Pivotal crm’s 3 tier architecture

W H I T E
P A P E R
Pivotal CRM’s 3-Tier Architecture
The Key to Low Total Cost of Ownership

Executive Summary
A CRM application’s total cost of ownership (TCO) extends well beyond just the initial
licensing and implementation fees to include the cost of customizing, integrating,
deploying, and administering CRM on an ongoing basis. As a result, today’s CRM
buyers have expanded their evaluation focus to encompass platform and architecture
criteria that have the greatest impact on total cost of ownership, namely flexibility, scal-
ability, and deployability.

Flexibility, as a function of ease of customization and integration, is the strength of
Pivotal CRM’s metadata-driven architecture, which separates customer data from
business rules (metadata), facilitating the ability to quickly customize a solution to
match business processes. Pivotal CRM’s integration framework leverages middleware
components, third-party adapters, and Web services to provide a standards-based
approach that can significantly decrease the time and effort needed to integrate CRM
with enterprise applications, and data both within and across business boundaries.

Pivotal CRM’s 3-tier architecture is based on the enterprise-strength Intel® and
Microsoft® platforms; offers three types of clients, including a zero-footprint, zero-install
client to facilitate deployment; and can seamlessly distribute customizations to all LAN
and WAN-based satellite systems, mobiles, Web, Lotus Notes, and MS Outlook users
via the Pivotal CRM synchronization solutions.

As a result, Pivotal CRM provides exceptionally low total cost of ownership across
the complete CRM lifecycle, delivering a sensible set of commonly needed features
out-of-the-box, while ensuring businesses can quickly customize, integrate, and deploy
a solution to match their current and evolving business needs.

Architecture— and business processes, and transactions generally
associated with marketing, selling, and servicing
The Foundation of Low TCO customers. This tight coupling provides a head-start in
automating business processes, but ultimately inflates the
The purchasing landscape for CRM has changed total cost of ownership by creating a system that is rigid to
radically in the past 12 months. Today’s CRM buyer is change, causing significant disruption to end users during
looking for a product that is easy to buy; easy to deploy updates and upgrades.
in a predictable timeframe, and will fit with the current and
future business IT strategies. And because the majority of
an organizations’ investment in license fees, configuration, Low TCO CRM Architecture
customization, and training occur well before the software The informed CRM evaluator must take a balanced
shows evidence of results, the price tag attached to a approach to evaluating both the application and the
CRM implementation can seem very high. As a result, architecture when considering TCO. Ultimately, however,
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analyses and proof of it is the CRM application’s flexibility, scalability and
results are critical vendor evaluation criteria that are deployability that will determine total cost of ownership as
coming to light much earlier an organization adapts to its changing marketplace.
in the buying process.
Pivotal CRM stands apart from other CRM software
Given the complex solutions in delivering a complete suite of CRM products
inter-dependence built on a sensible technology foundation that drives low
90% of CRM lifecycle costs
of typical enterprise total ownership costs across the entire CRM lifecycle.
occur in the customization, technology Based on a Microsoft® .NET foundation and embracing
integration, deployment, environments, TCO industry standards, the Pivotal CRM architecture ensures
and ongoing administration can be a difficult metric enterprises gain a flexible, scalable, and deployable
of CRM. to obtain for a single solution for the richest levels of collaboration and
system. However, there interactivity to increase revenues, margins, and customer
are a few key abilities loyalty.
that are crucial in order to mitigate the risk of deploying
CRM software, and a number of areas to focus on to The Internet has set high expectations for accessibility to
reduce costs. These include customization, integration, information and system interoperability, despite the fact
deployment, usability, and upgrades. In fact, leading that many enterprises have substantial investments in
industry analysts point to 90% of CRM lifecycle costs pre-Internet systems and applications that can’t interact
occurring in the customization, integration, deployment, without a huge investment in costly integration solutions.
and ongoing administration of CRM.
Microsoft and other forward-thinking software vendors
Clearly, by adopting a forward-thinking strategy to such as the Pivotal CRM team have taken huge strides
account for costs in the areas of flexibility (which is towards making the Internet vision a reality. Pivotal CRM
a function of ease of customization and integration), is founded on Microsoft .NET, which is the platform of
scalability and deployability, enterprises can significantly choice for building, deploying, operating and integrating
reduce the TCO of their CRM system. And applications for enterprises. It is also the leading platform
in all of these areas, the lowest total cost approach is for Web services—allowing applications to work together
a function of the application’s platform and architecture. in a highly accessible, low cost manner over the Internet,
regardless of operating system, device, or programming
Enterprises are language.
beginning to realize
Pivotal CRM is founded that their ability to Pivotal CRM leverages Microsoft servers to provide
on Microsoft .NET, which deliver on internal the scalability, reliability, and ease of integration and
is the platform of choice business objectives deployment required in a CRM solution aimed at
for building, deploying, while responding enterprises. Some of the Microsoft servers at the core of
opportunistically the Pivotal CRM solution include:
operating and integrating
and intelligently to
applications for enterprises. customer and market Microsoft SQL Server 2000 – Pivotal CRM is optimized
opportunities is to take advantage of the powerful scaling capabilities in
dependent on their SQL Server 2000.
architecture. Today’s
Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 Advanced Server –
effective CRM architecture must cross multiple databases,
Pivotal CRM takes advantage of Windows 2000/2003.
applications, and business functions, and must support
Advanced Server Network Load Balancing services to
evolution at each of those layers. However, many of
distribute IP traffic across a Pivotal CRM-deployed
today’s CRM systems tightly couple the customer data

