In the News

• 10 Ways to Use Smartphones to Grow Your Sales

  CIO.com - May 30, 2012
  Smartphones can give your sales reps--and your business--a competitive edge by enabling them to respond quickly to customer needs and questions. Smartphones also provide instant access to customer data and let your workforce share information and presentations, check inventory and close deals.

• Will Business Folks, IT Admins Like Windows 8 Apps?

  Enterprise Apps Today - May 3, 2012
  With a steady stream of news about Microsoft's Windows 8, some IT organizations are likely getting excited about the new OS – while others might be apprehensive or just not interested. However, some developers who have already created Windows 8 apps believe the new OS offers much to like for both users and IT admins.

• The Many Uses of CRM Beyond Sales and Marketing

  Fierce CIO - April 25, 2012
  ABC Financial, a Little Rock, Ark.-based payment processor and software provider for more than 3,000 health clubs around North America, had no customer relationship management system just three years ago.

• Dynamics Partner Releases iPad App for Salespeople

  Redmond Channel Partner - April 6, 2012
  One of Microsoft's highest-profile Dynamics CRM partners is looking to expand its business with an Apple iPad app to assist road warriors.

• Sonoma Partners Launches Mobile Sales Kit for iPad

  CRM Magazine - April 5, 2012
  Mobile-minded, enterprise-grade apps continue growth pattern.

• Mobile CRM on Microsoft slate devices: a case study in design thinking

  ZDNet - April 5, 2012
  Good things happen when consumer understanding meets enterprise requirements with a partner willing to understand needs. This is how it works.

• Microsoft previews business apps on Windows 8, as iPad rises in business world

  GeekWire - March 19, 2012
  Microsoft's message to apps developers: Fit into the Metro style of Windows 8 to make things easier on end users, according to two developers. Microsoft is trying to change users' expectations about applications in general by creating an environment that remains similar app to app, according to the developers, and that means complying with Metro style and tapping into features grounded in the operating system itself.

• Windows 8 wants developers to fall into Metro lockstep

  NetworkWorld - March 16, 2012
  Can Microsoft’s Windows 8 combat the iPad’s growing popularity among business users? We’ve gotten a sense for what consumer apps will look like on Windows 8 through the consumer preview of the upcoming Microsoft operating system. But this week at Microsoft’s Convergence conference in Houston, the company and its partners are previewing their business-oriented apps in the style of the company’s new “Metro” user interface on Windows 8 tablets and desktop computers.

• Microsoft CRM partner builds 'first-ever Windows 8 tablet app for the enterprise'

  ZDNet - March 14, 2012
  Sonoma Partners is laying claim to the title of developer of the “first-ever Windows 8 tablet app for the enterprise” with a line-of-business app the consultancy developed for New Belgium Brewing. The app, the “Ultimate Beer Ranger,” is being built for the sales team at New Belgium.

• Flexible hours, sabbaticals keep work force happy, engaged

  Chicago Sun Times - July 5, 2011
  Imagine if you could set your own work hours and decide each day whether to work from home or at the office. How about having the boss spring for a manicurist’s visit to the office or surprise the entire staff with a trip to Vegas? And wouldn’t a six-week paid sabbatical to do whatever you wish be nice? The stuff of dreams? Not at all. As recession-wracked companies have tried to do more with less, often leaving employees feeling over-worked, under-appreciated and ready to bolt when the job market improves, some employers here and across the country are finding ways to keep workers happy and engaged, benefiting their bottom lines.
  
  That’s the attitude Chicago-based Sonoma Partners was looking to build with its benefits and perks. The firm, out of respect for work/life balance, also encourages staff to work 40 to 45 hour work weeks and to do less than 15 percent out-of-town travel, atypical for many technology consulting firms. “We believe that happy and motivated employees provide the best possible results for our customers, which is key to our long-term success,” said Mike Snyder, principal at the company, which employs nearly 70 people.

• Shortcuts to Your CRM Shortlist

  Forecasting Clouds - August 31, 2010
  The number of companies that bring in users from sales, marketing and service during the CRM selection process is alarmingly low. For example, “We’ve only had one customer include these kinds of people in the decision process,” said Mike Snyder, principle at Sonoma Partners, a CRM consulting firm. “It surprises me – the evaluations of what solutions to use are often based on features and tools that people don’t often use. You’d think that it would be helpful to hear what Joe Sales Guy or Susie Call Center Rep has to say, since they’ll be the ones who interface with CRM.”
  
  You might think that the features of CRM should be your starting place for picking a solution. You’d be wrong, says Sonoma Partners’ Snyder. “Too often, buyers turn this into a feature shoot-out,” he says, “which is really not very productive. Every good CRM solution will have the same basic features, and individual features will not determine success.” When the decision is driven by IT, often the system with the most features wins – even though those advanced features are rarely used.

• Microsoft Dynamics Gives Some Re-Sellers a Financial Pick-Me-Up

  Microsoft Dynamics World - March 17, 2010
  Despite the economic slowdown, some Microsoft partners and other companies experienced significant growth last year, thanks in part to Microsoft Dynamics products. For example, Chicago-based Sonoma Partners, a reseller and customizer of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, said it realized significant business gains.
  
  The company said its consulting revenues increased 44% in 2009. Sonoma Partners Principal Mike Snyder attributes some of the company's recent success to the growing popularity of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. "Our company works just with the CRM product, so if the CRM industry is going well then we're doing well with it," he said. Snyder said more companies are looking to CRM products and Microsoft Dynamics CRM in particular to help their businesses become more efficient. He also said a large part of the company's success can be attributed to its customization efforts, which allow its clients to get the maximum benefit out of CRM.
  
