Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

CDC Software, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CDC Corporation and a provider of CRM and other enterprise software and services, has announced that the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada has reported "record-breaking revenues and cost savings" attributed to CDC Software's Pivotal CRM.

 

"The annual operating savings are easily in the six figures," says David Arbuthnot, vice president of IT, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. "Six years ago, we raised $80,000 online; this year, we'll raise over $6 million."

 

The MS Society of Canada receives roughly 85 percent of its funding through donations and special events, but its "customers" extend well beyond the donor. The society also solicits corporations, foundations and government bodies for donations and event sponsorship.

 

With more than 120 offices and many different systems and processes to track customer information, ranging from spreadsheets to simple databases to more robust standalone fundraising systems, the society's data was disparate and fragmented, MS officials said. Much of the customer information gathered was not maintained from year-to-year.

 

Centralizing MS Society's customer data into a single system for its 350 users in multiple sectors, Pivotal CRM allowed the organization to achieve a 360-degree view of each customer, which streamlined operations and marketing efforts.

 

Society officials say the move has reduced operational costs by more than $200,000 and reduced tax receipting cycles by 50 percent.

 

Last month CDC Software announced general availability of Pivotal CRM On Demand and what company officials characterize as "the first related industry-specific application, Pivotal CRM On Demand for Institutional Asset Management."

 

Designed with a new Software as a Service architecture, Pivotal CRM On Demand can be hosted by CDC Software and accessed on-demand, via the Web browser by customers. The product can also be deployed on-premise and hosted internally by customers or used in a blended mode.

 

In addition to the flexibility of deployment options, enterprises also can provide user access to the system via their standard Web browser with a zero footprint client or use CDC Software's Smart Client Framework for a richer interface supporting a range of application extensions.

 

The Pivotal CRM On Demand platform addresses the customer relationship requirements of Institutional Asset Management firms, the Pivotalians say. The product provides the industry-specific capabilities already in use by customers such as The TCW Group with "the added benefits of increased flexibility and lower cost deployment options," company officials say.