The current financial crisis and looming recession has brought the 'Customer Relationship Management' (CRM) solutions into spotlight with leading companies and corporations becoming more attentive to their clients’ needs, said an expert.

According to IT experts, the demand for CRM solutions will continue to surge in the region and around the world, specifically because companies will become more cost-conscious and will need to service and retain clients in the most effective way.

In 2007, growth rates in CRM investment surged by 40 percent, according to international research group Gartner, with the emerging markets driving the industry growth of 23.1 per cent, they said.

“CRM has been around for some time now, but it will now take a different turn. It will become more context-related and more tailored to a specific industry and its customers’ needs,” pointed out Hanan Abdel-Meguid, CEO of LINK Development, a wholly-owned subsidiary Orascom Telecom, at the Gitex stand. 
"We do not see this slowing down despite the market conditions. In a tougher economy, CRM solutions become a strategic business tool for protecting and growing a company," she explained.

"For that, they need to be absolutely tailored to requirements of the industry, whether banking and financial, automotive or retail," she opined.

Link Development, the fastest growing software development export powerhouse based in Egypt, is showcasing its key solutions for a wide range of industries in the region.

It has used vertical industry knowledge and business sector expertise to understand its clients’ businesses and offer them tailor-made solutions that meet their own customers’ needs.

"We are now offering clients a host of solutions that enable them to secure their infrastructure, client relations, and plan for future growth," she explained.

Link Development is looking to capitalize on this global and regional trend with its Banking and Finance, Automotive and retail vertical CRM solutions, all of which will be showcased at Gitex 2008, she added.

The company, a Microsoft Gold Certified partner, will be represented in Microsoft Dynamics Partners Community and will share best practices and showcase solutions to senior CIOs and IT professionals from some of the Middle East’s most dynamic business and government organisations, as well as developers from the world’s leading IT companies.-TradeArabia News Service