Application of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) in Implementing a CRM Process : A Conceptual Approach

Increased competition in the banking and financial services sector has resulted in increased focus on customer relationship management and this in turn is driving the sale of CRM software packages in India. Most of the CRM packages available in the market are based on client server architecture and that is why implementation experts face several problems ranging from compatibility issues with the existing legacy system as well as tight coupling of the existing enterprise systems across the organization. Recent empirical research has resulted in the development of a conceptual model on CRM process which proposes to address certain problems from business management point of view. This model named as PREMASA Model opens up the possibility to look into the implementation of CRM processes from service oriented architecture concept. The CRM processes outlined in the PREMASA Model can be segmented into repetitive business processes and can be implemented as services according to the SOA framework. This paper outlines the transformation of various business activities mentioned in the PREMASA Model into services and proposes a conceptual model for implementation of the same under the service oriented architecture framework