VRM is the hand CRM shakes.
That’s the simplest way of putting it. That’s what we wanted it to be when we started ProjectVRM in 2006, and that’s how we described it in 2011, when I gave this talk at SugarCRM‘s SugarCon conference:
Those “ways” are tools that belong to each customer and give them global scale: meaning they should work the same way for every company’s CRM system. Just like the customer’s phone, email and browser shake hands with every company already.
This is, as the marketers say, positioning. And it’s important, now that a number of significant .orgs have stepped up to take care of other work we helped start with ProjectVRM. Most notable are Customer Commons (a ProjectVRM spin-off), the Me2B Alliance, and MyData Global. There are others, but those are foremost on the ProjectVRM list.
The space we’re building out here is immense, so there is not only room for everybody, but more work than even everybody can do. Meanwhile it is essential that we clarify what all the roles are. Hence this post.