Pivotal CRM | White Paper 1

application cluster. Pivotal CRM provides access to information at any time
Pivotal CRM’s single OS and from anywhere through wireless communication,
Pivotal’s CRM suite engineering optimization unified messaging, handheld devices, and teleconferencing.
is built using industry eliminates the performance
standards and a 3-tier degradation that Through Microsoft .NET, the Pivotal CRM solution ensures
multi-platform-designed our customers have the pathways they need to leverage
framework, resulting and extend existing investments in technology to take
ISVs suffer.
in an architecture that advantage of the increased productivity, efficiency, and
has the flexibility to Microsoft Internet lower TCO that the Internet offers.
meet the changing Information Server (IIS) –
Microsoft Internet
business needs of
Information Services (IIS)
3-Tier Internet Architecture
enterprises. is the foundation of Pivotal When the Pivotal CRM team set out to architect a CRM
CRM’s high performance, solution for enterprises that delivers exceptionally low
Web-based applications. TCO, we created a 3-tier Internet application architecture
with clear separation of the presentation services tier (user
Microsoft BizTalk Server 2002 – The Pivotal CRM interface), business services tier
solution employs BizTalk Server 2002 for business (where business logic resides), and the data services tier
process integration within and between organizations. (where customer data is kept separate from metadata).
The Pivotal Integration Connector™ facilitates developing,
executing, and managing distributed This architecture enables organizations to save
business processes. substantial time and resources by centralizing application
customization, development, and maintenance at the
Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 – Optimized for the
Exchange Server 2000 communications infrastructure,
Presentation
Services Tier Applications
(Client Tier)
Rich Client Thin Client Wireless Client Windows Client Mobile Client

Browser-based Clients
Clients
Business
Services
Tier
Web
Server Pivotal MarketFirst
Server Intellisync for Pivotal Connectors

Pivotal Interaction Connectors
Pivotal
Tookit
Pivotal
Assisted Selling Pivotal Integration Connectors
Pivotal Server
Administrator
Pivotal Pivotal
Pivotal Tools Extended Business Pivotal Connectors
Servers Server
Data Services
Tier

Enterprise Data

Figure 1-1: Pivotal CRM's 3-Tier Architecture


middle tier. With graphical tools for customizing the Because the presentation tier is clearly separated from the
look, feel, and functionality delivered at the presentation rest of the application, users can easily obtain access to
services tier, the business services tier, and the database the system via different channels, such as Web, Windows,
services tier, changes to business logic can be made and Wireless, in both synchronous and asynchronous
quickly and efficiently with relatively little impact on modes. Internet-based presentation tools such as browsers
existing applications. And because there is no client provide familiar navigation schema—including graphically
software to install, the distribution of both application rich icons with descriptive text and guided navigation
and data modifications to users, regardless of their cues—to drive rapid and comfortable end-user adoption.
location or access method, is streamlined.
Business Services Tier
The Pivotal CRM architecture also drives improved
interoperability between other customer-relevant The business services tier contains the application logic.
applications, such as ERP systems. This is a result This tier receives input from the presentation services tier,
of the ability to integrate applications at the business interacts with the data services tier to perform data-level
services tier by reusing business logic that resides here. transactions, and sends results back to the presentation
Interoperability is fundamental to extending access to tier. The Pivotal Business Server™ supplies the underlying
customers and partners beyond the enterprise, as it structure that maintains system integrity, providing
relies on common standards for Internet communication business logic and data retrieval services for the entire
and collaboration. Pivotal CRM suite of applications. The Pivotal Extended
Servers work in conjunction with the Pivotal Business
Presentation Services Tier Server to deliver the application-specific functionality
required by CDC MarketFirst and Pivotal Assisted Selling.
Pivotal Rich Client™ is a highly interactive
browser-based client, providing presentation tier services The Pivotal Business Server is an XML-based, 3-tier,
on laptops and desktops. The presentation services tier transaction-processing platform powered by the mature
defines the interface through which a user interacts and robust Microsoft COM+ environment. The Business
with the application, passing validated information Server logs and tracks all transactions, and manages the
from the user to the business services tier, and workflow of a customer throughout the entire customer
receiving results. Alternatively, Pivotal Wireless™ lifecycle—from customer engagement (typically through
is a portal-based solution for wireless devices, delivering a marketing initiative) through the sales process,
CRM functionality to mobile employees using wireless transaction and request fulfillment, and support phases.
handheld devices such as web-enabled cell phones,
PDAs, two-way pagers, etc. The Pivotal Business Server enforces business
logic and rules through Pivotal AppServer Services and
AppServer Rules. The AppServer Services are
a set of COM+ objects responsible for the Pivotal CRM

Presentation 1 User logs onto Pivotal CRM using Pivotal Rich Client.
Services Tier EST
QU
RE 2 User sends a request for data (via HTTP), which is
(Client Tier) S
ER
U 1 User logs onto Pivotal Rich captured by the AppServer Services running on the
2 Client through browser (IE)* Business Services Tier.
3 The AppServer Services checks the AppServer Rules
6
to ensure the request complies with current business
Business rules.
Services T 4 The AppServer Services passes the verified request to
H

Tier T
P COM+ 3
& the Enterprise Customer Data and Business Module
II
S
AppServer Rules (if needed).
AppServer Services
5 The requested data and any accompanying metadata
are sent back to the AppServer Services.
6 The AppServer Services passes the requested data to
OLE DB

the user (via HTTP).
Data 5 4 5
Services
Tier

BM ED

*ActiveX controls, business logic and formatting information are downloaded and cached as temporary Internet files on the client machine as needed.

Figure 1-2: Query Flow through the Pivotal CRM Business Services Tier


database transactions. These objects handle all the direct • User Interface definitions, such as form layouts,
actions required to read from and write to the Pivotal lists, report layout and contents, templates, etc.
CRM database. They deliver, format, and send/receive • Business rules and workflow definitions (COM+
information and data to and from the browser, execute objects or Pivotal Agents™), queries, reports, etc.
queries, and pass data to Pivotal AppServer Rules. The
AppServer Rules are COM objects or .NET assemblies • Security definitions that define security requirements
that implement the application business to protect data at run time
rules, and can be written in any COM, COM+ or .NET The Pivotal CRM metadata-driven architecture lowers the
compliant language. total cost of deployment because it’s only the metadata
stored in the BM that’s modified when changes are made
Data Services Tier to the presentation services tier or the data services
The data services tier stores and retrieves data. All CRM tier. Ongoing changes are managed centrally, and are
system data is collected in two separate databases: the automatically deployed to the various satellite systems
Business Module (BM) metadata database and Enterprise (if applicable) and users from a central location. And
Customer Data (ED) database. By separating the data because the execution and development environments
from the metadata, the Pivotal CRM application is easily are kept separate, the application can tolerate a high
customized to meet changing organizational needs with level of customization without a significant impact on
no disruption to the rest of the system or end users. existing applications.

