CRM Solutions Comparison and Selection Presentation. 

Chapter 9: Functional Area and Compliance Systems

Contributor:   Kim Wandersee

Transactional Processing Systems

The capability for reaching customers, clients, and business partners all over the world has resulted in tremendous growth in network-based electronic business, often called B2B as contrasted with business to consumer (B2C). The resulting transactions clearly must be captured, stored, used to generate reports, and accessed to respond to subsequent individual inquiries or statistical inquiries.

Further, they need to be secure. For example, online credit card payment over the Internet without encryption is vulnerable to data disclosure threats. However, Transport Layer Security (TLS) and its less secure predecessor, Secure Socket Layer (SSL), are two widely used cryptographic transaction protocols that make e-commerce quite secure.

Web-based transactions rely on the security of the data exchange. The customer needs to be assured that he or she is dealing with the intended vendor. The vendor normally trusts the customer, without requiring authentication of his or her identity, although it is possible to authenticate the customer's identity if necessary. The customer cannot risk disclosure of user identification, passwords for site access, and credit card information. As will be covered in a later session, a combination of public key and symmetric key cryptography is used to accomplish these requirements.

Marketing Systems

Enterprise marketing management tools are available to support areas such as interactive marketing with customers, targeted marketing, sales force automation, marketing resource management, customer data mining, e-marketing, and event management. According to Gartner, the current trends include a focus on digital marketing, marketing performance management, mobile marketing, loyalty, lead management, collaborative or distributed campaign management, industry-specific solutions and templates, software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms for delivery, and improved partner strategies and management.

Manufacturing Systems

Manufacturing operations management (MOM) is an approach for monitoring an end-to-end manufacturing process with the typical goal of increasing efficiency. This process includes managing the creation, development, production, and distribution of products and services. Software in this area supports computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, production management, performance analysis, quality and compliance, and the human machine interface (HMI).

Human Resource Systems

The current term for these applications is “Human Capital Management” systems, and traditionally they have been called “Human Resource Information Systems.” These systems support travel expense management, employee self-service, e-recruitment, performance appraisal and assessment, benefits administration, and employee training tracking systems. Current trends indicate a shift toward training, compensation decisions, talent management applications for workforce planning and management needs, and the use of social networks for recruitment purposes.

Accounting and Financial Management Systems

Financial governance applications are gaining interest among Chief Financial Officers as a means of improving financial processes and control, particularly in the end stages when the financial statements are generated for regulators. They help the finance function improve the timeliness and quality of financial management processes and reporting, facilitate audits, extend ERP transactional controls, and improve financial risk management. (Gartner)