In the latest CRM software news, Gartner CRM SaaS vendor market guide has just listed smartFOCUS, which is a global provider of multi-channel marketing software. The vendor market guide is a comprehensive list of vendors that offer CRM software as a deployment option. Garnter notes that the number of CRM vendors that provide software as a service continues to grow, but some segments of the market like sales force automation have many vendor alternatives, while other segments like campaign management have few.

In the call center realm of CRM, BenchmarkPortal featured the its CEO and Service Agility's President on its monthly CallTalk show in April, which is broadcast directly over the internet. The show was titled "Go With the Flow: Tips for Optimal IVR Call Flow Design". The two executives discussed the basics of IVRs and offered tips for getting the best out of IVR deployment in a call center.