The ED contains corporate or enterprise data such as
company profile data, contact information, order history, Flexibility Drives Low TCO
etc. that end users need to access and update. The BM A flexible CRM application is one that is both easy to
contains metadata, which is data about the way in which customize and easy to integrate with intra- and extra-
the ED is organized, and how the Pivotal CRM application enterprise applications and data sources. Architectural
will behave. flexibility is about making the CRM software, and thus
CRM processes, work in the way the organization sees
The BM stores the following types of data:
fit—not how the CRM vendor thinks it should work. Many
• Database definitions, including table and vendors’ architectures are inherently rigid, making their
record structures CRM application very difficult to customize. This raises
TCO by forcing customers to abandon proven business
processes and start anew, either because customization
cannot be done, or because it is simply too expensive.

A customizable CRM application
Business supports changes in both underlying
Services COM+ data definitions and business process
Tier Business Server rules without requiring alteration of
AppServer Rules | AppServer Services
source code, binaries, or runtime
environments. How a company
handles its business rules can provide
significant competitive advantage,
because adapting business rules f
aster than competitors in response
to market pressures or customer
demand allows companies to sell to
or service customers faster and better
Data Services than their competitors.
Tier Form definitions,
Queries & Query
business rules, A CRM application that features ease
Results via OLE DB
workflow from BM of integration is not only compatible
with pre-existing systems, but creates
synergy between them to enhance and
extend functionality. To be effective, the
Business Module (BM) Enterprise Customer Data (ED) CRM vendor must supply an integration
Contains metadata • Companies framework that spans multiple data
• Forms • Contracts stores, applications, and business
• Business Rules • Orders, etc. processes across departmental and
• Workflow
even enterprise boundaries.
Figure 1-3: Data Services Tier


“
• Pivotal CRM’s open and flexible data model is a result
A successful CRM implementation is directly of the fact that all forms, fields, etc. are saved as
linked to the usability of the application, metadata, so changes to business rules, workflows,
and processes can be made simply and quickly.
making fit more important than an application’s • While the Pivotal CRM team supplies a rich set of
overall depth and breadth... It is critical to tables out-of-the-box, it’s easy to add new tables
using the graphical customization tools provided
first determine user needs and then evaluate in the Pivotal CRM Toolkit.
vendors based on need-to-have versus
Open Data Model
”
nice-to-have functionality.
AMR Research Excessive functionality increases an application’s
“Picking the Right CRM Vendor: It’s More Than a One Horse Race” complexity and reduces the usability of the application
September 2001 for the end-user, resulting in increased end-user training
costs and risk of end-user rejection. The only remedy for
an application that is too functionality-rich is to remove
The true measure of an application’s flexibility is based
the excessive functionality during the implementation
on the cost to perform customization and integration
phase. But this approach to customization can be very
enhancements. These costs can include increases in
risky. Many CRM applications are built upon a much
deployment time, decreases in application performance,
more complex web of intra-dependencies than their
the cost of acquiring the skills to perform the
leaner counterparts.
enhancement, and future costs associated with whether
the enhancement can be used (or must be discarded) In order not to introduce aberrant behavior into the
during application upgrades. Clearly, customization and application, customizers must pay extra attention when
integration enhancements are not limited to just the initial excising excessive functionality from their implementation.
implementation, but rather require ongoing adjustment. This added attention, whether in the form of extra
implementation time to comprehensively study all the
The Pivotal CRM Approach application functionality before making any changes,
or simply hiring more knowledgeable specialists, can
to Customization significantly raise the TCO of a CRM application.

The Pivotal CRM solution maintains the highest level The Pivotal CRM solution offers a viable alternative—a
of customizability through our meta-data driven leaner application and a comprehensive set of graphical
approach, and our open and flexible data model. These customization tools to ensure that customization is rapid,
two characteristics of Pivotal CRM distinctly—and reliable, and cost-effective.
uniquely—address the business need of enterprises for
ease of customization because: Database complexity is a good indicator of the overall
complexity of the CRM product. The underlying data
• Customizations are saved as metadata in the Business structure of Pivotal CRM is open, flexible, and easy to
Module, not as code or rigid table extensions, and sent understand. With less than 200 tables, Pivotal CRM
to users via the same technology used to synchronize supplies a majority of the functionality required by most
Enterprise Data. As a result, all users are seamlessly
updated regardless of their access method.
Mobile Client Browser Client Windows Client

Presentation Tier (UI)

User Interface

Business Rules

Data Model
Business Tier
Business Module Pivotal Toolkit (Business Rules)

Data Tier
(Data Model)

Figure 2-1: Pivotal CRM Toolkit allows customization of all 3 tiers from a single location


enterprises. By comparison, CRM applications with 10 to tools to allow the customizer to quickly build new tables
20 times as many tables provide excessive functionality, into the system.
resulting in a data model that is not only inflexible, but
often simply too complex to understand. This necessitates The Pivotal CRM system also provides a comprehensive
a great deal of reliance on specialized, vendor-supplied set of default interaction behaviors that saves the
customizers, raising TCO. customizer from having to implement functionality over
and over again. This default behavior includes user
navigation support for easy navigation to related records
Intelligent Customization Framework of a given form, ways to aggregate data on a list, and
The customization process for Pivotal CRM was designed behavior for saving, updating and retrieving data from
to be intuitive for customizers to use and learn. We the database.

“
Most customization is performed through our advanced,
The number one reason for choosing user-friendly graphical customization toolkit.

Pivotal CRM over other CRM vendors is The Pivotal CRM Toolkit™ is an easy-to-use visual tool
that enables rapid customization to meet business needs.
our strong support for customization and Customizers work with Active Forms, which are the visual

”
overall solution flexibility.
Based on internal competitive survey of deals over
nine consecutive quarters. Total deals analyzed=154

selected familiar metaphors such as forms, tables,
lists, and queries to represent the key elements that
customizers interact with, and organized them to make
specifying the interaction between them easy and intuitive.

