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Small Business Server Support Forum
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Doug Templeton 
London, United Kingdom
Member since
4/26/2005
Platinum Membership
Posts: 72
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| 4/04/2007 12:42 PM |
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Hello,
The organisation I work for are in the market for a flexible contact management database solution, preferably one that will tie in well with ms office, provide tracking of our actions, and the actions of our contacts.
We are a charity and therefore we would like to be able to record and report on fundraising data, and also tie in with sales from our shop (quckbooks accounting software)
We have been looking at goldmine by frontrange as a solution as our Director of finance has used that successfully in the past, but I'd like to find out what else is available and how well it compares to goldmine. Mainly because I don't like goldmine's interface much and I fear that using it may be a steep learming curve for some of our users.
So if you have experience of MS CRM, or other CRM sorfware I'd be happy to hear about it.
Thanks
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Doug. |
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Leo du Preez
South Africa
Member since
4/3/2007
Registered Users
Posts: 186
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| 4/04/2007 01:12 PM |
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MS CRM way to go
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Doug Templeton
London, United Kingdom
Member since
4/26/2005
Platinum Membership
Posts: 72
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| 4/04/2007 01:50 PM |
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| Any particular reasons why? |
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Doug. |
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Leo du Preez
South Africa
Member since
4/3/2007
Registered Users
Posts: 186
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| 4/04/2007 01:56 PM |
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Hi Doug
We have supported several CRM solutions and MS is the way to go, if you are running MS products it intergrates into other MS Products Seamingly, but lets get it from the horses mouth
The IT architecture at Endsleigh Insurance, which was based on Lotus Notes, was stifling the company’s ability to take on new prospects. Employees were frustrated by the time-consuming nature of the system, and the reliance on paper-based processes was impacting security. Working with Microsoft® Gold Partner Ciber, Endsleigh Insurance implemented Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM as part of an overall initiative to standardise on Microsoft technology. Having installed the solution, the group then upgraded to Microsoft CRM 3.0 to give each team access to information relevant to their division, without having to search through an entire database. The upgrade also lets the teams benefit from the seamless integration of Microsoft CRM and Microsoft SQL Server™„Reporting Services, improving the efficiency of staff and letting them take on board a wave of new prospects.
Situation
Endsleigh Insurance is a United Kingdom-based independent intermediary specialising in the provision of insurance and financial products for career people. Since its inception in 1965, the company has expanded rapidly, in the process extending its services to, among others, the National Association of Schoolmasters, the Union of Women Teachers, and the Association of University Teachers, as well as its initial target audience of graduates and professionals.
The operations of Endsleigh Insurance can be divided into two distinct areas: the business development area and the commercial area. Both divisions had traditionally relied on a combination of paper-based documentation and a Lotus Notes based system to keep track of prospects and manage administration and communication. Across the company, 500 employees in head office and administration were using the Lotus Notes solution. A further 500 employees were using the system in the field, relying on Lotus Notes to interact with their central locations.
However, faced with an ever increasing sales force and complex sales processes, Endsleigh Insurance was quick to identify that its existing system simply did not have the functionality or scalability to grow with the company’s needs.
Paul Nicholas, Business Project Manager, Endsleigh Insurance, says: “We found that the lack of openness and integration with other products was an issue with Lotus Notes. We also discovered Lotus Notes struggled to format mail received or sent to systems other than Lotus Notes. This caused large levels of frustration when dealing with external parties.”
In addition, the company’s data was being stored in various fragmented systems with no uniform method of identifying lead conversion rates. The company had to spend excessive time and costs setting up agents on various systems, the number of which also affected security across the group.
Consequently, the company experienced significant operational difficulties. The business team, for example, which is responsible for affiliated services, lacked a reliable communication tool with which to engage with its agents. With no effective lead or account management system in place, the sales team was unable to share, view, or manage account information. More ominously, the limited scope of the existing system meant that the commercial division had hit a brick wall in terms of taking on new prospects; it simply couldn’t manage any more clients. Clearly, a new solution was urgently required.
Solution
Endsleigh Insurance had an existing relationship with Microsoft® Gold Partner Ciber, which had supported the implementation of Microsoft Windows® SharePoint® Services with Active Directory® directory services. Consequently, Ciber, in conjunction with Endsleigh Insurance, reviewed a number of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions before settling on Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM.
Microsoft CRM was chosen primarily for its unique functionality and scalability, which the company struggled to find elsewhere at a comparable price. Rebecca Smith, Business Project Manager, Endsleigh Insurance, says: “We required a solution that would take our opportunities, and let us convert them from leads to prospects and, finally, into clients. Microsoft CRM lets us do so easily. We looked at other products for both divisions but it was going to be very expensive to get the functionality we required. The Microsoft solution gave us exactly what we wanted at a reasonable cost.”
