Business Drivers for CRM Adoption in the Software Services Sector: A Case Study Analysis

This study was undertaken to gain better understanding of the business drivers for CRM adoption in software service companies. The literature on CRM gives the impression of being inconsistent. The objective is to uncover the market trend and reasons for CRM adoption. A case study analysis involving three Bangalore based software service firms which implemented CRM, was done. Semi-structured interview method was used for gathering data. The key finding of this research is that competition and customer retention are the major motivators for a firm to adopt CRM. Software services companies are fast emerging all over the world especially in South Asia. These companies operate in a very competitive market and there is a need to differentiate a service from the competition, for endurance. One of these differentiators could be the adoption of CRM to improve service, performance, customer satisfaction and productivity. However, the process of CRM adoption in the service industry has not yet been studied. The value of this paper is that it illustrates how a case study approach can be used to understand the real market scenarios and identify business drivers for CRM adoption by software service firms. Keywords: Software service industry, CRM implementation, Key drivers, Case study investigatio

CRM Success Factors in Software Services firm: A Case Study Analysis

This study is undertaken to gain better understanding of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) success factors in software service and Information Technology (IT) companies. The literature on CRM gives the impression of being inconsistent. The objective is to uncover the success factors associated with a CRM project. A case study involving a Bangalore based IT company which had implemented CRM, was done. Semi-structured interview method was adopted for gathering data. The key finding is that effective leadership is critical for CRM success. The study confirms that the people, process and technology factors are crucial for a CRM program. IT companies are emerging significantly all over the world especially in Asia. These companies operate in a very competitive market and there is a need to distinguish a service from the competition, for survival. The effective use of CRM systems to improve service, performance, customer satisfaction and productivity is essential. However, the success factors for CRM in the service industry have not yet been studied. The value of this paper is that it illustrates how a case study approach can be used to understand the real CRM success factor in software service firms. Keywords: Software service industry, CRM success factor, Implementation, Case study investigatio

CRM Implementation in a Software Services firm: a Case Study Analysis

This study is undertaken to gain better understanding of CRM implementation in software service companies. The literature on CRM gives the impression of being inconsistent. The objective is to uncover the process of CRM implementation. A case study involving a Bangalore based software service firm which had implemented CRM, was done. Semi-structured interview method was adopted for gathering data. The key finding is that effective leadership is critical for CRM success. Also, findings have shown that CRM implementations have been successful and thus achieved corporate satisfaction. The study confirms that the people, process and technology factors are crucial for a CRM program. Software Services companies are emerging significantly all over the world especially in South Asia. These companies operate in a very competitive market and there is a need to distinguish a service from the competition, for endurance. The effective use of CRM systems to improve service, performance, customer satisfaction and productivity is fundamental. However, the process of CRM implementation in the service industry has not yet been studied. The paper outlines a guideline for a flexible CRM program. The value of this paper is that it illustrates how a case study approach can be used to understand the real implementation process by software service firms. Keywords: Software service industry, CRM implementation, Key drivers, Case study investigatio

Parametric study to mitigate fretting fatigue in dovetail joint of aeroengine compressor

Fretting fatigue is most likely to occur in the dovetail joint of aero engine compressor resulting in small amplitude displacement of a few micrometers. This leads to degradation of the material in the form of fatigue strength and corrosion. This paper reports optimal conditions of blade geometrical parameters such as flank length, flank angle and coefficient of friction in order minimize the failure due to fretting fatigue. ANOVA indicated that Von-mises stresses, deformation, contact pressure and sliding distance were influenced by coefficient of friction and flank angle. While deformation, contact pressure and sliding distance decreased with increase in coefficient of friction and increased with increase in flank angle and flank length. Von-mises stress increased with increase in coefficient of friction. Response surface methodology results indicated that the optimum value of Von-mises stress (328.24 MPa), deformation (153.87 µm), contact pressure (275.48 MPa) and sliding distance (80.66 µm) were found at coefficient of friction 0.35, flank angle 65° and flank length of 12 mm which were in agreement with those of grey relational analysis results

Cadmium in the purpleback flying squid Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis (Lesson, 1830) along northwest coast of India