Pivotal CRM provides an elegant, uncomplicated
framework for how these metaphors interact with each
other to create functionality. Where other CRM vendors
may require tedious and unintuitive changes to 5 or 6
Figure 2-3: Pivotal CRM Customization Environment

representation of CRM data, business processes and
workflow that the user sees on their client. Active Forms
contain the database structure—every field on a form, is
by default, linked to a table in the database. To modify
Active Forms to meet the needs of users, customizers lay
out the form directly using point-and-click buttons and
other screen elements.

The powerful WYSIWYG model for Active Forms
customization makes the process easy, rapid, and
intuitive. Pivotal CRM includes Active Form Templates
out-of-the-box with logic and rules built-in, and additional
logic and workflow can easily be attached. In this way,
customization can be carried out by any business analyst,
as no code level changes are required.
Figure 2-2: Intuitive Metaphors for Ease of Customization
For additional customization, the Pivotal CRM team makes
different elements simply to add an additional field to a available a comprehensive library of API’s (Application
form, the Pivotal CRM framework requires only 2 changes. Programming Interfaces) for Visual Basic and VBScript
application developers to customize against, as well
For example, creating a simple customer contact form
as providing support for .NET scripting with the ability
requires the customizer simply to declaratively link the
to write new server scripts in C#, VB.Net and other
new form to the corresponding database element, lay out
.Net languages.
the form using our graphical form designer, and register
the new form with the navigation menu. All this is done
without needing to write a single line of code. If a new
table is required for this form, Pivotal CRM has graphical


The Pivotal CRM Approach • The Pivotal Interaction Connectors provide connectivity
to telephony systems and third-party customer
to Integration interaction platforms to facilitate the creation of call and
contact centers. Out-of-the-box support is provided for
At the heart of any CRM system is a consolidated data Interactive Intelligence’s Customer Interaction Center
repository of critical customer, partner, and employee (I3’s CIC), and Intel’s NetMerge CPS platform for
information. The integration challenge for enterprises is Computer Telephony Interaction (CTI).
to share this CRM data with customer, employee, and
partner data from other internal systems and departments; • The Pivotal Integration Connector provides a cost-
integrate databases that use distinct schemas; create effective integration framework that is extensible to
composite applications both Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) and
that incorporate Business-to-Business integration (B2Bi). At base, the
Integration Client Provides: functionality from third Pivotal Integration Connector consists of a set of tools
parties; and, make including an XML adapter, an integration interface, and
• A GUI that implementers use
to automate the implementation data and business a configuration client. The Pivotal Integration Connector
process processes available supports open Internet standards, middleware, and
and manageable Web services, facilitating the seamless, bi-directional
• Management ofintegration
across public networks. exchange of data and process integration between
design andadministration
Pivotal CRM and 3rd party applications using HTTP.
• Controls implementation In the face of all these It also supports XML and SOAP based Web services,
and maintenance costs providing a complete set of integration options.
challenges, customer
• Uses existing business rules integration goals
for the data fields (objects)
being integrated
generally include one or The Middleware Advantage
more of the following:
Pivotal CRM supports the following Web services pillars:
• Making more
sources of data available, despite The Internet The Internet is the de facto arena
a myriad of data formats and database systems; for enterprise and intra-enterprise
collaboration.
• Driving higher levels of productivity and automation
through business process integration; HTTP HyperText Transport Protocol is the
lowest-cost information transport
• Offering users richer application functionality through mechanism, and has ubiquitous reach.
application integration. XML (eXtensible XML is the lingua franca for Internet
The Pivotal CRM system provides a number of connectors Markup Language) computing.
to facilitate the integration of its solutions with external, SOAP (Simple SOAP is a standard Web protocol to
third-party applications, and data sources: Object Access expose useful functionality to Web
Protocol) users, by allowing systems to talk to one
• Intellisync for Pivotal Connectors facilitate another and make requests.
synchronization of PIM data with users of Lotus Notes
and MS Outlook. For more information, refer to the
section, “Pivotal Intellisync” on page 13.

Internet

Web Service Applications

Clients Integration via Web Services
Interaction Connectors


Middleware
Any
( SOAP / XML )

BizTalk
Vitria ERP
Tibco Adapter
IVR PBX
Scribe
ERP System
Telephony
Integration Pivotal Integration via Middleware
Business Server

