The end of 2007 is close, an ideal chance to reflect back on the year. It’s been a great year for us, from gaining investment from Intel, launching our new Concourse Suite 5.0, and of course our name change which reflects the growing presence of the company. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our employees, customers, partners and investors, which have supported us throughout 2007.
I noticed that Mashable, the largest social networking news blog, ran a piece on “Best of 2007: Trends That Shaped the Web”. Three of the trends that Mashable selected: ecommerce, social networking and open source, are all areas that Concursive is directly involved in. In our drive to enable organizations to connect through the simplicity of a single platform solution, we provide the tools that better enable ecommerce, embrace all social networking standards – and all through open source standards.
The momentum of these areas: trading and connecting online, and looking for new and innovative ways to do so, is set to increase throughout 2008. As the lines blur between different communities and how individuals connect, there is a huge opportunity for businesses and media to be more innovative, to embrace new ways of working and to play their role in bringing groups together. 2008 promises to be an interesting year and Concursive is committed to playing its part.
We’ll be off for the next few days- Happy Holidays from all of us at Concursive!
Michael Harvey
Friday, December 21, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Interoperability in Open Source
Last week was an exceptionally busy week for Concursive: launching our new website, announcing our name change, and releasing our new Concourse Suite 5.0. And during this hectic week, there was even more news that I wanted to take a moment to address.
Our friends at the Open Solutions Alliance released the results of the surveys they have been collecting, evaluating customers’ views on Open Source software. Overall, the data seems to be pretty positive, highlighting the cost effectiveness and simple customization of Open Source solutions. Conversely, the OSA found that the point of contention for customers is the potential interoperability issues with Open Source applications.
Although interoperability with Open Source applications could be a genuine concern for customers, I think OSA President Dominic Sartorio’s quote sums up our stance on this:
That’s exactly how we see this at Concursive. Interoperability has always been a large focus for us, because we have moved from creating traditional CRM software to highly scalable integrated applications for extended enterprises. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the open source market develops and reacts to this news.
Like Dominic said, this is a perfect opportunity for us and other Open Source vendors to distinguish ourselves by answering the customers’ needs of improved interoperability. Impress them now and gain their support for the future.
Read the full summary report here (PDF warning).
Our friends at the Open Solutions Alliance released the results of the surveys they have been collecting, evaluating customers’ views on Open Source software. Overall, the data seems to be pretty positive, highlighting the cost effectiveness and simple customization of Open Source solutions. Conversely, the OSA found that the point of contention for customers is the potential interoperability issues with Open Source applications.
Although interoperability with Open Source applications could be a genuine concern for customers, I think OSA President Dominic Sartorio’s quote sums up our stance on this:
“These findings represent a clear opportunity for the OSA to out-Microsoft Microsoft by offering a fully interoperable suite of business tools,” … “If we can help our members’ solutions work well together it makes it easier for our channel partners to sell open-source software and it will translate into more revenue for vendors and even more options for customers.”
That’s exactly how we see this at Concursive. Interoperability has always been a large focus for us, because we have moved from creating traditional CRM software to highly scalable integrated applications for extended enterprises. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the open source market develops and reacts to this news.
Like Dominic said, this is a perfect opportunity for us and other Open Source vendors to distinguish ourselves by answering the customers’ needs of improved interoperability. Impress them now and gain their support for the future.
Read the full summary report here (PDF warning).
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Welcome to the Concursive Blog
As you can tell by the new blog address and name, there have been a few sweeping changes around here. Well we’ve been busy! With great pleasure, today CentricCRM announces its new name, Concursive Corporation and a new front office solution, ConcourseSuite 5.0
For some time now, our company vision has been evolving to reflect a shift beyond the boundaries of “traditional” Customer Relationship Management. CRM has traditionally focused on aggregating large amounts of customer data into sales automation, marketing automation, or customer service silos. ConcourseSuite adds significant additional capabilities that help address the needs of today's businesses who must operate in an always on, always wired world. The product is a complete front office solution that includes standard CRM capabilities, as well as web content management, enterprise content management, and team collaboration.. We wanted the new name of the company to reflect this expanded vision.