The purpleback flying squid Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis (Lesson, 1830) is landed in small quantities along the northwest coast of India. Keeping in view the possibility of utilization of this species for domestic and export markets, the cadmium accumulation in the body tissues, which often causes concern, was studied. The dorsal mantle length of male and female observed during the study ranged from 34 to 47 cm and 30 to 32 cm respectively. The highest mean concentration of 435.22 ± 61.27 μg g-1 (mean ± S.E.) of Cd was found in the liver. Accumulation of Cd was also prominent in the gut, gills and skin. Moderate concentration of Cd (1 to 4 μg g-1) was observed in the nidamental gland, accessory nidamental gland, eyes, tentacles and muscle. In the gonads and arms, the concentration was below the acceptability level of 1.0 μg g-1. Higher accumulation in most of the organs/tissues of larger squids was observed. Significantly higher accumulation (p < 0.05) was noticed in the liver of larger specimens, indicating bioaccumulation. As the mean Cd content in the edible part was more than 1.0 μg g-1, this study highlights the need for detailed investigations to understand the bioaccumulation of Cd in Sthenoteuthis oualaniensi

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici causal agent of vascular wilt disease of tomato: Biology to diversity– A review

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is one of the widely grown vegetables worldwide. Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL) is the significant contributory pathogen of tomato vascular wilt. The initial symptoms of the disease appear in the lower leaves gradually, trail by wilting of the plants. It has been reported that FOL penetrates the tomato plant, colonizing and leaving the vascular tissue dark brown, and this discoloration extends to the apex, leading to the plants wilting, collapsing and dying. Therefore, it has been widely accepted that wilting caused by this fungus is the result of a combination of various physiological activities, including the accumulation of fungal mycelia in and around xylem, mycotoxin production, inactivation of host defense, and the production of tyloses; however, wilting symptoms are variable. Therefore, the selection of molecular markers may be a more effective means of screening tomato races. Several studies on the detection of FOL have been carried out and have suggested the potency of the technique for diagnosing FOL. This review focuses on biology and variability of FOL, understanding and presenting a holistic picture of the vascular wilt disease of tomato in relation to disease model, biology, virulence. We conclude that genomic and proteomic approachesare greater tools for identification of informative candidates involved in pathogenicity, which can be considered as one of the approaches in managing the disease

General anaesthetic and airway management practice for obstetric surgery in England: a prospective, multi-centre observational study

There are no current descriptions of general anaesthesia characteristics for obstetric surgery, despite recent changes to patient baseline characteristics and airway management guidelines. This analysis of data from the direct reporting of awareness in maternity patients' (DREAMY) study of accidental awareness during obstetric anaesthesia aimed to describe practice for obstetric general anaesthesia in England and compare with earlier surveys and best-practice recommendations. Consenting patients who received general anaesthesia for obstetric surgery in 72 hospitals from May 2017 to August 2018 were included. Baseline characteristics, airway management, anaesthetic techniques and major complications were collected. Descriptive analysis, binary logistic regression modelling and comparisons with earlier data were conducted. Data were collected from 3117 procedures, including 2554 (81.9%) caesarean deliveries. Thiopental was the induction drug in 1649 (52.9%) patients, compared with propofol in 1419 (45.5%). Suxamethonium was the neuromuscular blocking drug for tracheal intubation in 2631 (86.1%), compared with rocuronium in 367 (11.8%). Difficult tracheal intubation was reported in 1 in 19 (95%CI 1 in 16-22) and failed intubation in 1 in 312 (95%CI 1 in 169-667). Obese patients were over-represented compared with national baselines and associated with difficult, but not failed intubation. There was more evidence of change in practice for induction drugs (increased use of propofol) than neuromuscular blocking drugs (suxamethonium remains the most popular). There was evidence of improvement in practice, with increased monitoring and reversal of neuromuscular blockade (although this remains suboptimal). Despite a high risk of difficult intubation in this population, videolaryngoscopy was rarely used (1.9%)

Dissociation energy for the ground state of AlO from true potential energy curve

The true potential energy curve for the ground state of AlO has been extended up to the observed vibrational levels v = 22 using revised vibrational constants. The dissociation energy for the ground state of AlO has been estimated to be 4.15 ± 0.05 eV by the method of curve fitting. The Lippincott potential function has been used for fitting with the RKRV curve