Figure 2-4: Pivotal Integration Overview


In general, any data Simple Web services typically are used to perform
Integration to source that can non-transactional “information supplementation” such
Middleware Enables: be connected to as delivering news feeds, updating static information
middleware, can dashboards, providing additional company information,
• Mapping, orchestration and connect to Pivotal etc. More complex Web services have the ability to
translation management
CRM. The Pivotal provide support for transactions, such as customer
• Application of critical business Integration Connector initiation and order fulfillment.
processes, workflow, and sits between the
communication (transport) Some highlights of the Web services support in the Pivotal
Pivotal Business Server
protocols between systems. CRM architecture include:
and the middleware
• Definition of agreements among solution, connecting
internal applications and trading • A history of supporting XML accessing critical
to the Business Server application elements.
partner organizations to regulate
via an XML interface.
electronic data exchanges • Ability to exchange data as a Web service, such as the
To share information
between Pivotal CRM ability to send/receive company, contact, and order
and multiple front- and back-end office systems, the information between the Pivotal CRM system and
Pivotal Integration Connector transforms the Pivotal XML external systems.
schema to and from the general XML schema supported • Able to integrate, consume, and present Web services
by leading middleware vendors. Adaptors perform the within Pivotal CRM applications as a customization, and
same function as the Pivotal Integration Connector for for the purpose of extending the product line.
each back-office data source.
The following diagram illustrates one example of how
The Pivotal Integration Connector utilizes published Pivotal CRM might utilize Web services to perform simple
conversion rules for standardizing XML schemas, thereby order placement and fulfillment.
enabling communication between systems that use
different XML schemas. In this way, Pivotal CRM supports
the routing of documents and information, provides Scalability for High Performance
synchronization of data with ERP systems (including
MS Great Plains, SAP, J.D. Edwards, PeopleSoft,
and Lower TCO
Oracle and others), and gives consistent, near-real time The rallying cry for today’s enterprise IT group
availability of data throughout the organization and across implementing CRM is no longer simply “scalability” or
business boundaries. CRM at any cost. With so many businesses experiencing
intensified cost cutting, especially in their IT organizations,
Security is of prime concern when business data crosses it’s important that CRM application and platform vendors
enterprise boundaries. The Pivotal Integration Connector such as CDC Software and Intel® respond with sensible,
provides secure XML over HTTP (SSL) for both EAI and results-focused
B2Bi, communicating between the middleware product CRM. Stepping
and the Pivotal Business Server using XML over HTTPs, up to the plate, Because it’s based on
and securing messages for integrity, privacy, and non- Intel is advocating the industry standards
repudiation, using platform-neutral mechanisms. a new approach of middleware and Web
to scalability— services, Pivotal CRM’s
“Scale Right.”
Application Integration via Web Services1 integration process allows
“Scale Right” for rapid implementation
The Pivotal CRM solution’s 3-tier architecture is designed
on the Microsoft .NET framework, which facilitates the
refers to and faster time to results.
balancing an
ability of Pivotal CRM to integrate with and consume Web
assessment
services. Pivotal CRM applications are inherently modular
of the business requirements of a CRM system with its
and expose various application elements.
impact to the current—and planned—IT infrastructure. By
The Pivotal CRM architecture includes an XML-based choosing CDC Software's award-winning, scalable Pivotal
CRM server that supports an array of applications, CRM on Intel architecture-based systems, enterprises
clients, and users by providing security, transaction can realize business value through a flexible and agile
capability, and authentication for Web services during approach to server architecture based on modular
consumption and presentation. Web client can present building blocks. The benefits also extend to encompass
Web services by providing relevant data for the user, and the cost savings associated with affordable, manageable,
by providing remotely accessible application functionality off-the-shelf hardware and software.
as a customization.

1 Web Services. “Vendors that need to improve their integration story should look at Web services as a means to improve their ability to connect
to both the data and processes in legacy systems. While the Web services market is still in its infancy, AMR Research believes its initial use
will revolve around application-to-application integration behind the firewall.” (Finding Success in the Mid-Market, AMR, Feb 1, 2001)


Presentation
Services Tier 1 User submits an order form in Pivotal CRM

2 A Web services query is sent to check the customer’s
credit via a credit bureau’s Web service
INTERNET
3 Credit bureau sends a Web services response to Pivotal
1 CRM indicating that the customer’s credit is good
6
Credit
Business 2 Verification 4 The shipping instructions are sent to a shipping service
Service
Services Tier exposed as a Web service

3
Web Services 5 Shipper confirms the instructions by sending a Web
(SOAP/ XML) 4 services response to Pivotal CRM

Shipping
Applications 6 Order status is updated with information that product
Pivotal 5 Service
Business Server
has shipped.
Data Services
Tier
Pivotal
Database

FRONT OFFICE DATA
• Companies
• Contacts
• Orders

Figure 2-5: Pivotal CRM Web services Architecture

Scalability rests largely on the Pivotal CRM platform goals demand the highest possible levels of application
strategy, and our strong relationships with enterprise performance.
platform partners Intel and Microsoft. Our robust, scalable,
high-performance architecture scales to support access Many IT decision makers now look at server consolidation
for full-time users, and large populations of occasional as a key to controlling IT costs. However, rather than just
and external users as well. consolidating on a mainframe, IT personnel should place
the focus on optimizing IT assets. “Scale Right” is Intel’s
With our commitment to Microsoft’s scalable enterprise server deployment strategy that aims to maximize the
computing platform on Intel Architecture, Pivotal CRM use of all the enterprises server assets by optimizing a
customers are able to scale up their applications to company’s mix of scale-up and scale-out deployments.
handle more users and more data by adding resources This is a more efficient and more agile deployment
to existing servers such as additional processors, strategy that should pay off in superior business value to
memory, or disks. For many of our customers, however, the enterprise.
the horizontal or “scale out” approach is most important,
allowing them to increase performance in the face of The first step in The combination of
additional users, workload, volume, and functionality, any “Scale Right” Intel’s highly scalable
while simultaneously addressing reliability through the strategy is to server technologies and
addition of application servers. assess business Pivotal CRM’s 3-tier CRM
requirements.
For example, application is raising the
"Scale Right" uninterrupted bar for high performance
The combination of Intel’s highly scalable server up-time might computing architectures.
technologies and our 3-tier CRM application is be critical to
raising the bar for high performance computing maximizing
architectures—architectures that can demonstrably customer loyalty and partner and employee productivity,
enhance the competitive performance of technology- or the more pressing issue may be adding capacity to the
enabled enterprises. CRM database management system to handle a greater
number of concurrent users or a greater number of ad
Enterprises are moving away from isolated, vertical hoc queries.
islands of proprietary data toward a more open and
broadly deployable computing model. Today’s enterprise Whatever the business-level objectives are, Intel-based
requires a high-performance server infrastructure that small-, medium- and large-scale servers deliver superior
scales and adapts to every area of the end-to-end price/performance, across the board. What’s more,
enterprise: front-office, back-office and wherever business choosing the right deployment model (the right mix of


