Scribe Unveils Data Integration Tools For Cloud CRM

Cloud integration software developer Scribe Software has launched an online CRM data synchronization service that offers bi-directional data integration capabilities.

Scribe, which said the new offering creates service opportunities for the company's ISV and solution provider partners, is touting the simplicity of the new Scribe Online Synchronization Services (Scribe Online SYS).

"Integration is going to be really complicated, but the tools you use don't have to be," said Peter Chase, Scribe founder and executive vice president of business development, in an interview. "We've really elevated the ease-of-use."

Scribe's earlier offerings, built on the Scribe Online cloud integration platform, provided businesses with a way to collect data from cloud CRM applications for local access. The new Scribe Online SYS service provides bi-directional data synchronization between cloud and on-premise applications running at the same time, Chase said.

Scribe focuses particularly on Microsoft's Dynamics CRM and Dynamics CRM Online applications, as well as the Dynamics GP and Dynamics NAV ERP applications and applications from Oracle, SAP and Salesforce.com. About half of the company's 12,000 customers use Dynamics CRM, according to Chase.

Scribe competes with cloud data integration tools from Cast Iron (acquired by IBM in May 2010), Boomi (acquired by Dell in November 2010) and other middleware software developers.

Most of Scribe's 900 partners resell on-premise applications, such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and resell and implement Scribe's integration technology as part of those customer engagements. For the cloud versions of Scribe's software, partners refer customers to the vendor and receive a commission based on the subscription value.

ISVs also resell the Scribe technology by bundling it with the packaged software they develop around the Scribe platform. This week Scribe launched the Scribe Spark Solution Developer Program to help Software-as-a-Service application developers, systems integrators and channel partners build data integration connectors between their solutions and other applications on Scribe Online.

"ISVs and solution providers who provide integration to CRM not only increase the value of their solutions and CRM, but also greatly enhance the ability of the customer to maximize sales," said Roger Hodskins, Scribe vice president of strategic alliances, in a statement. "The Spark program gives partners and ISVs a simple way to provide and distribute integration capabilities with their solution offerings."

Aplicor, DoodData, Metanga and Xactly are among the first SaaS application vendors to join the program.