In todays tough competitive environment, customer service is more important than ever. If customers - whether consumers or other businesses are not satisfied with the levels of service they are receiving, they will vote with their feet. Providing accurate, up to date, timely information to your customers will help you to keep their loyalty. Integrating your back-office functions such as finance and distribution with your customer-facing CRM system will enable you to do just that, comments Ellington.
 
Ben Houghton, research & development director, Softline Enterprise says the company has developed generic integration frameworks that will increase the fit of the Sage products with the customers business processes. It is all about seamless management of a company. From financial reporting to stock control, an integrated system enables a customer to better, and more accurately, manage the business, says Houghton.

Softline Enterprise believes that integration with line-of-business applications dramatically increases productivity of users. To inquire on the transactions of a customer, a user should not need to switch and log into a second application. With real-time integration, users are able to view the latest information from either application. With this single point of entry, availability of integrated information, and ability to run business electronically, companies can lower their unit cost transactions and increase efficiency, stresses Houghton.

Houghton says that the need for integration extends across most vertical sectors, but admits that the biggest demand remains in the warehousing and manufacturing arena. He says that today there is a wide range of software available that addresses functions across general and industry-specific operations, but, as integration technologies allow these 'point' solutions to work together, customers are able to realise the benefits almost immediately. From talking to customers, we know that for many businesses this offers the best fit for their organisation, he concludes.