• SAP buys e-commerce vendor Hybris in strike back at Oracle, Salesforce.com

  SAP is buying privately held Hybris in a bid to build out an e-commerce software offering that connects with customers across multiple "channels, devices and touch points."

• Zoho launches Pulse business social-network app

  Zoho is getting into the business social-networking game with a new product called Pulse, which also ties back to many of its other applications.

• IBM launches Watson customer service smart bot

  Yoking cognitive computing with customer service, IBM has launched a system that can reference large amounts of unstructured data to help companies better field customer phone calls.

• Salesforce Summer '13 release to focus on Chatter, customer ideas

  Salesforce.com's upcoming Summer '13 release of its cloud-based CRM (customer relationship management) software will feature a slew of enhancements to the Chatter social collaboration tool as well as many improvements that are the result of customer suggestions, according to a set of official release notes.

• Gartner: Worldwide CRM revenue grew 12.5 per cent in 2012

  Global CRM (customer relationship management) revenue grew 12.5 percent last year to US$18 billion, a rate three times that of all enterprise software segments on average, as companies look to acquire more business and serve existing customers better, according to a new Gartner report.

• Salesforce.com aims for next $1 billion business with ExactTarget buy

  Salesforce.com's pending US$2.5 billion purchase of marketing software vendor ExactTarget will help it develop a new $1 billion annual revenue stream and set the company on a clear strategic course for the foreseeable future, according to Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff.

• Marketo IPO may spark suitors, including Salesforce.com

  Cloud-based marketing automation vendor Marketo's plans to raise up to $75 million in an initial public offering, which were revealed this week, could influence larger companies to acquire the company, including Salesforce.com and SAP.

• Why Oracle bought Eloqua, and what it means for the market

  Oracle surprised many tech industry observers by announcing Thursday it would pay US$871 million for marketing automation software vendor Eloqua. The move seemed a bit unlikely given the amount of sales and marketing software Oracle already had.

Whitepapers about Customer Relationship Management

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  Business Processes and Customers - Difficult Domains to Integrate

  Despite spending many billions of dollars on Customer Relationship Management projects, poor customer service is still pervasive. Those projects that have succeeded have recognized the central role of a process-oriented approach. By understanding and supporting both the processes within the organization and those that exist between the fi rm and its customers, the enterprise can reduce costs, take agility to the next level, and at the same time, build truly effective relationships that customer’s value. (1) The net result is top line growth at the expense of competitors, all the while driving down costs. Read on.

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  Case Study: Crazy John’s - Fulfil their Speedy Expansion Plan