Legend Computer Systems: Lessons Learned

Double-Edged Sword
In its 5,000-year history, China has had its share of dramatic transformations. Today, with the Internet and the entry into the world trade community, it's in the midst of another one. The impact of change is being felt throughout Chinaand throughout Legend Computer Systems*. China's likely entry into the World Trade Organization is expected to spur further growth in the PC market and allow Legend to compete more effectively throughout Asia and beyond. However, it also removes protective tariffs, enabling offshore companies to compete more effectively on the mainland. The e-Business economy itself presents further challenges and opportunities.

	"You have to transform your company into an e-Business, because the Internet is the way all business is going to be conducted. With our new Customer Call Center and our Intel® [Architecture]-based infrastructure, we're positioned to succeed in that endeavor." Zhang Jun, General Manager, Management Information Systems, Legend Computer Systems

"The Internet is a double-edged sword for Chinese businesses," said Zhang Jun, general manager of Information Systems for Legend. "You have to transform your company into an e-Business, because the Internet is the way all business is going to be conducted. If you don't, you're going to be like a bicycle rider on an expressway, and that's a dangerous position to be in."

Legend clearly plans to stay on the right side of that double-edged swordand to drive in the fast lane of the Internet expressway. The company has set its sights on maintaining its leadership in China and playing a bigger role on the world stage. It's also doing all it can to ensure China's success in the e-Business economy.

"Ten years ago, China was a very different place," says Zhang Jun. "We couldn't imagine then where we'd be now. It's also hard to imagine where China will be 10 years from now. We do know that keeping our customers satisfied will continue to be the key to our success. With our new Customer Call Center and our Intel®-based infrastructure, we're positioned to succeed in that endeavor."

		Know your customers. The key to any successful CRM solution is giving customers the information they want, when they want it, in a format and style that suits their preferences. For Legend* today, that means offering warm, friendly service over the telephone. As the country becomes more Internet-experienced, Web-based self-service will supplement Call Center operations. 1.  Plan for current capacity and anticipated growth: People contact a Customer Call Center because they want information or are frustrated and need help. In either case, the last thing you want is to give them a busy signal or keep them on hold. Make sure your infrastructure and staffing can support the volume of business you anticipate and can handle peak times as well as ongoing growth. Design your system so it can scale out and scale up to stay ahead of the growth curve. 2.  Integrate the CRM database with other data sources: The value of a Call Center lies as much in the data you gather as in the help you provide. Legend is exploring the use of middleware and individual tools to provide links between Call Center databases and other stores of corporate data. 3.  Use open, industry-standard building blocks: To meet e-Business requirements for scalability, performance and availability, build a flexible best-of-breed solution that lets you choose the applications and technologies that are best suited to each aspect of the job. 4.  Team up with industry leaders to take advantage of the best that's out there: Legend worked with Hewlett-Packard* to integrate the system, and worked closely with Intel's Server Applications Enabling Program on the "recipe" for the solution it deployed. The Server Applications Enabling Program brings together industry hardware and software leaders such as Intel, Microsoft*, Oracle*, Red Hat*, EMC*, Legend and others to simplify the task of integrating multiple products by developing, optimizing and testing all elements of a server solution stack.