Companies are finding that online fraud includes a phone call by the fraudster. Fraudsters call the bank or card issuer to check the available credit on stolen cards before making fraudulent purchases online. Banks are building a database of known fraudster voice prints in the call center with a new generation of voice biometrics. Passive voice biometrics can collect and examine a caller’s voice print in the background of a normal call. Banks can now detect fraudsters by voice, e.g.  They can detect calls like available credit inquiry by screening live calls against the fraudster database. When a known fraudster’s voice is detected, banks can flag the customer account as possibly compromised. Read more at: http://www.paymentssource.com/news/paythink/biometrics-in-the-call-center-can-combat-digital-fraud-3022703-1.html

Nowadays, the workplace has shifted from being telecom-centric to screen-centric, and with that comes the growing role of web-based applications. Web-based applications take us closer to the world of unified communications, where collaboration is redefined. There are two basic types. They are - Web application – VoIP service and Web application – click-to-call. Read more at:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/voip-news/how-web-applications-add-value-to-voip-70416

Earlier, advanced inventory management functionality, such as barcode scanning, mobile computing and RFID were available only to large enterprises. Now, new technologies such as qr codes, mobile technology, smart phones, NFC are available to small businesses also. It is found that Inventory Management and Asset Tracking Software Trends are moving software online, creating mobile applications to manage assets and inventory, using qr codes for labeling assets and inventory, using smartphones for scanning, replacing mobile computers with smartphones, and using NFC technology to speed up inventory and asset processing. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/enhancing-km/inventory-management-and-asset-tracking-software-types-trends-70423

ERP solution takes care of most of back office needs, but organizations still need specialized software within infrastructure for sales, marketing and other departments. Some ERP solutions offer a complete all-in-one solution and include tools like CRM and marketing automation. Integrating ERP with marketing automation and CRM tools is one way to centralize your data and streamline business operations. Another major benefit of integration is improving your customer experience. There are drawbacks of integration. One major barrier to integration is getting a legacy ERP solution to work properly with marketing automation and CRM tools. Read more benefits and drawbacks of integrating marketing automation and CRM with ERP at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/should-you-integrate-your-marketing-automation-and-crm-tools-into-your-erp-solution-70406

CRM tools are important. According to a report, this is a $23.3 billion market and is continually adapting today's sales and marketing needs. CRM companies are now focusing on four major areas as we move into 2016. They are - SaaS adoption, mobile CRM, the impact of IoT and wearable tech, and real-time data. Read more about the trends of CRM tools at - http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/whats-upcoming-for-crm-tools-in-2016-70405

It is known that ERP centralizes data assets and improve data governance. But, as companies are shifting their focus towards big-data initiatives, they are using ERP as a basis for business intelligence (BI) operations. Nowadays, Analytics is a standard feature in ERP, and using built-in tools and easy-to-integrate add-ons help organizations to make an immediate shift towards real-time measurement, increased oversight and predictive analytics. According to Tom Davenport of Harvard Business School, the three primary benefits of analytics include: cost reduction, faster decision making, and improved product development. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/erp-and-business-intelligence-or-how-your-life-will-change-forever-70407

The CRM system is central to a company's business. Anything can happen from a malicious attack to hardware failure. So, we need to back up the data. We all know that there are different kinds of backup systems and some of them take days to restore that critical data. So, a company needs a backup strategy. Your backup strategy has to reflect the needs of your business for continuity on critical systems like CRM. While planning for effective backups, organizations must take into consideration the two most important things. They are Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO). RTO is how fast you need to be up and running and Recovery Time Objective is when you need to recover. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/backing-up-your-crm-70403

Marketing is always evolving. This year we dealt with Big Data, we understood the term empowered consumer, and embraced the idea of cross-channel marketing. While these will continue, marketers also want to know what next year will bring.  Larisa Bedgood (Director of Marketing for DataMentor), writes in her article about the 5 trends that we see making a big impact in 2016. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/marketing/top-5-marketing-trends-will-rule-2016-01375322#tSFR5pvWDXMkbL2v.97

According to a research, it was found that the number of mobile-only internet users surpassed that of desktop-only and people spending at least 54% of their digital media time interacting with mobile apps. Emma Sarran Webster (contributor to Business 2 Community), writes in her article about the developments in the mobile marketing space which will help to make the process of discovery and outreach far more relevant and personalized, and provide customers with branded experiences. She also writes about some trends of mobile marketing for the year 2016 at - http://www.business2community.com/mobile-apps/6-mobile-marketing-trends-to-expect-in-2016-01376750#jJGsIEdEV8KmD7eF.97

