Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

cyberlaw 123Available online [audio]. URL: http://www.sqlsummit.com/People/WCunningham.htm. Accessed September 9, 2007.Taft, Darryl K. “Father of Wiki Speaks Out on Communityand Collaborative Development.” eWeek, March 20, 2006.Available online. URL: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1939982,00.asp. Accessed September 9, 2007.Wiki Wiki Web. Available online. URL: http://c2.com/cgi-bin/wiki?WikiWikiWeb. Accessed September 9, 2007.customer relationship management (CRM)In recent years there has been increasing emphasis, particularlyin online business, on communicating with and“cultivating” customers as well as in systematically usinginformation about transactions and customer behavior (seealso e-commerce). Collectively, these activities (and thesoftware used to implement them) are often known as customerrelationship management (CRM).The basic data stream in CRM is a complete contacthistory for each customer, including not only purchases,but also product or customer support inquiries. The resultingdatabase is used to ensure that with each new contact(such as through a call center), the person responding hasaccess to all the information about previous contacts withthe customer. Thus, for example, in the course of answeringa query or solving a problem, the representative can reviewa list of which products the customer has purchased andsuggest additional products that might help deal with theproblem.Besides dealing with customer-initiated contacts, CRMdata can be very useful in designing marketing campaigns,advertising, promotions, and so on (see online advertising).The database can be analyzed to determine, forexample, the likelihood that a customer who buys a digitalcamera might also buy a particular printer or memory card(see data mining). Once this is known, a customer who isin the process of buying a camera might be offered a specialprice on a memory card during checkout. (For an exampleof extensive integration, mining, and use of CRM data, seeamazon.com.) For longer-term planning, “strategic CRM”can help a company decide on what types of products andmarkets to focus.In addition to a database with extensive analysis andreporting facilities, a CRM system requires software thatsales or support persons can use to access information inreal time and update it with the results of the current call.Organizations can buy turnkey products or design theirown CRM systems by selecting and integrating softwarecomponents. However implemented, effective CRM requiresthat everyone in contact with a customer keep the ongoingcultivation of that relationship in mind, and search for waysto deliver more value than the competition.Successful CRM also requires a balance between thedesire to get as much information as possible and allayingcustomers’ concerns. If the CRM software (or how it isused) slows down the resolution of support calls, ends upgenerating unwanted solicitations (particularly from thirdparties), or conveys a sense of disregard for privacy, it coulddamage customer relations and lead to loss of business andreputation.Further ReadingButtle, Francis. Customer Relationship Management: Concepts andTools. Burlington, Mass.: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann,2004.CRM Today. Available online. URL: http://www.crm2day.com/.Accessed September 9, 2007.Customer Relationship Management Association. Available online.URL: http://www.crmassociation.org/. Accessed September 9,2007.Kincaid, Judith W. Customer Relationship Management: Getting ItRight. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall/HP ProfessionalBooks, 2002.Kumar, V., and Werner J. Reinartz. Customer Relationship Management:A Databased Approach. New York: Wiley, 2005.Prahalad, C. K., et al. Harvard Business Review on Customer RelationshipManagement. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard BusinessSchool, 2001.cyberlawLegal scholars and law schools have begun to use the termcyberlaw to refer to a variety of legal issues that are ofteninvolved in online interactions (see cyberspace). Whiletraditional legal fields such as contract law, property law,privacy, and jurisdiction do apply online, cyberlaw recognizesthat certain common features of the digital worldpose unique challenges.The first question in any legal dispute is which court, ifany, has jurisdiction. In the physical world there are welldemarcatedspheres (in the United States) for federal, state,and municipal law. However, participants in an onlinetransaction or other act may often be in different physicaljurisdictions. Indeed, the World Wide Web’s structuredoes not inherently follow physical boundaries, with linkagebeing largely semantic rather than geographical. SomeInternet advocates such as John Perry Barlow have gone sofar as to argue that the Web must develop its own laws andcustoms that reflect its technical and social nature—eventuallyforming its own social contract.A more pragmatic approach is taken by Lawrence Lessig,who argues that a legal regime must evolve that takesinto account the needs and concerns of both traditionalphysical jurisdictions and the new realm of cyberspace (seeLessig, Lawrence).Diverse IssuesIn practice, when crimes or disputes occur online, politicalpressure or legal duty will impel federal and state officialsto become involved. For example, users of file-sharing servicesare being sued for alleged violations of copyright law(see file-sharing and P2P networks and intellectualproperty and computing). The question of whether theprovider of an online service should be held responsiblefor violations by users must also be decided; in the UnitedStates, federal law has exempted providers from most legalliabilities. Matters can become even more complicatedwhen people involved in a case are living in different countries.(Many countries have lax or no regulation of onlineactivity, and activity prohibited in countries such as theUnited States can flourish there—see, for example, onlinegambling.)