Presence and instant messaging (IM) are becoming critical enterprise business productivity tools in a number of horizontal and vertical applications. CRM is one of the areas where companies have made initial investments in IM technology to gather critical data and make decisions in real-time, as it provides immediate customer connectivity, with improved efficiency.

How Are Companies Addressing the Real-Time Enterprise Imperative?

As companies deploy IM tools for CRM applications they are increasingly thinking about the overall enterprise context. An effective IM solution will deliver value in the CRM arena, with direct customer interaction and integration into CRM applications, as well as linking back into the rest of the enterprise. Deploying the right set of solutions for presence and instant messaging will mean that companies do not have disconnected silos of functionality and connectivity, and are able to maximize the benefit of these communications capabilities.

Platform Integration Through Web Services

A key requirement in addressing the real-time imperative is to ensure all the business applications that rely on presence and IM can leverage the same underlying data systems through Web services as a platform integration medium. Enterprise applications are increasingly delivering Web clients and support data-level integration through XML-based data exchange, but there is still work to be done to achieve the promised integration between disparate enterprise data islands. Though there are examples of exposing discrete functionality via application programming interface strategies, it is still difficult to deliver object interfaces that are truly exportable and transparently embeddable in an external customer application. Splitting these major, integrated application suites into more manageable pieces will be substantial work that involves isolating UIs and untangling data and process models. Evolution of several initiatives including GXA and WS-I to make Web services more reliable and robust are critical steps in making this a reality.

Mobility

Adapting UI on devices with different form factors will be an ongoing effort on the part of the vendors. According to an IDC 2003 report, “business users named wireless IM as the application they are most interested in adopting, and the number of SMS subscribers doubled to more than 21 million in 2002.” IDC also projects that wireless-originated IM messages will grow to 44 billion in 2007.

As devices evolve to support finer graphics and provide rich user experiences like offline sync, real-time messaging and alerts, WiFi support etc, vendors will continue to develop device specific solutions like offline synchronization for sales force automation, tablet PC based order entry forms etc. Newer trends like security in real-time collaboration as mandated in several vertical segments like financial services and HIPPA requirements for health care are driving application architecture. As a result of SEC regulations mandating the archival of electronic communications such as email and instant messages, greater than 90 percent of the largest financial firms based in the United States have written IM policies.

Collaboration/Shared Workspaces

Finally, in a real-time enterprise, users of ERP/CRM software need to bring other users in different organizations together, sharing information across organizational boundaries in a secure and efficient manner. Although many ERP vendors have this functionality, there is a push towards more complete solutions which works “out of the box” and provides a low, ongoing total cost of ownership (TCO). While integration of such solutions is also a critical issue, using Web-services technologies to achieve this integration is also shaping up to be a key emerging trend here.

Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003 (LiveComm Server) meets key enterprise real-time requirements. It provides an extensible platform that delivers presence and instant messaging, connecting people, information, and business processes within a familiar, integrated, user experience - enabling better decisions faster. Specifically, LiveComm Server enables people to make better decisions faster by integrating presence and communications capabilities directly into their applications and processes, for example Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server, and the core Microsoft Office suite.

Designed for the Enterprise

LiveComm Server delivers enterprise-grade manageability and security. Integrating existing directory and infrastructure, and using a familiar client, making it easy to deploy and maintain.

Integrated Platform for all Real-Time Communications Needs

LiveComm Server provides a standards-based platform for creating presence, IM, audio, video and data collaboration, conferencing, and telephony solutions, and also allows partners to integrate presence and real-time capabilities into their existing applications. With APIs on both client and server side it allows partners to build solutions on top of the server, and also to add or embed instant communications capabilities into asynchronous applications.

Standards-Based Solutions

Adopting the right set of communications protocols is critical for technology providers, customers and partners. Microsoft has clearly stated its support for SIP/SIMPLE in instant messaging and presence. SIP and SIMPLE are the right protocols for real-time communications, in particular SIP provides a bridge from instant messaging signaling to richer multimodal signaling, is network and device agnostic, and acts as an integration protocol.

One scenario where IM inside the organization can impact CRM directly is in distributed branch networks. If, for example, a customer is in a bank branch, an agent can “reach back” into the organization and find the right expert to instantly deal with questions, in front of the customer, rather than having to wait to deliver critical information and potentially lose the sale. The key enabling technology here is a unified presence capability across the enterprise having a single solution which allows companies to add presence and IM to everyday applications as well as CRM or ERP systems.

Reaching out to customers is a key element of a CRM solution, MSN Messenger Connect for Enterprises enables this key scenario.

MSN Connect extends enterprise instant messaging to over 100 million MSN users worldwide. It also enables businesses to connect instant messaging to Live Communications Server. With MSN Connect, companies can share time-sensitive information with their external contacts and process trans­actions in real time, while monitoring customer communications and maintaining control of their corporate identity.

Business Benefits

Messenger Connect is an enterprise subscription service from Microsoft that is enabled through a third party gateway and integrated with LiveComm Server, MSN Connect can offer your company several benefits.

• Instant Messaging Identity Management: MSN Connect helps you manage the use of your public domain, or namespace, making it difficult for third parties to pose as representatives of your company and protect intellectual property such as contact lists.
• Logging and Auditing of IM Communications: MSN Connect enables companies to log and audit their IM communications.
• Full Service and Support So You Can Have Peace of Mind: MSN Connect offers licensed connectivity to the MSN Messenger Service. Backed by support from Microsoft and its independent software vendors, MSN Connect customers benefit from a level of support not available in other individual solutions.
• Extended Reach to More than 100 Million Users of MSN Messenger: MSN Connect offers companies the ability to log and audit IM communications with more than 100 million unique MSN Messenger users.

LiveComm Server’s first major deployment was with Reuters, as the technology basis for Reuters Messaging. One of the key drivers for the success of Reuters Messaging has been the demand for a secure, logged instant messaging solution for Reuter’s customers - the world’s leading financial services institutions.

Unlike most instant messaging solutions, Reuters Messaging is more than a match for the rigorous security and confidentiality demands of the finance industry. Secure 128-bit SSL encryption guards your proprietary knowledge and market insights in compliance with the EU data privacy laws. The service is firewall compliant and keeps viruses, spam and canvassers out. And with the optional message logging facility you can track your interactions in a highly secure audit trail, to meet FSA industry requirements.

Conclusion

Instant messaging, with presence, is already in use across enterprises and can play a key role in enhancing existing CRM applications, as well as building exciting new applications. Microsoft is bringing to market the capabilities customers are looking for to enable them to regard IM as a true enterprise application, and bring real productivity benefits. With the right standards, the right partners, and a focus on delivering integrated innovation, we are excited to be delivering a critical set of communications tools to this vibrant and growing market.