Endsleigh Insurance was then able to further exploit the benefits of Microsoft CRM by upgrading to the latest version, Microsoft CRM 3.0 a move that has let the company’s™ two divisions view data specific to their own needs. Prior to upgrading, both divisions had to search through a consolidated database to find information. This was a time-consuming task that involved team members searching through a substantial body of irrelevant information to find the data they required. With Microsoft CRM 3.0, users in each division are able to access the data they need quickly and accurately. This saves employees significant time throughout the day and contributes to a more efficient working process.
In addition to the rich functionality of Microsoft CRM 3.0, Endsleigh Insurance required a solution that would integrate quickly and seamlessly with its existing Microsoft solutions. “We are currently in the process of standardising on Microsoft technology, and therefore we really needed a CRM solution that would fit well with that solution stack,” says Smith.
In particular, the seamless compatibility of Microsoft CRM and Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000 Reporting Services helps the group to easily and quickly compile detailed commission reports for its many agents.
Furthermore, more than 1,000 employees have now migrated from Lotus Notes to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. They no longer have to worry that mail sent or received from different systems will not be formatted correctly.
As part of the conversion, Endsleigh Insurance has recently installed Microsoft Dynamics™ GP for Financial Management as its finance solution. It was imperative that its new CRM solution integrated with this system. “Microsoft products provide the functionality we need, and just as importantly, are familiar and very easy to use,” says Smith. “That means we can install them quickly and can do away with expensive training sessions.”
Benefits
The upgrade to Microsoft CRM 3.0 gave employees direct access to information relevant to their division. Employee efficiency has increased and the company is now in a position to increase its client base.
CRM Opens Door to Many New Prospects
To continue its success in the insurance field, Endsleigh Insurance must ensure continued growth and evolution. The scalability of Microsoft CRM, coupled with its unique ability to seamlessly integrate with the Endsleigh Insurance Microsoft stack, means that the group can continue adding prospects to its list of opportunities, safe in the knowledge that its infrastructure can handle increasing volumes.
Smith says: “The ability to take on new prospects is critical to our continued success. With the new CRM solution in place we will be extremely well placed to translate our many opportunities into 1,000 actual clients.”
Automated Solution Improves Security
Owing to the vast amount of paper-based material required under the old system, Endsleigh Insurance was at particular risk should a fire or some similar disaster strike its operations. However, now that all its data has been digitised, not only is it easier and faster to access, but the group has been able to devise a clear business continuity plan to minimise any potential impact.
“From a business continuity and security point of view, the new solution is extremely beneficial,” says Smith. “We are now able to hold backup files offsite so, in the event of a fire, for example, we could be up and running very quickly and its unlikely our users would even know a problem had occurred.”
New Architecture Supports Regulatory Compliance
Endsleigh Insurance, like many U.K. financial institutions, is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). One of the FSA’s principal demands is that organisations pay strict attention to internal security issues and demonstrate that their disaster-recovery processes are ample for any foreseeable situation. The new solution, coupled with other Microsoft products, helps Endsleigh Insurance meet the tough criteria laid out by the FSA, in particular by providing quick and simple business backup functionality.
Exchange Server Eliminates Formatting Concerns
For a company that deals with so many outside sources, it is critical that its e-mail system can handle multiple formats easily. While the previous system struggled to cope with sending mail to different systems, Exchange Server 2003 has no such issues, meaning staff can rely on the system to communicate with prospects and not have to worry that their messages are not being received.
Familiarity with Software Minimises Training
Because the employees of Endsleigh Insurance were already familiar with the look and feel of Microsoft products, it took next to no time for them to become proficient with Microsoft CRM. Training was limited to a single day for each team, which, according to Smith, was more than adequate for staff to gain a good working knowledge of the solution. “We are currently in the process of standardising on Microsoft technology, and thus the seamless integration of Microsoft products is a critical factor in our future growth strategy,” says Smith. “The similar look and feel of Microsoft products means that not only is integration simple, but fast adoption is also guaranteed. Together with SQL Server 2000, Microsoft Dynamics GP for Financial Management, and Active Directory among others, Microsoft CRM will improve group-wide efficiency and help our employees convert prospects into valuable clients.”
Solution Offers Separate Views of Data
Having upgraded to Microsoft CRM, the group’s various teams can now see two unique views of the same information. This means that each team has timely access to the information they require, rather than having to search through data not directly relevant to them.
More at
http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/crm/using/sales/localdatagroup.mspx |
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