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I once played organized football -- not that I was any good at it, but I played it with relish. My favorite parts were anything that had to do with disrupting the opponent's carefully planned plays, which included covering kickoffs and punts as well as regular defense. This bit of information has almost nothing to do with this column except that it points out an early character trait (some would say flaw) that has perversely influenced my career...

After a long build-up, I think we're finally at the real beginning of a new era in computing. The previous (nearly) 10 years have laid an important foundation, by which I mean on-demand computing, but if you thought that was it, I think the next few years could blow you away ...

Zuora introduced itself to the world this week, and while it is not a typical CRM company, its position should have a big impact on CRM and all other markets that offer on-demand solutions. Founders Tien Tzuo, K.V. Rao and Cheng Zou, formerly of Salesforce.com and WebEx, chose the usually sedate billing market because they have a new idea that looks like it has legs...

She is not a software person, writesBeagle Research Managing Principal Denis Pombriant in his blog post Insights on Insights. That doesn't seem to matter "Swenson is from the telco space and is very smart. It is also important to note that she is not a software person, but she...

I sometimes forget about the fact that people are trying to do business and that their business is top of mind -- not CRM. That point was brought home to me last week when I was on-site with a client ...

I have been investigating the possibility that social networking is something that can be used inside an organization -- "intra-organizationally," as my bureaucratic friends might say. That should really be no surprise -- the entire employee base is a natural community, though in many companies the group is small enough that good old face-to-face communication works pretty well. There's at least one place, though, where community-oriented techniques not only work, but also can have a lot to do with profit and loss...

This is one of my favorite times of year because it's announcement season, the time when all sorts of vendors book briefings to tell me about what's new in their worlds. It has been a busy couple of weeks, and I expect the briefing deluge to continue for the rest of the quarter. ...

Salesforce's announcement that it would partner with Google to integrate and deliver Google Applications said more about the software industry today than it said about either company or even about the propensity of software makers to deliver Software as a Service ...

They may be still waiting for the first signs of the much advertised recession in the Bay Area. Everything I see here, especially this week, points to growth and all that goes with it. Multiple people have come up to me, phoned or e-mailed seeking introductions or support as they confess to having itchy feet or the promise of some capital to start a business. Some -- a few lucky ones -- also have some cash from their last initial public offering (IPO), and having tasted victory, they are eager to do it all again...

There is an interesting debate beginning to brew in the on-demand market. Although most people are still clearing their throats, sides have been chosen and trial balloons have been floated. It appears that a small group of big companies, including Oracle, SAP and Microsoft, are trying to slow Salesforce.com's momentum by going after the crown jewel. Another way to say it is that these companies are trying to hop on board a moving train...

Active is much better than passive in most things, not just CRM. In writing, I am constantly reminded to write in the active voice because active voice is terse, to the point and more intelligible ...

"Starbucks' new customer-community-let-us-hear-from-you idea shows how hard it is to do the social marketing thing and it also shows how corporations sometimes take good ideas and drain the life out of them and then present the morphed idea as the real thing,"writes Denis Pombriant, principal of Beagle Research...

Since launching the WizKids report four years ago, Denis Pombriant, principal at the firm, has rarely failed to impress with his lists of standouts. Before they became household names in the industry, he spotlighted Salesforce.com, RightNow andFive9, to name just a few examples...

Sometime between Groundhog Day and the Final Four each year, we try to publish a short report that showcases some of the brightest emerging companies in front-office computing. We call it the "WizKids Report," and we present the companies in the report with a small award. At times, companies who have felt they deserved the recognition of a WizKids award but who did not receive one have referred to it as "Passover."

Microsoft missed a prime opportunity to tell its Web 2.0 story even as it continues to refine its CRM product, Denis Pombriant, principal of Beagle Research, told CRM Buyer "Microsoft has a very serviceable CRM 1.0 product," Pombriant said. "However, in a world that is increas...

Microsoft Convergence is a very large show. Last week in Orlando, Fla., there were in excess of 9,500 people, most from outside of the United States, and by that measure alone it was a successful event. Convergence is one of Microsoft's chances to meet face to face with its partners and customers for the usual mix of training, new product announcements and the like, and I went hoping to learn more about the company's continuing effort to field a relevant CRM solution...

The emphasis on features and tools did a disservice to the application because it focused too much on its CRM 1.0 creds, Denis Pombriant, founder and principal of Beagle Research, told CRM Buyer. "This would have been a good opportunity to talk about CRM 2.0 and what Microsoft has planned for that."

You might be tooling down the information superhighway right now in your cool new hybrid SaaS-mobile (Software as a Service), wondering what that thing is in the rearview mirror that's beginning to gain on you ...

Oracle's message is that Web 2.0 is now part of the CRM family, Beagle Research founder Denis Pombriant told CRM Buyer. "You talk to [Oracle executive Anthony Lye] and you get a sense he is all over Web 2.0 and social networking and what it means for the CRM industry." To be s...

A community, aka "community of interest," is usually thought of as a large group of people with some common reason for associating. These days, that usually comes down to the user group, but in practice, a community can be any group that is passionate about a product or service and wants to improve it ...