Software AG Brings 1,000 Staff in 70 Countries under the Salesforce CRM Umbrella

Challenge

• Software AG is the largest independent provider of Business Infrastructure Software that helps more than 4,000 customers worldwide to manage data, enable a Service Oriented Architecture, and improve business processes.  The company needed a global CRM system that was easy to deploy and integrate with its core IT systems
• The company has global operations and 3,600 employees in 70 countries; however, different national offices used fragmented sales and CRM solutions.  As a result, it was not possible to get an overview of sales opportunities, quotations, or customer information
• The existing systems had no analysis or forecasting capabilities at the global level and lacked consistent operational policies and procedures
• Software AG was seeking a solution that would provide its Sales teams with an easy-to-use solution for managing its relationships and the ability for Management to measure pipeline

Solution

• Software AG deployed Salesforce CRM to up to 1,000 staff in 70 countries to act as its primary source of record for Sales, Marketing, Pre-Sales, Professional Services, and other lines of business
• The company chose Salesforce.com based on its rapid, easy deployment, update capabilities, easy customization and low maintenance costs
• In addition to creating the system they had envisioned, Software AG is following developments related to the Force.com cloud-computing platform to generate additional advantages outside the CRM area

Results

• The cloud-computing model is Software AG’s global standard for CRM, providing sales managers and sales professionals with comprehensive visibility—online and offline — to sales leads, opportunities, and accounts
• Consistent, easy to manage dashboard reporting is helping to provide more accurate forecasting—both by individual, account team, and product line
• The holistic, shared view of the sales situation is improving operational and management transparency
• By aligning Sales with Marketing, Software AG is able to segment customers, execute marketing campaigns based on real-time customer information, track conversion rates and demonstrate the return on investment from each marketing campaign 
• The web-based interface is proving popular and easy to use among staff across the 14 languages: to the extent that barriers to using Salesforce CRM have been effectively eradicated