The work of a customer advocate is to identify the right people to support your product, represent their company’s needs and create trust in your brand. They also speak to your customer with an insider’s view and share their personal knowledge and positive experience for your product with their coworkers. They also provide valuable feedback on what users like, what can be improved, or even what should be shelved. A customer advocate also helps generate new customers for you, in an effective way. The ideal customer advocate for your company has four main traits: dependable, sincere, passionate, and smart. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/itmanagement/four-traits-to-look-for-when-identifying-a-customer-advocate-70381

Sales cycle varies by product and service and from business to business. It adds complexity to the business. But, with the help of a good CRM system, you can shorten the sales cycle and make a positive impact on your company's bottom line. CRM can track the entire sales process from the initial effort through final sale and also can keep track of your prospects and potential customers. Read more about how CRM helps in shortening the sales cycle at- http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/crm-shorten-the-sales-cycle-70388

Data file needs to be cleaned regularly to eliminate errors, duplication and outdated information. If incorrect entries are made, customers drop off, people change jobs or leave, and companies merge or go out of business. Lists of names, addresses, contacts, and contact history, etc. needs to be reviewed and corrected if you want your database to work efficiently. Rick Cook (writes articles on computers and related technology), writes in his article about how to clean data file. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/crm-clean-your-data-70375

Retail is a field of ERP, but it has some challenges. Implementation of ERP in big retail organizations takes a lot of planning. Big retail organizations are characterized by a high volume of transactions originating in many different locations. The more attention paid to details in the planning and implementation stages, the more smoothly the implementation will go. Rick Cook (writes articles on computers and related technology), writes in his article about the challenges faced while implementing ERP in the retail sector and why planning is important at - http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/implementing-retail-erp-70373

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems provide data which help employees to take better decisions, to make core business processes more efficient, and to help reduce costs across your organization. Nowadays, ERP solutions have become more user-friendly. But, ERP remains an expensive, time-consuming implementation that requires a lot of planning. Before choosing a solution, you must consider the organization’s business goals, expectations about the benefits from ERP, and the business processes that will be integrated with the ERP solution. In this article, the author writes about some rules that will help to choose the right ERP system for any organization. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/10-golden-rules-for-choosing-an-erp-system-70374

IoT security needs to be improved – the latest buzzword in the business world. According to a survey, it was found that 73% considered it likely that their business would be hacked through an IoT device, and 61% felt that businesses of all sizes are equally vulnerable to this danger. Peter Kowalke (journalist and editor covering business, technology) writes in his article about some ways that businesses can harden their security efforts. Read more at:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/itmanagement/five-keys-to-good-iot-security-70376

ERP implementation is very complex. So, you have to focus on the few critical parts of your business in implementing your ERP system. One must figure out which part is important to the business and which needs to be improved. But, it is not very simple. In determining what is really important, you need to consult at least with the steering committee and with all the stakeholders in the company and the best way to keep an eye is to make a list, in order of importance, and keep that list in front of you. The next step is to refer to the list often and make sure you share it with the others. This will help to concentrate on what is important while implementing an ERP system. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/erp-focus-on-whats-important-70372

Customers want consistency and they value it. A CRM system keeps track of all interactions with customers and helps prevent any aspect of the transaction from failing. It also helps to keep promises to customers, follow up with customer contacts and generally present an effective face of your business to your customers. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/dont-let-your-customers-fall-through-the-cracks-70360

Poor performance of a CRM system is a serious problem. This might be because your business has slowed down or never changed. This slowdown can be due to many reasons. One reason may be the system has become overloaded and too many people are trying to handle too many entries which in turn results in poor performance on any kind of computer system. One solution may be to reschedule the competing application to run at a time when the CRM system isn't as busy. Running applications like accounting programs during off hours is a reasonable way to speed up system performance. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/speeding-up-your-crm-performance-70362

Big Data analytics is coming up in a big way. According to Forrester Research, companies estimate that they are analyzing only 12% of the data at their disposal. The demand for predictive analysis combined with the small number of data scientists explains why 88% of the data captured by businesses fail to produce actionable insights. So, automation in Big-Data Analysis comes to the rescue. Benefits of Big Data Analysis are - Automation supports existing staff, Automation reduces the need for additional staff and extensive training, Automation saves time and money. Read more at:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/byod-cloud/the-benefits-of-automating-big-data-analysis-70335

An e-commerce website is important for any organization. Brandt Reed (valued contributor to Business 2 Community), writes in this article about some tips that will guide you to creating a useful, engaging and beautiful e-commerce website. They are - Clear Calls to Action, Include Several Large, and High-Quality Images on Product Pages, Show Related Products, and Show Customer Ratings for Various Product Features, Create Intuitive and Useful Site Navigation, and Checkout. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/7-essential-ecommerce-design-elements-for-successful-stores-01365830#G5Fxps1ZUQcAK4Ll.97