CRM case 1: Anytime, Anywhere

Good running of customer relationship management (顧客關係管理) give an insight for firms to understand the market trend so that firms can adapt the changing environment and anticipate the future needs. Here is an article about how Microsoft makes use of customer relationship management (顧客關係管理) for their research and development of Windows Mobile software.

Anytime, Anywhere
By Tim Bajarin

About 10 years ago, I had an interesting discussion with Bill Gates while on a visit to Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond. At the time, he was touting some new mobile software that Microsoft was about to release, and reiterating that this was part of his vision for “information at your fingertips, anytime and anywhere you happen to be.”
In fact, if you’ve been following Microsoft for any length of time, you already know that this mobile mantra has been one of the company’s major drivers. This is why it has made such an investment in Windows Mobile software, and why today the idea of delivering a more robust mobile operating system for laptops, tablets, and smartphones has become part of the company’s DNA.
As of last year, laptops outsold desktops; by decade’s end, some analysts believe that laptops will account for 65% of all computers sold. Today, smartphones represent only about 7% of the 1.1 billion cell phones sold annually, but by 2010, analysts believe they’ll account for up to 22%
The fact is that we’re becoming, more and more, a mobile society. Businesses and consumers want their information, email, applications-even entertainment-on demand, no matter where they happen to be.
That trend is clearly in the sight of all of the personal computer, consumer electronics, and mobile handset makers, as they and the telephony carriers rush to deliver high-speed wireless networks and mobile devices of all kinds, capable of delivering business in an instant.
New third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation (4G) wireless network will soon deliver wireless connection with speeds well over 4MBPS. In the future, WiMax networks will become the wireless workhorse, delivering connections up to 70 MBPS. And WiFi hotspots are popping up everywhere, making it easier to get connected even if you don’t have a cellular modem in your laptop.
As more and more applications get delivered via the internet cloud, the need for high-speed, smart, wireless devices will only increase. It’s time we prepared businesses and consumers alike for a world where business applications, information and even consumer-driven entertainment are delivered - as Bill Gates suggested a decade ago - “anytime and anywhere you happen to be.”

Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, is a leading authority within the Customer Relationship Management industry. He will also be a presenter at the destination CRM 2008 conference, taking place August 18-21 in New York.