Internode implements $4 million SaaS CRM solution

Peter Dinham
Tuesday, 26 May 2009 08:34

IT Industry - Deals

“NetSuite will also provide Internode team leaders with accurate and timely information, giving them greater visibility into the business, which will allow them to better serve their customers’ inquiries. The application will also provide employees with improved reporting about the status of customer interactions in areas such as tickets, sales opportunities and complaint handling.”

Tapper says a central benefit of the NetSuite system will be the creation of a customer portal that, he adds, will greatly extend the customer self-service facilities that are already available through the My Internode portal.

As well as providing a deep view into Internode’s ordering system, Tapper says the portal can provide customers with Amazon-like recommendations for services popular with comparable customers, and the integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution would simplify the introduction and marketing of new products and services.

Tapper says the new system will replace Internode’s internally-developed system for recording customer data, and to reduce the risk of disruption during the transition, the NetSuite application will be introduced incrementally during the next 12 months.

Slated as a four-year redevelopment, Internode expects stage one of implementation to be completed by August this year, and it plans to continue customising the system to meet its needs over the next three to four years.

According to Tapper, customer service and product innovation will be, what he calls, “the critical differentiators” for telecommunication companies as the broadband market matures, and, he’s clearly confident of Internode’s position in the market, claiming Internode has a “great track record of innovation such pioneering ADSL2+ broadband in Australia.”