13.1. Understanding the Technology…That's the IT Department's Job, Right?

Well, right and wrong! Certainly the technology component is primarily the responsibility of Information Technology. However, it was learned long ago that it is critical that the technical solution the IT team proposes be based on business perspective and needs. Information Technology must have business input regarding what information needs to be captured, what work needs to be done, and where and by whom this work is to be done.

But let's first develop our working definition for technology so we're all talking the same language. Miriam-Webster's online dictionary defines technology as “a manner of accomplishing a task especially using [specialized] processes, methods, or knowledge.” For CRM, the specialized methods are the computer hardware, software, and networks.

DEFINITIONS CRM Technology is made up of the computer tools (hardware, software, and networks) employed to manage the information and process we use to deliver customer experiences.

In all cases, it is the IT department that will design, implement, and manage the technology solution, but it is the business functions that know where the work is done and who's doing it.

13.1.1. The Business Functions: Setting the Direction

Anyone could probably look at a corporate map or even a company phone book and determine all the places that a company does business. So what's the big deal? The IT team doesn't need any help figuring that out!

But that's not all it takes. The business functions add significantly to the general understanding of how the company operates geographically through their knowledge of what kinds of work are done where and what business connections are required to ensure a positive experience for the customer process. Figure 13-1 shows XYZ's corporate map.

You can see that XYZ is a North American company with manufacturing plants in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Sales and service organizations exist in all three countries, and the corporate headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois. The IT department needs to know more than that to implement a successful system.

13.1.2. The IT Function: Engineering the Solution

Like the other components, “engineering” the technology model requires experience and knowledge from both the business members of the team and from the Information Technology members.

Technology models describe the major pieces of the technical infrastructure: hardware, software, and network. We don't start with technology; rather, we begin at the highest-level business perspective by listing our business locations. Next, we identify the business network for just those locations that will be involved in this project. The business network shows the way work and information must flow to deliver the customer experience. The remaining views are strictly from the Information Technology perspective, and we will not spend a great deal of time on any of them. Figure 13-2 shows the technology engineering process steps; you should remember that the inventory of business locations is actually done during the strategic planning phase. Team members with business functional knowledge will work together to identify the business work and information flow requirements for each specific project and with the technical team to ensure common understanding of the actual business situation.

As you can see, just like with the other components we always start with the business perspective—where the company's various organizations are located.