Custom CRM easier than you think!

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1 easier than you think! Redcastle Modules and bespoke functionality for SuperOffice CRM By Jeff Proctor, Redcastle CRM Limited Stein Ove Sektnan,

2 Content easier than you think!... i Content... ii Executive summary... 1 Background and objectives... 2 Background... 2 Case study project objectives... 5 Implementation strategies... 6 Project benefits the programmers view... 8 Programming efficiency... 8 Quality of code generated... 9 Flexibility of solution... 9 Project benefits the end user view Module for Service Engineers and Customer service Customer access to the helpdesk Sales history opportunity development Pipeline view on sales (as opposed to customer view) SuperOffice CRM System Requirements About SuperOffice - The SuperOffice philosophy About Redcastle CRM...28

3 1 Executive summary Using SuperOffice CRM software has proven to be a very powerful solution to cover all basic needs for a CRM system. However, with the newly launched platform side of the product we wanted to evaluate to what extent this could give us a benefit. Two different areas were focused for the evaluation: 1. Programmers toolbox using the Microsoft.Net platform and SuperOffice Expander Development Tools allowed the programmers to use the latest technology to modularize and implement functions for use both in the Windows and Web client environment, as well as evaluating the deployment options for remote use (extranet, intranet) 2. User functionality benefits using this tools we aimed at utilizing the functions for extending the SuperOffice data model (user defined tables) and user interface (web tabs), to achieve new functionality within the application. The end result of the project was extremely encouraging as we achieved both a much better ability to deploy and reuse modules that were made as well as user functionality that would not only seem but actually BE an integral part of the SuperOffice CRM solution. The SuperOffice CRM product and the SuperOffice CRM Platform allowed us to make a bespoke solution to fit exactly the user needs we had identified and it all worked as an integral part of one database system, thus, avoiding the need for data replication and synchronization, as well as unnecessary diversions into external applications (user interfaces).

4 2 Background and objectives Background Maintaining and growing existing business applications have been an increasing part of the budget for businesses world wide. As technology evolves parts are getting simplified, while new opportunities and new complexities needs to be addressed. The movement towards delivering application functionality as web services has seen the large providers of tools and solutions join in promoting technologies like XML and SOAP, extending the scope of solution building from common Unique Network Connection (UNC) file storage, and SQL server database to homogeneous business solution spanning multiple functional and organizational areas. Microsoft s bid to fulfill this vision are described for their ISV s as follows: In recent years, the computing industry has converged upon Web services as the de facto standard for software integration, enabling applications, machines, and business processes to work together in ways never previously possible. Analysts predict that the Web services market will grow to US$ 11,000,000,000 by the year 2008, stating that Web services will move to the forefront of most IT department strategies as a critical option for solving integration issues. *) What are the benefits of Connected systems? Your customers: Connected Systems provides a comprehensive technology offering that helps address the key challenges faced by your customers today. Connected Systems enables you to build applications that integrate by design, are intrinsically secure, interoperate across both organizational and platform boundaries, and do so in a flexible way, enabling your customers software to evolve with the needs of their business.

5 3 Your business: Dramatically increase your developers productivity and target new business opportunities. Take the first step to positioning your software applications or solutions for success in the rapidly growing Web services market. Your development: Microsoft provides you with a complete set of tools and technologies for rapidly building and integrating software built on Web services. Development tools such as Visual Studio.NET 2003 and WSE 2.0 work in concert with.net Framework and Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 technologies to deliver an application development experience that is both productive and intuitive. *) Source: International Data Corporation, 1. June 2004, Cautious Web Services Software Adoption Continues; IDC Expects Spending to Reach $ 11 Billion by The other major platform vendor, IBM, focused around on-demand services, also believes a major benefit can be found in development time and total cost of ownership. Historically IBM has helped companies efficiently build flexible, standards-based IT infrastructures so they have the agility to respond to new market conditions and growth opportunities. Now, IBM has unleashed a host of technology innovations for its application server, portal, speech and mobile middleware products, so companies can plug into the power of the world's leading application platform for even greater flexibility and resiliency. As a key element in a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), IBM WebSphere Application Server offers additional standards support and ease-of-use features, resulting in a more flexible IT environment to improve ease of integration and rapid delivery of services. Through enhanced business process integration and new deployment options WebSphere Portal speeds time to value for IT assets, improving the ability to deliver the right information to the right users at the right time. WebSphere Everyplace products include enhanced features to speed the deployment of WebSphere Application Server based applications to mobile devices quickly and flexibly. WebSphere Voice Server includes enhanced standards support and ability to directly exploit the functions of WebSphere Application Server.

