Customer Relationships from the Outside In

I can remember when customer relationship management (CRM) was the shiniest new toy in the IT bag of tricks. I was working with Tom Siebel and some of the smartest executives in the industry and we felt like we were ahead of the curve.

Back then, contact management systems were the lifeblood of every business manager. We’d live or die by these vital records. And then, at Siebel Systems, we changed the game. We came to market with the right software solution at precisely the time in which enterprises craved these services. We had seen the trend coming and were able to move quickly and comprehensively to claim the lion’s share of the market opportunity.

But where had this trend come from and how did we know it was going to reshape the landscape of enterprise technology.

In my first article for Forbes.com, I talk about some of the thinking behind the work I am leading with SAP’s Premier Customer Network. You can read the full article here.

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