scale-out and scale-up) allows businesses to dial-in CRM application and the network-level infrastructure be
exactly how much scalability, availability, and agility “tunable” to perform within existing network infrastructure
they need at the most affordable price. Pivotal CRM and bandwidth constraints.
on Intel-based servers deliver lower TCO in a “Scaled
Right” environment. Together with Microsoft and Intel, we deliver a CRM
application that is tunable to meet the performance needs
of different types of users in enterprises through the
Microsoft Scalability following mechanisms:
The Microsoft platform delivers both scalability and value,
enabling solution providers like the Pivotal CRM team to Intelligent client-side processing – The application
design applications that scale via two methods: scale-up can be customized to offload some processing to the
and scale-out. Pivotal CRM takes advantage of both client system, thereby reducing server-side processing
the scale-out features (like network load balancing) and and network roundtrips. Some examples of client-side
scale-up features (like processing include data validation, formula calculation,
multi-threaded, SMP and workflow.
Pivotal takes advantage support) provided by
of both the scale-out Data Compression – The Pivotal CRM server
the Microsoft platform,
compresses all data sent to the Pivotal Rich Client,
and scale-up features in order to address
maximizing throughput and minimizing transmission time.
provided by the Microsoft the capacity needs
The result is highly efficient bandwidth use and improved
platform in order to address of enterprises when
response times for users.
it comes to Pivotal
the capacity needs of CRM, the underlying Efficient server-side processing – Pivotal CRM caches
mid-size enterprises. database and web workflow and UI rules on the Presentation Services Tier.
infrastructure. This results in a highly efficient server-side processing and
reduces round trips to the Business Services Tier. Users
The Microsoft platform has been designed to scale-up
also benefit from a distinct improvement in performance
and scale-out in response to the dynamic processing
following caching.
requirements demanded of today’s enterprise, regardless
of where they happen in the architecture. Data Synchronization Manager – Pivotal CRM reduces
network traffic by only sending metadata updates to the
Whether it’s handling query processing, or large-scale
Business Services Tier of satellite servers when it detects
database applications, the Microsoft platform delivers
a change in the metadata. Similarly, only the necessary
levels of scaling flexibility for the most demanding IT
updates are pushed out to clients for UI or business
environments. As demonstrated by industry-standard
process changes. The result is minimal network traffic and
benchmarks, Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 and SQL
increased user performance.
Server 2000 offer on-demand scalability to meet the
demanding requirements of business applications like Network Performance Analysis Tools – Today’s
Pivotal CRM. The Microsoft platform has achieved world- corporate networks are filled to capacity. As Intel’s
record performance in benchmark tests with the lowest Thomas stated, “CIOs run their networks continually at
total cost of ownership on the market. Without having 110%, because all available bandwidth is immediately
to over-buy computing power up-front, customers can consumed.” Applications, therefore, must be both a
incrementally scale their IT infrastructure as needed. “good network citizen” and allow for continual fine tuning
as the corporate
Pivotal CRM—a High network evolves.
Pivotal caches workflow
Performance Solution The Pivotal CRM and UI rules on the
network analysis Presentation Services Tier,
For enterprises, scalability is above all about creating tools help
high performance CRM from the user perspective. administrators
resulting in highly efficient
Unfortunately, there is currently no hard data on user identify network server-side processing.
expectations of enterprise applications such as CRM. bottlenecks
However, it’s clear that power users—users who and improve
are connected most of the time to the CRM system, such performance by optimizing client-side processing,
as contact center employees and support specialists— identifying unnecessary network round-trips, improving
have the greatest need for high-performance CRM, and “wire-level” performance, optimizing application
will tolerate less system latency than the occasional server-side processing, streamlining security handling,
or disconnected user. Ad hoc users will have different and improving database structure and record-level
performance requirements. It’s critical that both the data access.


Load Balancing – Pivotal supports the deployment of
master and satellite systems to distribute system load
Pivotal Rich Clients
more evenly, or divide administrative functions based on The Pivotal CRM team provides a range of access
the requirements of different geographical locations or methods to support CRM application users according to
departments. Entire master systems can be replicated their needs:
and synchronized, or just a subset (based on filters),
ensuring data reliability in the case of a main system Pivotal Mobile Client™ – allows disconnected use of the
failure. Satellite systems can also host other satellites and Pivotal CRM system, including read/write access to data,
mobile systems, moving data closer to users and thereby quote creation, offline product catalogs, and much more.
delivering superior performance. All synchronization with the master database is carried out
via Pivotal SyncStream.
Intel Solution Services – Pivotal leverages Intel
Services, which support industry needs from application Pivotal Windows Client™ – a feature- and function-rich
optimization and porting through guidance on end-to-end client for users working in client-server LAN environments.
e-Business integration. Intel Services allow companies to
test, tune, scale, and prove their solutions with minimal Pivotal Thin Client™ – a zero-footprint client that provides
impact to their day-to-day business by providing optimal portal access to Pivotal CRM for partners and users that
environments for safely designing and testing solutions. require less interactivity and more structured database
access, without the full transactional support that other
users may require.
Ease of Deployment
Pivotal Rich Client™ – combines the feature-rich,
Lowers TCO interactive transactional support of Pivotal Windows client,
together with the low-maintenance, low TCO and
A deployable CRM application should be cost-effective
high accessibility that a browser-based application provides.
to install, maintain and upgrade, no matter whether the
organization is a multinational company with hundreds Today we’re in the midst of a sea change regarding the
of regional offices, or a single office with multiple appropriate size of web-based client applications. Should
departments. Deployability is a major factor in lowering there be any code on the client? Or just the right code on
the TCO of a system, as there are enormous costs the client?
associated with
deploying applications While virtually all businesses understand the cost benefits
While virtually all to a large—and of zero client-side maintenance, they have historically paid
businesses understand distributed—end user for their highly accessible zero maintenance thin client
the cost benefits of zero base, then supporting with reduced features, functionality, and performance as
client-side maintenance, these users as the a result of high network traffic and latency. A “zero client
they have historically application changes footprint” is a marketing buzzword that obscures the need
over time. for a self-installing, self-administering, self-maintaining
paid for it with reduced
client that has the intelligence to perform appropriate
features, functionality The Pivotal CRM levels of client-side processing to increase performance
and performance. architecture has and allow for variation in user-level customization.
been designed with
deployability in mind. As CRM application buyers appraise the “code on the
Pivotal CRM employs a browser-based zero-client install client” issue, the “intelligent client”—with the “right code
that simplifies deployment and ongoing administration. on the client”—is becoming an important option for
And because all application customization, upgrades, buyers that prefer high performance, feature-rich, Internet-
and maintenance are carried out exclusively at the middle based CRM applications.
tier, client-side updates are seamlessly communicated to
users around the world with no additional requirement for Pivotal Rich Client provides a web browser-based user
client-side maintenance. interface to the Pivotal CRM application. But unlike pure
HTML-based clients that suffered from performance
Our modular deployment method allows each of the degradation and limitations,2 Pivotal Rich Client offers
five, pre-integrated product suites in Pivotal CRM to be a much higher degree of accessibility and interactivity.
rolled out separately, reducing the cost-to-results ratio. Designed for sales, marketing, and support specialists,
This means that companies can deploy Pivotal Sales™ Pivotal Rich Client takes a Document Object Model (DOM)
and later seamlessly deploy Pivotal Service™, then CDC approach, incorporating both Dynamic HTML and Visual
MarketFirst™ as requirements and budgets allow. There Basic scripts to allow for rendering of web pages on the
are no additional infrastructure costs associated with client—there’s no need to send data back and forth to
integrating multiple modules. the server until a logical transaction is to be completed.

