Compuware Integrates Professional Services Automation With Salesforce CRM

Detroit-based Compuware Corp. (Nasdaq: CPWR), the technology performance company, announced a new integration between its professional services automation software, Changepoint, and Salesforce CRM.

This integration ties together PSA and CRM business processes, as well as account data, sales opportunity and contact information -- allowing companies to better market services as standalone offerings or as part of a whole product solution.

According to SPI Research's 2010 Service Performance Benchmark Study, after financials, CRM is the second-most popular professional services application and used by 86 percent of respondents.

"Yet despite CRM's popularity, there continues to be room for improvement in the integration between PSA and CRM, particularly with organizations experiencing services growth," said R. David Hofferberth, managing director with Service Performance Insight. "Surprisingly, only 27 percent of PS respondents have an integrated solution, and we strongly recommend that they more fully leverage CRM and identify an integrated PSA/CRM solution as a clear maturity improvement area."

The integration with Salesforce CRM further extends Changepoint's ability to serve the entire customer lifecycle -- from marketing, to sales, to service delivery -- by helping services executives seeking to better understand services requirements in the sales pipeline and better manage resource supply and demand. 

"We rely heavily on Changepoint for our services business and Salesforce CRM for our sales process and opportunity pipeline," said David J. Comiciotto, vice president of operational excellence at  MEDecision, Inc. "This integration enables us to engage the right resources to ensure successful communication of contracts and services earlier into sales opportunities and better plan our service engagements well in advance, ensuring we have appropriate commitments in place."

Benefits of the integration include:

* End-to-end management of customer relationships - seamless connection of business processes, from the first marketing conversation through to service delivery;
* Better visibility - services executives can better understand services requirements within the sales pipeline and manage resource supply and demand;
* Improved data integrity - data is entered or updated just once and shared between the two applications, reducing redundancy and improving data reliability and information flow;
* Greater consistency - sales activities are populated into PSA, benefiting all downstream services activity; and
* Increased ROI - the combined power of PSA and CRM allows businesses to build long-term customer relationships, reach higher levels of customer satisfaction and better integrate marketing, sales and partner functions to achieve greater brand awareness.

"Changepoint's integration with Salesforce CRM is a powerful tool for technology companies, seeking to drive additional value from existing product investments," said Lori Ellsworth, Vice President, Compuware Changepoint. "This new integration allows Changepoint users to better and more seamlessly manage their critical customer relationships, beginning with the first marketing conversation through to service delivery and support."

Compuware Changepoint allows technology companies to maximize professional services profitability while maintaining a focus on effective product decisions and delivery.

More at www.compuware.com.