Concursive is a name we created and is derived from the word “concursion,” which means “running together of people, things, and ideas”. The Latin root “con carre” gives rise to other words such as “concourse,” “concurrent” and “concur.” All concepts and ideas we believe fit with the direction of the company - specifically the word concourse - a place where people meet and come together.
The new application, Concourse Suite 5.0, (formerly Centric CRM), integrates CRM, website creation, content management and Enterprise 2.0 technologies. This tool provides an open forum for collaboration, debate, and productivity; a place where connections are made.
This blog aims to be a destination for similar connections: here we can collaborate and debate CRM, Open Source, and anything about bringing companies closer to their customers through technology.
Check back here for more updates and go visit our new website at www.concursive.com
For some time now, our company vision has been evolving to reflect a shift beyond the boundaries of “traditional” Customer Relationship Management. CRM has traditionally focused on aggregating large amounts of customer data into sales automation, marketing automation, or customer service silos. ConcourseSuite adds significant additional capabilities that help address the needs of today's businesses who must operate in an always on, always wired world. The product is a complete front office solution that includes standard CRM capabilities, as well as web content management, enterprise content management, and team collaboration.. We wanted the new name of the company to reflect this expanded vision.
Concursive is a name we created and is derived from the word “concursion,” which means “running together of people, things, and ideas”. The Latin root “con carre” gives rise to other words such as “concourse,” “concurrent” and “concur.” All concepts and ideas we believe fit with the direction of the company - specifically the word concourse - a place where people meet and come together.
The new application, Concourse Suite 5.0, (formerly Centric CRM), integrates CRM, website creation, content management and Enterprise 2.0 technologies. This tool provides an open forum for collaboration, debate, and productivity; a place where connections are made.
This blog aims to be a destination for similar connections: here we can collaborate and debate CRM, Open Source, and anything about bringing companies closer to their customers through technology.
Check back here for more updates and go visit our new website at www.concursive.com
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Getting and Growing Customers during the Holiday Shopping Frenzy
When it came to holiday shopping this year I had only two questions: “is it possible to avoid real stores and do it all online this year?” and “where the heck can I find a Nintendo Wii?”. As promos for “Black Friday” begin showing up as early as October and an abundance of stories emerge in the papers highlighting the joys of holiday shopping - excruciating lines and fights with fellow shoppers over merchandise, it is clear to many that the holiday shopping experience can be a burden.
CRM Buyer recently ran an article “Tips for Surviving the Holiday Shopping Experience” outlining what consumers are looking for to get the most out of a shopping experience. These tips aim to help both consumers and the companies out there - looking for ways to improve time spent in stores.
This article is predicated on the notion that we need help to survive out there in the consumer frenzy. And that’s just it: consumers are now expecting a negative experience. While consumers see this time as a nightmare, I see holiday shopping as a chance for retailers to get and grow their customer base.
The holidays present an opportunity for companies to impress their customers; show them they are different, friendly, helpful, and that they standout from the pack. Surprise your consumers who are expecting to be overwhelmed this holiday season by offering them exceptional customer service and they will be your customers for life.
Making a positive impression on your consumers this holiday season will help build brand loyalty, gain your company a few customer champions, and turn a little extra effort now into better relationships in 2008.
CRM Buyer recently ran an article “Tips for Surviving the Holiday Shopping Experience” outlining what consumers are looking for to get the most out of a shopping experience. These tips aim to help both consumers and the companies out there - looking for ways to improve time spent in stores.
This article is predicated on the notion that we need help to survive out there in the consumer frenzy. And that’s just it: consumers are now expecting a negative experience. While consumers see this time as a nightmare, I see holiday shopping as a chance for retailers to get and grow their customer base.
The holidays present an opportunity for companies to impress their customers; show them they are different, friendly, helpful, and that they standout from the pack. Surprise your consumers who are expecting to be overwhelmed this holiday season by offering them exceptional customer service and they will be your customers for life.
Making a positive impression on your consumers this holiday season will help build brand loyalty, gain your company a few customer champions, and turn a little extra effort now into better relationships in 2008.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
