Skype for
Salesforce Now Available on Salesforce.com’s AppExchange
Released
on = August 28, 2007, 3:40 am
Press
Release Author = Skype
Industry
= Internet
& Online
Press
Release Summary = Salesforce.com customers can now deploy
extensive Skype functionality within their Salesforce implementations
Press
Release Body = Skype and salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM),
the market and technology leader in on-demand customer relationship
management (CRM), have announced the availability of a
new version of Skype for Salesforce via salesforce.com’s
AppExchange. Skype for Salesforce provides
seamless Skype integration into Salesforce
on-demand CRM applications and aims to improve workforce
productivity and to streamline customer and partner communication.
“As
more and more people around the world use Skype
(http://www.skype.com/)
to talk to their friends and family, they are increasingly adopting
Skype in the workplace to also talk to colleagues
and customers,” said Scott Miller, director of
business development with Skype. “We now offer
the tools to integrate Skype communication with
the salesforce.com experience via the AppExchange.
Besides saving money on telephone bills, this will also enable salesforce.com
customers in the small and mid-sized business sector to build stronger
relationships and improve the way they manage their contact with
colleagues, customers and prospects.”
Skype
for Salesforce enables salesforce.com
customers to easily make and receive Skype calls
or initiate text chats directly with other people whose
Skype contact names and presence indicators can now be
added manually or imported automatically into Salesforce.
SkypeOut (http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/)
calls to non-Skype users’ traditional phone
numbers can also be initiated with a single click. Conference calls
of up to 10 participants (including the host) can now be conducted
using Skype for Salesforce and can accommodate
any combination of Skype and non-Skype users.
Calls
from one Skype user to another are free, while
SkypeOut calls are billed at low per-minute rates.
Customers can also sign up for one of Skype’s
premium Internet communications subscription packages for unlimited
domestic SkypeOut calling – Skype Pro (http://www.skype.com/go/skypepro/)
in Europe and Asia or the Skype Unlimited Calling
(http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/)
plan in the U.S. and Canada.
Skype
for Salesforce also integrates with salesforce.com’s
computer telephony (CTI) adapter to enable click-to-call for phone
numbers of those customers or business partners listed within Salesforce
SFA or Salesforce Service & Support applications. Furthermore,
inbound Skype calls from parties listed in Salesforce
will instantly pop-up the user’s record. This way, the Salesforce
user can immediately add notes about the conversation or transaction
into the appropriate record for future reference.
Model
Metrics, the leading on-demand CRM consulting firm in the
Midwest, is one of the first customers using the new version of
Skype for Salesforce. Model Metrics helps
its mid-sized and Fortune 500 clients successfully implement on-demand
business solutions. These clients are increasingly interested in
finding ways to integrate Skype into their call
centers for both text chat and telephony.
Model
Metrics also uses salesforce.com to run
its own business. The company’s teams of consultants currently
use Skype to communicate internally and to conduct
conference calls with clients. The company views Skype’s
click-to-call and SkypeIn functionality as a potential
option with which to replace its aging PBX, a step that will improve
its employees’ and managers’ visibility into sales and
support call logs.
John
H. Barnes, vice president of technology for Model Metrics
said, “Skype for Salesforce
has already helped our staff interact and work more closely with
our customers. We anticipate that this easy-to-use integrated solution
will enable our clients to better manage their communications, while
also reducing costs.”
“Skype’s
initial AppExchange application coincided with
the launch of AppExchange in January 2006 and was
very well received by the salesforce.com community,
as it enabled them to stay in touch with their customers, suppliers
and colleagues spread around the world,” said Matt
Holleran, vice president, AppExchange partners, salesforce.com.
“The new Skype for Salesforce application
further revolutionizes business communications by making team collaboration
and effective communication a seamless part of every workday. Salesforce.com
customers can get it from the AppExchange with
just a few clicks to enable a whole new set of functions to enhance
how they communicate with their clients and prospects.”
Access
to a broadband Internet connection is required for Skype
and all Skype Certified devices and accessories.
Skype is not a replacement for a traditional telephone
service and cannot be used for emergency calling.
Skype,
SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts, associated
logos and the “S” symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.
Salesforce.com
is a registered trademark of salesforce.com, and AppExchange, The
Business Web, IdeaExchange and Successforce are trademarks of salesforce.com,
Inc., San Francisco, California. Other names used may be trademarks
of their respective owners.
Web
Site = http://www.skype.com/
Contact
Details = Skype PR Contact:
Stephanie Zari
Skype
2 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1AN
+44 (0)121 288 3779
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