6 4 The WebSphere application platform brings together the critical IT service components that help companies realize results with a flexible, integrated IT infrastructure enabled by WebSphere software. WebSphere software provides peace of mind through a reliable, highperformance integration and application infrastructure so you can respond quickly to unpredictable market demands while driving costeffective growth. Source reference: Microsoft message is sourced from their ISV Community Day program, fall IDC is referenced within the Microsoft message, 1. June IBM message is sourced from their website, explaining the value proposition of their Websphare platform, October All trademarks belong to these companies.

7 5 Case study project objectives The objective for this study is twofold. The main goal is to evaluate SuperOffice CRM as a platform for a customized CRM system. The toolkit and its support for achieving good end user functions is used by experienced SuperOffice programmers. They are, however, new to the Microsoft.Net tools. The objectives from the programmer s point of view: Make the add-on an integral part of the application such that it could be used without the need for synchronizing data Use tools which made the modules deployable within the Windows client, Web client and as stand alone clients Evaluate the support for secure access from remote location as a user or customer / partner The second objective is to evaluate the real value of the end user function being created. Does it give any substantial usability or functional enhancement? Having used a standard CRM package for years, and being able to enhance it via administrator customization features, Redcastle needed to be able to make bespoke modules to increase productivity for service engineers, customers and sales people. Objectives related to customer service: Create a shared view on service calls, allowing several engineers to work on the same case Allow our customers to better register and track their support calls Objectives related to sales: Allow sales people and sales managers to monitor the historic development of a sale or a lost sale Give a single view of all sales opportunities independent of company or sales person

8 6 Implementation strategies As Redcastle had been using traditional development tools, to make additional functionality based on the COM objects of the Windows interface, the understanding of supporting this bespoke development in both a windows and web environment was well understood. It was a technological goal to make it independent of client technology. Additionally we had the challenge of creating applications that were totally independent of the SuperOffice user interface, while maintaining full integrity with the central CRM database which had 10 years of company history in it. Our technological skills were based around traditional technologies, so we decided to invest in learning about the Microsoft.Net tools and strategies. What is.net

9 7 The SuperOffice Expander Development Tools, which also is supporting the.net technologies, was used. SuperOffice gave Redcastle the insight to understand this was the major path ahead for their application platform, so good support on the development efforts was expected, and achieved. A complete, scalable CRM-concept Customize, Extend & Integrate! Assist & Deliver! Professional Services CRM Process Consulting Integration & Customization Implementation & Education Operation & Maintenance Customized CRM SuperOffice CRM Application Framework SuperOffice NetServer SuperOffice CRM Applications Enhanced CRM CRM Impl. Method Standard CRM Developer Network Partner Solutions Applications, Modules, Add-ons and Links SuperOffice Expander Tools

10 8 Project benefits the programmers view Programming efficiency Objective: Make the add-on an integral part of the application such that it could be used without the need for synchronizing data Use tools which made the modules deployable within the Windows client, Web client and as stand alone clients Evaluate the support for secure access from remote location as a user or customer / partner Benefits: Although the skills needed to program is higher and the time used to create one bespoke function is the same or even slightly longer than before, the end result meets all the objectives. Each function is much more reusable, and thus, over time one will be able to create bespoke functionality much faster based on a library of previously made functions. How it was done: SuperOffice CRM5 now allows the addition of user defined tables, when added these become formal CRM5 tables and conform to certain rules required with the CRM5 environment. These rules relate to the Travel or remote operation of CRM5, establishing automatic relationships between tables and storing registered and last updated information. Without these user defined tables all this information and logic would have to be added programmatically. CRM5 now provides us with web panels integrated within the CRM5 interface, addressing these gives us direct access to the CRM5 environment. Once operating in the CRM5 environment we also have access to standard CRM5 forms for updating and editing, when we were operating outside the CRM5 environment these would all have to be developed again, extending the development time and losing the SuperOffice look and feel.

11 9 Quality of code generated These new generation of developments have been in Microsoft ASP.net, which runs server side. This makes the programs no longer dependant on client side controls. Consequently the deployment of applications becomes much quicker and less problematic. Flexibility of solution The combination of CRM5 Netserver and Microsoft ASP.net effectively results in a series of web portlets, these are much more reusable and portable than the old exe files. This can be seen in the following example: Pipeline.net is a Netserver application. It can be used within: The web panel of the Windows version The web panel of the Web version As a standalone web application The windows version allows the user to look at dialogues in the Windows application, without having to change context. Looking at your pipeline you may open the sales opportunity dialogue. The hyperlink back to the company card makes navigation smooth and user friendly. Any additional information we required to create the pipeline.net application is stored in user defined tables, thus allowing this application also to work for travel users (users working on a local replicated database).

