Reader Feedback on Web-Based
Contact Managers -- Part One

"Tell Me What You Want to Hear." ... I received dozens of responses to my October 6 Dispatch in which I asked for feedback on web-based contact managers. The message: each system seems to have its proponents. There's no "one size fits all." Here's a sample of interesting e-mails.

Rick Peltz, Director of Information Services at Marcus & Millichap, is "currently looking at GoldMine ... [which] has several products, including a standalone client-based version utilizing either a local database or an enterprise SQL Server database. They also offer a web-based solution as well. ... I will discuss this plan and migration at our CIO panel at PikeNet Expo in Manhattan." Hey, that's what he wrote.

Paul Anderson at CityFeet in Los Angeles: "We’ve been using Salesforce.com in the LA office of CityFeet.com with great success. It has taken our productivity and put it on steroids because of its ease of use. It's a fully web-based platform ... Its integration with Microsoft Outlook, Palm, and Act (all of which allows one to continue to work away from an Internet connection). And its customizable fields and formats allow us to make the program specific for our business and allow us to run queries and generate reports specific to our goals. ... Because we take such a personal approach in maintaining our database of listings, we talk to a myriad of real estate pros in each of our cities on a continuous basis. Our data quality and our relationships would not be what they are without Salesforce.com."

Sharon Disque at CSX with the Industrial Development Group: "... I remain an ACT! devotee and user -- better reports, faster searches, easier data entry, fewer clicks and keystrokes overall. I still foresee a day when our diverse business development force is linked with an Internet-based application, but that day sinks further into the future. And a few words of caution: Don't try to integrate too many functions, whether contact information, customer accounts, prospect inquiries, real estate inventories, sales activities, etc. Someone has to enter that data, and you don't want your sales and marketing pros spending hours 'feeding the beast.'"

Norb Callahan at Leggat McCall Properties in Boston: "As you may recall, Leggat McCall Properties is a Lotus Notes/Domino shop. As with all Domino shops, we enjoy the flexibility of using the Notes client or accessing applications via a browser. We use ACT! for Lotus Notes (AFN) for contact management and are planning to upgrade to G2X's AFN version 3 next year which can be used by a web browser..." ... TO BE CONTINUED IN FRIDAY'S DISPATCH.

PikeNet Advertising... If you'd like to sponsor a Dispatch at PikeNet, send e-mail to me. I've got about a dozen issues left between now and the end of the year. For complete details, go to PikeNet / Advertising Info (left-side of home page) / Dispatch Sponsorship. Thank you!

--Peter Pike