u  What does CRM Stand For? u  How do I know which CRM solution is right for my business? u  How can a hosted CRM solution help my business requirements? u  How do I get my data into your service? u  How do users learn the system? u  Is the service really available 24 hours a day? u  Does the service integrate with other applications such as MS Outlook or the Palm Device? What does CRM Stand For?    Top Customer Relationship Management. Customer Relationship Management technologies help businesses improve the management of customer relationships through every aspect of the customer’s lifecycle. Sales Force Automation (SFA), Marketing Automation (MA), and customer service and support applications are all well-established components of CRM. Today, CRM has grown and matured to become one of the most significant and fastest growing software segments of the past five years.    How do I know which CRM solution is right for my business?   Top Before proceeding with a CRM system, a company must carefully define its CRM strategy and evaluate the technology. Shortcomings on either side can lead to failure. With an emphasis on business requirements and an understanding of the technology that enables the strategy, the company can ensure a successful and profitable implementation. There are several key characteristics of CRM software that are important to keep in mind. These include: u  Ease of Integration with Legacy systems u  Ease of Customization u  Ease of Scalability u  Rich Out-of-the-Box Functionality u  Actionable Data (Robust reporting capabilities) u  Flexible payment model   How can a hosted CRM solution help my business requirements?   Top Typically, hosted CRM solutions have a total cost of ownership one-seventh that of an in-house solution, according to Kaiser Mulla-Feroze, Director of Product Marketing at Salesforce.com. Because there is no capital outlay required for a hosted CRM solution and payment comes from operational budgets, the typical Return on Investment is seen within 6 months.   How do I get my data into your service? Top During the implementation stage, the TELUS Managed CRM technical team will upload any of your legacy data (that has been converted to a csv file) into your Entellium application. You will need to “scrub” your data for stale data before sending TELUS your upload file. How do users learn the system? Top Included in the small set-up fee is end user training. Therefore, the TELUS Managed CRM implementation team will train each user via web conferencing before the application goes live.   Is the service really available 24 hours a day? Top Yes, with the exception of short periods set aside for scheduled maintenance. We generally perform maintenance during early morning hours on weekends. Note that if your ISP is down, you will not be able to access the service, even though it is operating. Of course, as with any online service, in the event of natural disasters or power outages, some unanticipated interruptions in service availability may occur.   Does the service integrate with other applications such as MS Outlook or the Palm Device? Top The Entelli-com feature enables you to synchronize your Contact, Calendar, and Task list information with Outlook or Palm devices. Whenever you want to update information, Entelli-com will automatically exchange information between the TELUS Managed CRM solution and your PC or handheld device—so you always have access to your data, even without an Internet connection.