive enterprise software, are now within reach of midenterprise business units.
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Best Other Customer Management: Clarify Inc. for Clarify FrontOffice 98. Customer Implementation – EnPointe Technologies. Clarify’s FrontOffice 98 is a comprehensive, integrated suite of applications that helps companies manage every aspect of the customer relationship, from attracting and acquiring prospects to retaining and developing them into long-term, loyal customers. FrontOffice 98 integrates information from across the enterprise, giving companies a 360-degree view of their customers and enabling them to provide more personalized sales and service. All Clarify applications are Web-enabled, providing customers, partners and employees with easy, around-the-clock access to sales and service information. In addition, Clarify’s data synchronization module provides mobile capability to Clarify’s full suite of sales and support applications, while extended enterprise technology helps organizations work seamlessly together across company boundaries.
Clarify Inc. is a global leader in integrated front-office solutions that unite companies and their partners around customers. The company’s integrated front-office suite provides organizations with an infrastructure that uniquely leverages every interaction with customers and partners, increasing customer loyalty and maximizing sales at significantly reduced costs.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Windows NT and BackOffice are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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