12 10 When a Netserver application is integrated with the Windows version, it is fully functional and can utilize the dialogues from SuperOffice CRM for Windows, within the context of the web panel (Netserver application). This makes the add-on functionality an integral part, not only of the database structure, but also the user interface. With clever design, it can look as if it is one and the same application.

13 11 With SuperOffice CRM.Web the same web panel will work, with no integration work needed. There is, however, one limitation. The popup of SuperOffice CRM for Windows Dialogues will not work in the web version (i.e. the sales opportunity dialogue). The quick link back to other SuperOffice navigation or short cut keys are, however, available.

14 12 When running the pipeline manager stand alone, it still works, and is fully functional, except for the pop up of SuperOffice CRM for Windows dialogues (i.e. the sales opportunity dialogue). Running it stand alone means it is possible to deploy within an intranet, extranet or even for a PDA / Smart phone solution. No extra programming is needed, as this already is the basic component used within the other applications.

15 13 Project benefits the end user view Module for Service Engineers and Customer service Objectives related to customer service: Create a shared view on service calls, allowing several engineers to work on the same case Benefits: The benefit of this is the ability to support a need to have feature sharing a pipeline of incoming calls / inquiries. You create a queue for incoming calls shared by support consultants. When completed you still maintain full integrity with the SuperOffice historic view of activities with a company, getting an overview of all documents, calls and activities. The indirect benefit achieved was the opportunity to run the Support dialogue via a web application (without any of the SuperOffice clients running). Thus, the organization could outsource its helpline, and give adequate information to the supporters, while maintaining full historic view within the company activity archive. The value of this is enormous. Not only was the implementation time fast, but the indirect benefit achieved instantly, with hardly any extra work, created the possibility for flexible solutions to be implemented within the organization. This application alone would earlier have cost at least 6-12 man months of work. How it was done: With the shared view of all phone calls you can monitor the total calls needed to be handled. Once an agent assigns it to himself, it is no longer in the shared view for unassigned calls. Additionally it remains in this view for 2nd line support, which can both monitor and inherit a case from the 1st line support desk.

16 One by one 14 All at once Details available Details are available both in the special view for support staff and for the historic view on the company card.

17 15 Customer access to the helpdesk Objectives related to customer service: Allow our customers to better register and track their support calls Benefits: It gives customers 24/7 access to register their problem. They may monitor that it is taken care of in a timely and orderly manner. The customer can take part in the knowledge sharing with the product or service provider and all of its customers: Use the FAQ generated from the input questions and answers given to customer care calls Share downloads of software updates Share documents with information relevant for the customer (e.g. best practice, examples of how to do certain tasks, etc.) How it was done: The best way to support your customers is to get accurate and documented input. If you take the call via telephone, you documented, and the customer should review your notes to see if you understood the problem correctly. All of this is achieved with CustomerCare.net. Not only does it give 24/7 availability to log issues, but it gives the same availability to monitor progress on your own issues, and learn from the knowledgebase that is being built on solutions that have been given to issues from other companies.

18 16 Monitoring my issues (from the customer perspective). Below you will find an example of the dialogue used by the user to register an inquiry. This is a subset of the dialogue used by the service engineers, and it ensures the customer understand which data is needed to asses the problem in the best possible way. The form itself can easily be changed and tailored to the need of any organization. Customer form to register a new issue.

19 17 Reviewing details within a registered issue. Having customers asking you for information is the best way to learn what issues have a common interest. Capturing this information and sharing the result of solving problems between the customers will in a short time create a good knowledgebase for customers to use for their own self service and benefit. Gaining access to a knowledgebase, including availability of downloads specific to your issues.

20 18 Sales history opportunity development Objective: Allow sales people and sales managers to monitor the historic development of a sale or a lost sale Benefit: Both the sales person and sales management can learn what has happened during a sales cycle. Over time it is possible to analyze the complete set of data to find key business drivers like average time from start of an opportunity until the sale is closed, best set of activities to perform to achieve sales, etc. This truly represents a great step forward for sales people and sales management. How it was done: Registering a sale opportunity represent the start of a longer process to turn this suspect into a customer relationship. Along the way the sales person should monitor the likelihood of this becoming a success. The opportunity receives a rating according to the indicators chosen by the company. Clearly there are differences between a company name in an address book, a company who asked for information on your product and someone you are negotiating last details with. Monitoring this progress allows us to judge if we are making good progress or not. It will also include a view on the subjective judgment from the sales rep. This information is invaluable, and almost never found in any system. SuperOffice has had the support for this feature within the database for any business intelligence or data warehouse solution to analyze. The bespoke development done to display the contents in a graphic way allows the sales people and sales managers to get this learning view on an opportunity.