2 Studies have shown that simple HTML-based solutions generate between 5 and 15 times the network activity needed in order to
produce the same level of user interactivity in the same amount of time as intelligent clients—and they do so with much reduced
user application performance.


As a result, Rich Client provides robust functionality and including data, metadata, and application code.
advanced features, With support for both automated server-based push
while delivering noticeable performance and user synchronization, and manually initiated client-based pull,
satisfaction improvement. Pivotal CRM provides companies with the right solutions
that work in concert to support their entire mobile workforce.
Pivotal Rich Client passes many business logic requests
(such as opening a
Pivotal Rich Client form, running a search, Pivotal SyncStream
delivers the functionality or saving a form) to
Pivotal SyncStream™ is a component of the Pivotal
COM objects on the
and performance users middle tier, providing
Business Server that drives lower TCO by enabling
require, while still providing the distribution of Business Module (BM) updates and
users with access to a
Enterprise Customer Data (ED) changes throughout an
administrators with centrally administered
organization, synchronizing master database changes
a low-maintenance client. repository of business
with satellite and mobile systems, and vice-versa.
logic and data.
Business logic can also With Pivotal Syncstream, satellite systems scale as your
be executed on the Rich Client in the form of client-side organization grows, providing local load balancing while
scripts. allowing access to BM and ED databases that are either
subsets or replicas of the parent system. Mobile systems
For example, customizers may attach logic to custom
contain a local copy of the BM and a subset of the ED
buttons, or they might create scripts that execute logic
databases, so mobile users can work while disconnected
on the client when a user saves a form or creates a new
from the network. In this way, SyncStream guarantees
contact (i.e., to perform extra validation). These scripts are
real-time read- and write-access to enterprise data for
small in size and downloaded to the client on demand,
laptop and desktop users of Pivotal CRM applications,
whenever the user performs actions that require client-
and lowers TCO by centrally pushing customization
side processing.
changes out to all end users.
In this way, Pivotal Rich Client delivers the functionality
Pivotal SyncStream consists of a number of applications
and performance users require, while still providing
and services that work in concert to coordinate updates.
administrators with a low-maintenance client solution that
Changes to the BM or ED databases are tracked, and
drives low TCO by simplifying deployment and ongoing
when a record
administration.
is added or
modified, LAN- Pivotal SyncStream
Synchronization—the Key to based clients guarantees real-time
are immediately read and write access to
Low TCO Clients notified. For enterprise data for laptop
mobile or
In the highly distributed computing environment
disconnected
and desktop users, and
typical of today’s mobile workforces, synchronization can centrally push
workers,
is a fundamental requirement. The complexity and customization changes
changes are
expense involved in keeping data and application code
customizations/upgrades synchronized with database
packaged into out to all end users.
synchronization
replicas distributed across WANs, LANs, and mobile
messages,
clients has become a key TCO issue.
security is checked, and then the messages are
The Pivotal CRM system lowers the TCO by ensuring the addressed to the users’ systems that need to be updated.
efficient distribution of changes to both Enterprise Data The messages are passed via the SyncStream database
and the business logic stored in the Business Module. to the HTTP message server on IIS.
Modifications to the Pivotal CRM system can be moved
The Pivotal SyncStream database serves as a failsafe
from an off-line development system into production with
measure, retaining a local copy of both inbound and
a single command from the administrator.
outbound synchronization messages until they can be
When changes to the metadata repository are made, a confirmed as processed by the recipient system. The
compressed version of the repository is distributed to all next time a user connects, authentication takes place,
LAN- and WAN-based satellite systems, mobiles, Web, the messages are sent, and data synchronization occurs
Lotus Notes, and MS Outlook users via the Pivotal CRM seamlessly in the background. Because changes to
synchronization solutions. fields are made at different times, SyncStream compares
changes and validates at the field level, and commits
Synchronization is built into the core of Pivotal CRM, them at the record level in order to maintain the integrity
its Business Server, and provides distribution and of the data.
synchronization for all facets of the Pivotal CRM system,


