Instead of being pushed aside by new technology, E-mail is integrating with it. Of all the applications we have, ERP and other major things, E-mail is No. 1. It's strategically important to the company. As they grapple for market share, the two keep one-upping each other in extending the features and functions of their systems. This week, at its Microsoft Exchange Conference, Microsoft will give a sneak peek at its next-generation messaging product, which will let companies develop workflow applications that cross organizational boundaries.
Users are eager to exploit messaging's potential, especially to improve customer contact.
Dunlop Tire uses its Lotus Domino messaging system to respond to about 50 messages per day from customers who visit the company's Web site. In June, the company started taking orders from tire dealers over an extranet based on Domino. Orders pass from Domino to the Lawson system through a custom interface. Last year, Ikon developed a sales-force automation application for Dunlop by linking the company's Domino server to an Oracle database that houses Dunlop's sales analysis data mart. That aggressive use of messaging is spreading.