  He said Sonoma Partners is also leveraging XRM opportunities to spur development. "Also, we're seeing more businesses using CRM as a development platform, and they can use it to replace other applications," he said. "So we have a lot of repeat business because of that, that's another factor driving it-people who already have CRM are using it in new and unique ways." In addition, Snyder said more large enterprises are now looking at Dynamics CRM because the product is more mature. "Big companies are not usually early adopters," he said. "They wait until someone else has done it. But now they're seeing lots of other people do it, so it's not high risk now for them to deploy Microsoft CRM.

• If the Customer Is Truly King, Then Sonoma Partners Is One Smitten Queen

  FastCompany - March 9, 2010
  Any time a head of a company uses the word "upswing" in detailing his business' recent success, there is a bit of a compulsion around these parts to comment on the company. Please excuse a little cheerleading. But it is especially important to draw attention to an upswing-ing outfit that saw its revenues swing up by ... 44% last year!

• Why aren't CRM users part of the CRM selection process?

  Forecasting Clouds - February 23, 2010
  But Mike surprised me. “We’ve only had one customer include these kinds of people in the decision process,” he said. “It surprises me – the evaluations of what solutions to use are often based on features and tools that people don’t often use. You’d think that it would be helpful to hear what Joe Sales Guy or Susie Call Center Rep has to say, since they’ll be the ones who interface with CRM.”

• Q & A: Letting staff chat online about work and play

  Crain's Chicago Business - November 10, 2009
  The firm's latest CRM-based app isn’t for clients; it’s for use in-house. It’s called Sidebar, a program that’s part Facebook, part Twitter, part internal project management software, through which the company’s 50 employees can learn about sales leads, stay up-to-date on a project’s status or chat about fantasy football.

• Creating a 360-degree View of Your Franchise

  Franchising World - October 2009

• Using CRM To Keep Doctor Relationships Healthy

  Marianne Kolbasuk McGee - InformationWeek - Global CIO Blog - July 7, 2009
  Resurrection's sales staff is using Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which was customized by reseller Sonoma Partners, to help manage relationships with physicians in Resurrection's quest to have more doctors refer their patients to Resurrection facilities for services ranging from medical imaging to rehab.

• Franchise Management from Sonoma

  Barry Fridley's Blog - Hospitality Industry Technology Strategist - July 1, 2009
  George Deplaris from Sonoma Partners talks about their Franchise Management solution based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Sonoma Partners is one of the leading Dynamics CRM partners and have customers across several industries. Their franchise management solution is already in place with Choice Hotels and Quizno’s and many more in the queue.

• Marquette Group Selects Microsoft Dynamics CRM

  Contact Center Solutions Community, TMCnet.com - June 30, 2009
  Sonoma Partners, a provider of Microsoft Dynamics CRM in the United States, has announced that Marquette Group ha selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM to consolidate customer systems and provide sales teams with a 360 degree view of prospect and customer information from one integrated database.

• Running CRM on virtual servers becoming a reality

  SearchCRM - June 30, 2009
  Resurrection Health Care called in Sonoma Partners, a Chicago-based Microsoft partner, to serve as the technical architect for the CRM system and customize Dynamics CRM -- for example, incorporating physician relationship management on top of sales, service and marketing.

• Marquette Group chooses Microsoft Dynamics CRM to support growth

  DMNews - June 30, 2009
  Marquette Group, a direct marketing and advertising company, replaced its SalesLogix CRM system with Microsoft Dynamics CRM from Sonoma Partners. The new software is expected to help grow the company's business overall, and that growth categories for Marquette Group include its interactive and response measurement businesses. Sonoma Partners is handling the implementation.

• How Microsoft Has Used XRM to Take Dynamics CRM to a New Competitive Level

  MSDynamicsWorld.com - June 17, 2009
  With the growth of CRM Online, along with competitors and other application platform options in the market, Microsoft has used the last year to try to position its XRM vision ahead of the pack. So far, it has made considerable progress. Starting with a product spec they had developed after being accepted into the program, MyStaffingPro successfully developed their solution in under four days with guidance from Microsoft staff and consultant Jim Steger of Sonoma Partners, as well as an offshore programmer.

• Resurrection Health Care Increases User Productivity Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM

  Healthcare Technology, TMCnet.com - May 29, 2009
  Resurrection Health Care, Chicago’s largest Catholic health care provider, has reportedly increased user productivity by 50 percent by implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Officials at Resurrection Health Care were looking for a CRM solution that could easily integrate with Microsoft Office and Outlook, making it easier for users to learn and navigate, and meet the needs of more than just the Ambulatory Care and Home Health Service Sales teams.

• Sonoma Partners, BigMachines Announce Partnership for Microsoft CRM

  Call Center Software, TMCnet.com - May 28, 2009
  BigMachines offers a platform of Web-based software and services. They see the integration to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a cross-functional customer relationship management application providing sales, marketing, and customer support modules, as allowing customers to "sell more and sell faster," as if such results would be attractive in this day and age.

• Home Instead Senior Care Selects Microsoft Dynamics CRM

  TMCnews - March 4, 2009
  Home Instead Senior Care, a franchisor of non-medical home care services for seniors, has purchased Microsoft Dynamics CRM from Sonoma Partners to integrate sales, franchise support and IT help desk into a single platform.

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