International Business Advisory Firm BBK Selects LexisNexis InterAction for CRM

Business Wire, March 7, 2005

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- InterAction's(R) Lotus Notes integration and Relationship Intelligence capabilities seen as critical to support the firm's growth & client service initiatives

LexisNexis Interface Software announced today that the international business advisory and turnaround firm, BBK, has selected InterAction to support the firm's aggressive growth plan and client service initiative. InterAction will provide the Relationship Intelligence infrastructure BBK needs to maintain high levels of client service as it continues to expand both domestically and abroad. The firm recently opened new offices in New York, Prague, Czech Republic, Warsaw, Poland and Frankfurt, Germany.

"We need a system that can tie our offices together and make it easier for any professional, regardless of location, to leverage the firm's collective relationships, experience and expertise," said William G. Diehl, BBK Principal, COO and Automotive Advisory Group Lead. "InterAction will help us continue to diversify and grow into new markets."

Previously BBK had been using another CRM software product, however that implementation failed to live up to the firm's expectations. "The system did not have robust CRM capabilities, it was cumbersome to use, and it did not have adequate integration with our Lotus Notes environment," said Todd Warren, BBK's IT manager.

Charged with finding a replacement solution, a handpicked IT committee representing all functional areas within the firm undertook an aggressive due diligence search. The committee narrowed down the field to a few contenders, from Act! on the low end to sales force automation-oriented products such as Microsoft CRM, Siebel and Saleslogix. "InterAction provided specific functionality tailored to how consulting firms do business," said Warren. "It is a compelling solution right out of the box without requiring costly customization."

Particularly important to the search committee was InterAction's seamless integration with personal information managers (PIM), which will drive user acceptance by enabling professionals to access InterAction directly from Lotus Notes with no additional learning curve. "Our consultants live and breathe in Lotus Notes," commented Diehl. "InterAction allows professionals to stay in that environment while also benefiting from CRM."

Moreover, InterAction was unique in its ability to track and manage complex relationships - functionality critical to the business development efforts of any professional services organization. "The system's ability to track 'many to many' relationships, such as referral sources and their relationships with our professionals and other industry contacts, was key," said Diehl.

In addition to the core InterAction solution, BBK will also be implementing the InterAction(R) Engagements(TM) and InterAction(R) Opportunities(TM) modules. InterAction Engagements enables firms to track and manage individual engagements on a project basis, as well as the people, companies, relationships, experience and expertise associated with an engagement. InterAction Opportunities enables firms to track and manage prospective engagements throughout the business development cycle and to generate pipeline and similar reports, providing management with visibility into future work.

"These modules directly support our objective of enhancing client service," said Diehl. "With the ability to track firm experience, expertise and quickly access detailed engagement profiles, we will be better equipped to find synergies between engagements and clients as well as identify trends over time that will support our business development processes."

"Many consulting firms find themselves in the position of having to replace existing horizontal CRM solutions that don't deliver significant benefit to professional services organizations," said Barry Solomon, Interface Software's executive vice president. "Fortunately firms like BBK are becoming more sophisticated buyers of CRM technology and understand the importance of implementing tailored solutions, like InterAction, that are architected for how they do business."

About LexisNexis and LexisNexis Interface Software

LexisNexis(R) (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leader in comprehensive and authoritative legal, news and business information and tailored applications. A member of Reed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE:ENL)(NYSE:RUK) (www.reedelsevier.com), the company does business in 100 countries with 13,000 employees worldwide. In addition to its flagship Web-based Lexis(R) and Nexis(R) research services, the company includes some of the world's most respected legal publishers such as Martindale-Hubbell, Matthew Bender, Butterworths, JurisClasseur, Abeledo-Perrot and Orac.

LexisNexis Interface Software is the leading provider of CRM solutions enabling professional services firms and similar relationship-based organizations to create the Relationship Intelligence they need to generate new business and enhance client service. Its flagship product, LexisNexis InterAction, is a flexible and uniquely designed platform that delivers this Relationship Intelligence throughout the organization, quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. Relationship Intelligence is a firm-wide asset that reveals the unique and complex connections between people, companies, relationships, experience and expertise, empowering professionals to leverage who and what they know to uncover new revenue opportunities, differentiate themselves from the competition and enhance client service. InterAction is internet-enabled, allowing professionals to view information however they choose--through knowledge management platforms, corporate portals, intranets, extranets and wireless devices. InterAction supports the LexisNexis mission to provide a breadth of client development tools that enable professional services firms to find, win and keep clients. For more information please visit our website at www.interfacesoftware.com.