Salesforce and Telephony Integration

Salesforce.com announced the purchase of Instranet, a maker of call-center technology. Customers who have begun projects to integrate their PBX systems into Salesforce should take heed. Even though they will promise to maintain high quality integration with call-center systems from Cisco, Avaya, et al, it's clear that their priority will shift towards their in-house solutions.

Technology decision makers should also remain diligent in vetting call-center technology, regardless of its integration with a CRM. Tying the systems together is a great benefit. However, it is a rare customer who will directly interact with your CRM. But nearly every customer will have a direct and significant experience with your call-center technology. Be sure to understand what the true extent of the integration benefit is before launching into the project. It's a time-saver, and .... well, that's about it. Time is a precious commodity, to be sure, but get an accurate picture of how much time will really be saved as a result of the investment.

View the press release from CRM Daily: Salesforce acquires Instranet