UK councils admit to CRM problems

UK local authority's customer relationship management (CRM) projects are falling up to two years behind schedule, according to a research published this week.

Conducted by software company ndl-metascybe, the findings show one third of the 232 authorities surveyed had no idea how they were going to integrate their CRM project with other back-office systems.

Eric Woods, government practice director at analyst group Ovum says he is unsurprised by the results.

'To get the real benefits of a CRM strategy involves considerable back-end integration. Customer facing systems need to be hooked into the core back office applications, a complicated task than many authorities do not recognise when they buy them,' he said.

'Even when they do realise it, the integration tasks have still taken a long time to complete.'

If a system is not integrated it cannot access the relevant information and give those using it the facts they need, Woods says.

'Councils need a broad strategy when they take on a CRM system, one that includes a business strategy for bringing services into the system and making cultural changes in the way information about citizens is handled,' he said.