EDS has formed a strategic alliance with Dimension Data to provide the full spectrum of customer interaction management products and services, at a lower entry cost than has ever been offered.
The alliance will make it easier for clients to set up and run a customer interaction centre, as the entire process - from design through construction to implementation, training, management and on-going operations - will be programme-managed by a single supplier: EDS.
Solutions provided by the alliance will also be significantly more affordable, as clients will have the option of a transaction-based fee in preference to a large up-front capex outlay.
"A transaction fee not only brings down the cost of entry; it also allows payment to coincide with the realisation of the benefits that the enterprise receives," explains Mike Ettling, executive director: Business Process Management at EDS. "And since it`s always been EDS` policy to commit contractually to delivering quantifiable business benefits, we`re providing the assurance that the investment will perform to expectations, at the very least."
The alliance creates the largest pool of CRM skills in the country, with each of the partners concentrating on the things it does best:
Dimension Data Software will supply and help facilitate the implementation of Siebel, a leading CRM application;
Dimension Data Interactive will design, build and supply core technologies that enable call centres, Websites, direct sales channels and other customer interaction points;
EDS will guide the transformation of the client`s business into a truly customer-centric enterprise, and will build and integrate the front-office applications (those closest to the customer) with the back-office systems and applications. It will manage the project from business analysis through to implementation, and if required will operate the customer interaction centre on behalf of the client.
EDS also provides access to world-class people and process skills, and hands-on exposure to the latest advances in CRM. Since the company changed its structure last year (it is now organised by lines of business, rather than geographies), these resources have become much more readily available to EDS Africa.
"The alliance allows us to offer clients an unbeatable package," says Craig Ireland, MD of DD Interactive. "Through optimal utilisation of our respective people, products and resources, we can achieve efficiencies that translate directly into lower set-up and operational costs. Even more importantly, given the calibre of the partners, we can guarantee with confidence that the facility will meet our clients` business needs well into the future."
The alliance is well placed to dominate the CRM marketplace. While none of the partners is bound to exclusivity, together they offer a range of technologies that cover the breadth of customer interaction management, and that are suitable for centres ranging anywhere from a few dozen to thousands of seats.
Johann Coetzee, general manager for Siebel, a division of Dimension Data i-Commerce Software, claims the alliance has made the three partners competitive across a broader market than ever before.
"In the past we might have been seen as interested in only the top end of the market, or expert only in specific aspects of driving value out of CRM. Now we can accommodate large and small, global and local, from start to finish. It`s an impressive team."
Share