21 19 Complete pipeline with number of days in pipeline listed with each opportunity. Historic development of an opportunity can be changes in : - amount for products and services to be sold - margin on product sale - probability of getting the sale (resulting in a weight amount = amount * probability) The graph displays all of these values, and how they develop during the lifecycle of the opportunity. An open sale (20%) Closed sale (100%)

22 20 Additionally to the sale opportunity itself, the sales person can register activities related to the sale. This can range from a simple progress note, to activities like presentations, contract meetings, etc. It will allow the sales person and the sales manager to track the workflow with any given opportunity. Workflow of a sales opportunity.

23 21 Pipeline view on sales (as opposed to customer view) Objective: Give a single view of all sales opportunities independent of company or sales person Benefit: The sales person, as well as the sales manager, get a much better overview of opportunities and can more quickly update the status and perform follow-up tasks related to the sales opportunities. Especially for organisations with many opportunities per sales representative this will increase productivity. Benefit: The normal view of a sale is from the customer panel. The objective was to create a view which gave instant hyperlink back to the company card and sales opportunity dialogue in SuperOffice. One by one All at once

24 22 A task given was Find your opportunities on 90% and revise the information in the opportunity and here are the results using the company centric view in SuperOffice and comparing it to the new pipeline centric view created as a bespoke user interface for the sales people. Old procedure: Run a report with selected criteria (similar to setting a filter in Pipeline Manager) Search for company Filter the sales View/Change opportunity settings New procedure: View pipeline manager Update sales opportunity without leaving the view Find your opportunities on 90% probability and revise the information in the opportunity New procedure Old procedure Timing the old and the new procedure we found the following: Old procedure 40 sec for workstep New procedure 5 sec for workstep

25 23 SuperOffice CRM5 SuperOffice CRM SuperOffice CRM is a flexible and scalable CRM solution offering rich functionality within Sales Force Automation, Marketing Automation, Office Automation, CRM reporting and analysis. The application is available both as Windows and Web clients and runs on MS SQL Server, IBM DB2 and Oracle databases. Office Automation SuperOffice CRM includes a wide range of office tasks. It includes document (letters, faxes, s and spread-sheets) generation and archiving, integration to external Internet sites and synchronization with PDAs. The application integrates seamlessly with MS Office, Outlook/Exchange, Lotus SmartSuite, Star Office and other office automation tools. Document Management SuperOffice CRM comes with a built in archiving system but customers can also integrate to virtually any document management system (DMS) through our plug-in architecture. A DMS is normally selected to support company policies related to document management (version control, document collaboration and enhanced security). Workflow and Groupware SuperOffice CRM offers both standard and customized modules for integration between the SuperOffice CRM and a number of groupware and workflow applications. SuperOffice CRM works especially well as a customer centric front-end to Lotus Notes. Generation or retrieval of information from any Notes database can elegantly be integrated in the SuperOffice CRM interface.

26 24 Industry Solutions SuperOffice CRM is available in a number of various industry solutions, including automotive, legal services, insurance, public services, financial services, pharmaceuticals, consulting services and building construction. The industry solutions are realized by adapting a large number of customizable variables in the solution. Integration to legacy applications is also deliverable. Customer Panorama SuperOffice CRM offers the possibility to retrieve customer oriented data from any source through the built-in Internet browser. For the user, all customer information (e.g. financials, orders/invoices, helpdesk) will be presented as a part of the SuperOffice CRM user interface, independent of data source. The same feature can be implemented for project oriented use. The result is a 360 degrees view on the customer relationship. Business Intelligence SuperOffice CRM offers a range of standard and customizable reporting capabilities within activity management, opportunity management, selections for marketing purposes, etc. For customers with a need for data analysis capabilities, SuperOffice offers TARGIT, a powerful business intelligence solution with a pre-defined CRM data warehouse model. Implementation and Education Services SuperOffice and certified partners offer a full range of planning, implementation, education and support services related to SuperOffice CRM solutions. Our services are performed according to The SuperOffice CRM Implementation Method, a custom designed methodology for supporting businesses in implementing our solutions based on 14 years of experience CRM Application Framework Developer Tools The foundation of SuperOffice is our CRM Application Framework. This framework is also available for partners and customers to build enhanced and customized solutions. The framework integrates seamlessly to Microsoft s.net platform as well as the Java (J2EE) platform. A large number of 3rd parties offer extended solutions to SuperOffice, based on the CRM Application Framework.

