Vendor bolsters wireless CRM offering

By John Cox, Network World
September 12, 2005 12:07 AM ET

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EAgency last week released updated versions of two products that let mobile workers wirelessly update CRM and other corporate data.

The main change is that both applications - Nice Office and Wireless Information Exchange (WIX) - from eAgency now support the latest Microsoft operating system for mobile devices, Windows Mobile 5.0, in both the Pocket PC and SmartPhone versions.

With Nice Office customers push a subset of data to eAgency's servers, and mobile users, including business partners and customers, can synchronize not just e-mail and contacts but CRMs, sales, inventory and other critical data.

As a hosted Web service, Nice Office can work with existing hardware, both handheld and desktop, and doesn't require costly data integration, according to company executives.

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WIX is server software behind a corporate firewall, which lets mobile users access a company's stock of SQL-based reports such as sales forecasts, clients, and paid and pending commissions. A small client program runs on the handheld or laptop and manages the connection and data transfer with the WIX server. Users see a set of icons for their authorized reports, click on one, and the server triggers the SQL query to the backend database. The results are returned to the mobile device for display.

The new release of WIX works with Research in Motion's BlackBerry Enterprise Server. That support means wireless e-mails and attachments can be pushed out to anyone with a WIX server account.

The wireless support interested independent insurance agents representing Aflac Insurance, in Burbank, Calif. In a two-month pilot, the insurance company has replaced paper day planners and cell phone calling lists with the RIM BlackBerry 7520 PDA, with a keyboard and display, and access to the hosted Nice Office service. Aflac gets the usual BlackBerry instant e-mails, but also can access Aflac customer forms and a variety of company reports in the field as they work with clients and prospects, without having to return to their offices.

"I was working with an existing client, and I didn't have the proper paperwork with me," says Aflac Associate Michael Rinke. "I picked up the right form from Nice Office with my PDA and e-mailed it to my client. They got it in minutes, and we took care of it right there."

Rivals that offer some parts of eAgency's product line include Salesforce.com's Salesforce and iEnterprise's CRM on the Go.

The hosted Nice Office service starts at $50 per month per user, with volume discounts. The WIX server is $5,000 for the first 20 users, with a yearly maintenance fee of 18%. Volume discounts also apply. The prices of the new versions are unchanged, and both are available.

PROFILE: eAgency Systems
Location:	Newport Beach, Calif.
Founded:	2000
Business:	Nice Office, an ASP-based service that synchronizes CRM, sales and other corporate data over wireless nets, between mobile devices and corporate servers; and Wireless Information Exchange application to make existing SQL-based reports available on handhelds.
Founder:	Nice Office, an ASP-based service that synchronizes CRM, sales and other corporate data over wireless nets, between mobile devices and corporate servers; and Wireless Information Exchange application to make existing SQL-based reports available on handhelds.
Finances:	$18 million, all raised privately.
Customers:	1,200 customers, including Financial Health Research Institute, Oasis Insurance, TSA Construction, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, Emergency Physicians Insurance Company.
Fun fact :	Founder Bob Lotter, an Indiana native, collects motorcycles including a Russian army bike and a new BMW.