by Bill Klump | @TheKlumper | January 9th, 2011
Is consolidation for integrated management still only a dream? I struggle with this a lot just with multiple email accounts on multiple devices, and the sheer volume of email in general. I have found a few decent ways to address email but beyond email is no-mans land today. Facebook recently has made some statements about becoming the “one” inbox but it has a long way to go to get there and they could probably never convincing enterprise IT that it should be used as a business tool. The blurring of the lines between business and personal though, could help with adoption. We’ve seen this with the “Bring Your Own Device” issue and the enterprise. However I’m personally not convinced that Facebook is the answer to my communication woes though. The answer could be as simple as “Nimble”!
Introducing our “Disruptor of the Day” Jon Ferrara & Nimble -
Great innovations spring from great needs. Twenty years ago, Jon Ferrara understood that businesses needed more efficient ways of getting and staying connected to their customers in order to succeed and grow. That simple idea led him to co-found GoldMine Software, which grew to become a world leader in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) space.
Business has changed quite a bit since those days at Goldmine. With the advent of social media, email, IM, text messages and more, businesses are overwhelmed by the myriad applications needed to listen to and engage with their customers. The question is no longer how to stay connected – but how to efficiently and cost-effectively build business relationships given multiple communication channels. From that new need sprang Jon Ferrara’s latest innovation: Nimble.
After two years of development and thousands of real world users, Nimble has emerged as the next evolution in relationship management – the only web-based solution that brings together all of your contacts, calendar, communications and collaborations in one simple, free platform.
Nimble’s core benefit lies in its ability to unify email, calendar activities and the most popular social channels (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter), and automatically link this functionality to business contacts. Instead of jumping from application to application, small businesses now have one solution that can help them find individuals relevant to their business – no matter where they are on the Web — listen and engage with those individuals in any number of ways, and build relationships that can lead to opportunity.
The business world has taken note. Nimble received kudos from industry thought leaders who immediately understood its value, including Gerhard Gschwandtner, Editor, Selling Power Magazine, who said,
“Nimble is a visionary product. Finally, someone has figured out Social CRM and made it simple, fun and efficient. I predict that Nimble will leapfrog all traditional CRM solutions.”
Nimble was awarded PC Magazine “Editors’ Choice” as well as the coveted “DEMO God” award from a field of hundreds of start-up contenders. It has also been recognized by leading analyst firm, Gartner, as a “Cool Vendor” for Social Software and Collaboration and placed on the “The CRM Watchlist 2011” by Social CRM expert and best-selling author, Paul Greenberg. Published by ZDNet, Nimble was one of only seven companies selected for the “Social Mainstream” category from a field of nearly 130 companies. In addition, Nimble was awarded the coveted “Willy” for “Best Social CRM” presented by industry veteran, Rich Bohn.
Nimble has also recently announced it has capped a successful initial launch year, resulting in $1 million in funding from Google Ventures and angel investors including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Jason Calacanis, Don Dodge, Dharmesh Shah, and others. To date, Nimble has achieved significant growth milestones, including global expansion and market penetration in Europe and Asia-Pacific with more than 25,000 users, 2,700 companies supported by 250 solution partners.
“The year 2011 has been a landmark year for Nimble,” said Jon Ferrara, CEO, Nimble. “When we introduced Nimble, we promised our customers a new way of doing social business by empowering them to listen, engage, embrace, enchant, and grow their customer relationships. We delivered on that promise with a revolutionary CRM platform where small to medium-sized businesses can easily transform their social communities into customers for life.”
I think it’s safe to say, Nimble is one to keep your eye on heading in 2012!