27 25 Customer Data Integration Integrating the company s business critical applications is key in all businesses today, where synchronization of customer data is the core element. SuperOffice meets this demand through the CRM Application Framework. SuperOffice offers a comprehensive set of tools to suit individual needs as well a number of pre-defined link modules. Integration and Customization Services Services related to integration and customization is exclusively offered by certified SuperOffice Partners. These partners are all system integrators with experience and know-how on our CRM solutions and CRM Application Framework. SuperOffice CRM is not only a CRM application but also a platform for building and supporting your entire CRM strategy. Portals and ebusiness Through SuperOffice NetServer, SuperOffice CRM offers the ability to integrate seamlessly into various portal solutions, including intranet, extranets and customer portals. Pre-defined CRM portlets (portal applications) are delivered as part of the CRM Application Framework, offering specific CRM applications for both internal and external user groups. Utilizing these capabilities really extends the reach of the CRM application to new user groups.

28 26 System Requirements SuperOffice CRM Server Depending on Database Management System (DBMS) - MS SQL, DB/2, Oracle, Sybase Processor: Pentium III / 400 MHz Memory: 512 MB Operating System: Win NT4/2000/2003 (Linux/Unix under special conditions) Network: 100 MBit TCP/IP Client Computers Processor: Pentium II / 266 MHz Memory: 128 MB Operating System: Win 98/NT4/2000/XP Network: 100 MBit TCP/IP Web Server or/and Netserver Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 5.0 or newer CRM 5.web has only been tested with IIS running on Windows 2000 or Windows XP. This is computer is the most critical resource in the solution, and should be as powerful as possible (1 GHz, 512 Mb Ram, 100 Mb network card) Microsoft SQL Server 7 / 2000 or newer Oracle 8.17 or newer (Tested on Windows 2000 / XP only) Bandwidth: Min 32 KB/sec pr. active client computer Latency: Max 150 ms recommended SSL: The SSL protocol is supported Language: Available in all CRM 5 languages (English, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Finnish and Japanese) Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or newer Microsoft Windows operating systems (Windows 98 or newer) Screen with minimum 1024*768 resolution and 256 colours DATABASE SERVER: CLIENTS RUNNING CRM 5.WEB CRM 5.web Mail Server CRM 5.web includes an internet mail client that is build to support all mail servers that supports IMAP4, SMTP and 8bitMIME. This should cover most mail servers on the market today. Mail servers tested by SuperOffice ASA, product development are: Microsoft Exchange 5.5 and 2000, Lotus Domino Server ver. 5, and Novell GroupWise ver. 6 About SuperOffice - The SuperOffice philosophy SuperOffice was CRM - Customer Relationship Management - long before CRM became the buzzword that it is today. We were the first company to see the value of a customer-centric follow-up system.

29 27 Many of the most innovative companies in Europe have enjoyed the benefits of our early insight for more than a decade so much so that they tell us if they had to make the choice today they would go for SuperOffice all over again. Respected business and market research companies worldwide are emphasizing the importance of CRM. Their message to corporations is to place the customer in focus across the entire enterprise and build more intimate and tight-knit customer relationships clearly defined in a CRM strategy. To accomplish this and to successfully implement a CRM strategy, a professional and user-friendly CRM software solution is vital. Power through Simplicity this has been the longstanding essence of our software development philosophy, proved through the more than 11,000 European corporations who have enthusiastically embraced SuperOffice CRM solutions. Those companies who ignore CRM will be struggling. Smart ones will find the support they need in SuperOffice CRM. Une Amundsen, Founder and Group CEO

30 28 About Redcastle CRM Redcastle CRM Limited is a Sales, Training and Support organisation focusing on the Customer Relationship Management requirements of Small to Medium sized Companies throughout the UK. We are totally committed to supplying all our clients with complete IT solutions. Our expertise in CRM software, Visual Basic, ASP.net, Microsoft.net technologies, SQL and business application development ensures that you and your Company's transition into new technology runs smoothly, with minimum disruption and maximum benefits. With a strong portfolio of products, Redcastle CRM Limited is positioned as a leading supplier of quality Customer Relationship Management solutions. With many years of experience in the computer industry and a reputation for quality installations and post sales support, Redcastle CRM Limited is ideally positioned to offer computing solutions into the SME sector. Simply select one of the options relating to our products and services to find out in more detail about how Redcastle CRM Limited can assist you in achieving your needs. SuperOffice database server, application servers and client application architecture

31 Redcastle solution overview 29