Software AG Builds Global CRM Solution with Extensive Reporting and Forecasting Capabilities

"Acceptance among users is higher than average because all sales and marketing staff have a uniform overview of our customers at all times. Moreover, our managers now have much greater opportunities for more efficient management, and the sales pipeline is more transparent"

Erik Mittmeyer
Software Engineering Specialist


Challenge
  • Software AG, a leading provider of IT products and services that help more than 3,000 customers worldwide to modernize legacy systems and gain real-time access to strategic business information, needed a consolidated system of its own
  • With global operations and 2,700 employees in 60 countries, different national companies 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 and regional levels 
  • The company was seeking a solution that would provide a global, homogeneous system—deployed in various local languages—to serve as the single “source of truth”

Solution
  • As a leading IT provider, Software AG could have developed its own application; however, the company chose to not reinvent the wheel
  • In seeking a solution, having control of its data was a high priority; other criteria included rapid, easy implementation; update capabilities; worldwide access; easy customization; and no maintenance costs
  • Software AG deployed salesforce.com’s Enterprise Edition for some 550 employees around the world
  • To make the solution available to employees on the road, the company implemented Force.com Mobile
  • In addition to creating the system they had envisioned, Software AG is following developments related to the Force.com platform and the AppExchange, seeking to generate additional advantages outside the CRM area

Results
  • The implementation was completed within a matter of weeks
  • From the outset, ease of use and interfaces in the users’ native languages led to high user acceptance
  • The system can be tailored to the requirements of individual regions in a matter of days 
  • Thanks to Force.com Mobile, users can access the system at any time, from anywhere
  • All sales and marketing staff now benefit from a consistent, uniform view of the customer at all times
  • For managers, the system also provides complete pipeline transparency, as well as central forecasting and reporting capabilities
 
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