PeopleSoft Inc. (Nasdaq:PSFT) today launched PeopleSoft 8 CRM, a suite of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications for eBusiness that combines a pure internet architecture with CRM Analytics.
By integrating PeopleSoft’s CRM and Supply Chain applications, PeopleSoft 8 CRM has been designed to effectively deliver the first company-wide eBusiness solution built on a single architecture.
PeopleSoft 8 CRM is slated to include seamless CRM integration across the enterprise, a new architecture which will include a Customer Portal, a complete Customer Interaction Center, mobile applications, integrated CRM Analytics and CRM integration to third-party vendors built on PeopleSoft’s Open Integration Framework. New products and enhancements are slated for phased delivery beginning December 2000.
PeopleSoft Customer Portal is a personalized interface that will integrate PeopleSoft’s CRM, Supply Chain Management and Financials applications, giving customers a single view of sales, support and billing transactions. CRM Analytics will support decision-making by providing organizations with data on customer profitability, customer behavior and business operations. PeopleSoft eSales for WAP is an application that will allow mobile sales professionals to use their digital cell phones to perform real-time fundamental sales automation tasks including calendar, activity and contact management.
PeopleSoft 8 CRM will be tightly integrated with other PeopleSoft 8 applications like Supply Chain Management, Financials and HRMS enabling business processes such as Quote to Order Status, Customer Updates and Product Availability. Seamless integration between PeopleSoft 8 CRM and other PeopleSoft 8 applications is delivered through a robust, scalable integration approach with no reliance on third-party middleware.
This platform will offer application developers and customers a pure internet architecture for CRM application development. Using the PeopleSoft 8 CRM internet architecture, developers can quickly build, deploy and support internet applications with the look and feel of easy-to-use web sites.
The Customer Interaction Center, slated for availability in Q1 2001, is expected to improve the effectiveness of the call center by allowing organizations to manage customer interactions across the functions of telemarketing, telesales, support and service. New functions will include branch-script based telemarketing and order configuration to assist agents with accurate quoting, order acceptance and automated workflow to accelerate order processing. In addition, users will be able to define and track attributes, and capture all interaction history by customer.
Also planned for Q1 is the PeopleSoft Open Integration Framework, an open standards-based program that will support the transfer of information between applications. Based on open standards such as XML and Java, the Open Integration Framework is being designed to deliver a platform to link data and business processes across the extended enterprise. Included will be pre-built interconnections between PeopleSoft CRM applications and other PeopleSoft 8 applications, such as Supply Chain Management. Based on current plans, the framework will also provide the basis for integrating PeopleSoft CRM applications with other vendors’ enterprise applications, and is planned to include connectors to selected third-party application providers in the first half of next year.
PeopleSoft will ship PeopleSoft 8 CRM Enterprise in Q2 2001. This will be a complete CRM solution accessible from any browser, with no code required on the client. “PeopleSoft will be first to deliver an end-to-end CRM solution for eBusiness,” said Craig Conway, PeopleSoft president and CEO. “PeopleSoft 8 CRM is the first eBusiness platform to fully integrate front- and back-office departments and internal processes with customers
, employees and suppliers.”
