Innoveer acquires transformative Italian software firm which promises to provide state-of-the-art access to social media from legacy platforms, including AS/400, Apple II, and Siebel.

Many businesses have been asking us whether they shouldn’t just move their contact center wholesale to the cloud. Here’s our response.

Calling all IT professionals: Do you want to battle a legacy CRM system, or is it time to migrate to the cloud? Beyond the technology fun-factor, don’t forget faster business innovation, as well as the career upsides.

Thousands of customers adopted Siebel’s CRM system over the past decade. Now, it’s time for them to migrate to cloud-based CRM.

Ignoring new capabilities, recreating the Siebel interface, and ditching pre-built dashboards: Avoid the top mistakes businesses make when switching from Siebel to cloud-based CRM.

Pick CRM software with a large market share, backed by aggressive innovation and a thriving ecosystem of third-party consultants, enabling vendors, plus support and maintenance options.

Here’s what 2011 promises: more Salesforce.com versus Oracle, further “platform shift” wars, the rise and rise of social CRM (sometimes with a business upside), the impending debut of Oracle Fusion CRM, and an iPad in every stocking.

With a good master data management program, your organization can reduce its spending on non-value-producing activities, and instead focus on more strategic, high-value pursuits that generate additional customer satisfaction and revenue.

Many sales VPs, as they move into 2010, are considering whether they should move away from using ACT, Saleslogix or similar software and embrace Salesforce.com or Oracle CRM On Demand. But which one is best?

Every business book says, “Never cut marketing during a recession.” But my rough estimate is that today, the majority of Fortune 500 companies have cut their marketing budgets. This puts the chief marketing officer (CMO) in a curious position. Of course, CMOs want to be able to turn to the CEO and say, “We need to spend more on this campaign, because it’s got a great return.” I guarantee that if you show your CEO how you’re converting leads to deals, it’s a no-brainer: you’ll get the funding. Here’s how any CMO can get the marketing campaign information they require.