Figure 4-1: Pivotal SyncStream Architecture

Pivotal Intellisync Intellisync coordinates the batched data transfer between
Pivotal CRM data and the PIM application. Conflicts are
Enterprises often grow quickly, expanding through resolved and errors tracked at the field level, engine level
acquisitions that can result in a single organization trying and within the Pivotal system, ensuring data integrity.
to support many disparate systems and clients. Effective Users can also elect to manually resolve any data conflict,
use of any CRM solution requires seamless integration ensuring only accurate data enters their client.
and synchronization of customer data across the
distributed enterprise, despite multiple systems, access
methods and applications. Ensuring data consistency, Pivotal Wireless
accuracy and timeliness between calendars, task lists Pivotal Wireless enables mobile employees real-time
and contact information from both connected and read and write access to critical customer data. Pivotal
disconnected users on multiple client systems can be a Wireless offers both an out-of-the-box application for
complex challenge. Pivotal Intellisync™ drives low TCO by immediate deployment, and a highly flexible solution
offering the ability to bi-directionally synchronize Pivotal easily tailored for the unique needs of any organizations’
data with multiple mail clients across an organization. mobile employees using wireless, hand held devices such
as web-enabled cell phones, personal digital assistants
While Pivotal SyncStream supports synchronization (PDAs) and two-way pagers.
within Pivotal CRM Suite, Intellisync provides a consistent
view of information Pivotal Wireless reads and writes data to and from the
between Pivotal Pivotal Enterprise Customer Database.To take advantage
Pivotal Intellisync allows
CRM and a user’s of Pivotal Wireless, users only need an HTML- or a
organizations to support Personal Information WML-compliant micro-browser loaded on their wireless
multiple clients—users can Manager (PIM), device of choice. Pivotal Wireless is a server-side solution,
synchronize their Pivotal enabling individuals requiring only that the wireless device’s browser be
Sales activity and contact to synchronize their pointed at the
Pivotal Sales activity correct URL.
information with either their
and contact information There is no client- Pivotal Wireless is a server-
Lotus Notes or Microsoft with Lotus Notes and side software side solution that utilizes
Outlook client. Microsoft Outlook. required on the a true thin client, requiring
wireless device, only that the wireless
Allowing users to other than the
filter items, and customize events and activities to be micro-browser.
device’s browser be pointed
synchronized, Intellisync drives data synchronization from Additionally, there at the correct URL.
the client side, providing for a highly scalable solution. A is no data stored
one-step synchronization process lets users launch the on the device,
client-side application and initiate the Intellisync Engine meaning data is protected and unlikely to fall into the
Run Time, which opens an HTTP connection to the wrong hands. For data passing over the wire, customers
Intellisync engine running on Pivotal’s middle tier server. have the option to implement a 128-bit SSL certificate.3

3 The success of the SSL implementation depends largely on the local carrier that the customer chooses.


Pivotal Wireless Pivotal Business Server

Wireless Data Service Wireless Web Server NT Domain
any Gateway IIS
Wireless Data Request Server

IIS Database

WML Microbrowser
HTML Microbrowser HTTP HTTP
or
HTTPS
(SSL)

Demilitarized Zone
Web-enabled cell phone Wireless PDA (DMZ)

Figure 4-2: Pivotal Wireless Architecture

When a user enters the Pivotal Wireless URL into their Pivotal CRM provides a sensible set of commonly needed
device’s micro-browser, their wireless gateway service features out-of-the-box without the excessive depth that
opens an HTTP connection to the Internet. The Pivotal makes many other CRM applications inflexible. Pivotal’s
Wireless Web Server receives user requests and notifies metadata-driven architecture, in combination with powerful
the Pivotal Business and intuitive customization tools, results in a CRM solution
Server. Business that allows you to quickly customize a solution to match
Pivotal CRM provides Server generates an your current and evolving business processes. Pivotal
a sensible set of commonly XML document (data) provides a cost-effective integration framework that is
needed features with content defined extensible to both EAI and B2Bi via industry-standard
out-of-the-box without by the security module middleware, third party adapters, and Web services,
set by the customer in facilitating seamless, bi-directional exchange of data and
the excessive depth that
the Business Module. integration of processes. And because it’s standards-
makes many other CRM Pivotal Wireless based, Pivotal’s integration solution ensures that you can
applications inflexible. then takes the XML quickly adapt and extend your CRM system dynamically
document and renders as business systems and partners change.
it with XSL into HTML
or WML for display on the device. All forms, as well as Scalability—does the architecture let you scale and
searches submitted by the user, are optimized for wireless improve application performance cost-effectively?
devices, ensuring user performance levels are met.
Pivotal’s architecture leverages a 100% Microsoft/Intel
platform to drive low TCO by letting you “scale right”
Conclusions to address business needs. Pivotal CRM allows you to
scale up to handle more users and more data by adding
Total cost of ownership assessments must take into resources to existing servers, or “scale out” to increase
consideration costs throughout the life of a CRM performance in the face of additional users, workload,
application. Some analysts point to 90% of CRM volume, and functionality, while simultaneously addressing
lifecycle costs occurring in customizing, integrating, reliability through the addition of application servers.
deploying, and administering CRM.As such, TCO for
a CRM application can be determined by examining In addition, Pivotal’s architecture allows you to tune the
its architecture (and the platform it’s built on) for the application and network-level infrastructure to perform
following three fundamental criteria: within existing infrastructure and bandwidth constraints,
providing performance optimization for both typical users
Flexibility—does the architecture facilitate the and power users.
configuration, customization and integration of the CRM
application, both at the outset and over time as your
business needs evolve?


Deployability—does the architecture let you easily
deploy, upgrade and maintain the CRM application
over time?

Pivotal CRM’s presentation tier can employ a zero-install
Web browser interface, which means no deployment or
maintenance costs are incurred on the client machine. All
modifications to functionality, user interface, and data are
isolated at the middle tier and seamlessly communicated
to the client. This means zero client administration and no
user disruption.

With Pivotal CRM, only metadata is upgraded, with all
changes to the presentation services, business services,
or data services tiers being made in one centrally
managed location. Execution and development environ-
ments are kept separate and only synchronized when
appropriate. Therefore, the application can tolerate a high
level of customization without a significant impact on
existing applications.

Examined in this light, Pivotal CRM offers a low TCO
solution that is not only flexible, scalable and deployable,
but also easy to use, thereby lowering training and rollout
costs. And with a license to services ratio of 1:2 versus
1:5 (on average) for many other CRM vendors, Pivotal
CRM also costs less to implement.4

The result is clear: across the complete CRM lifecycle,
Pivotal CRM provides exceptionally low total cost of
ownership, while ensuring businesses can customize,
integrate, scale and deploy a sensible solution that meets
both current needs and evolving goals.

4 Based on current estimated licensing and man-hour costs

Learn More About Pivotal CRM
To learn more about how Pivotal CRM can help your organization's unique needs, call us today at +1 877-PIVOTAL (+1 877-748-6825)
or visit us at http://www.pivotal.com.

Copyright © CDC Software 2007. All rights reserved. The CDC Software logo and Pivotal CRM logo are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of CDC Software.

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