A contact manager enables users to easily store and find contact information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers. They are contact-centric databases that provide a fully integrated approach to tracking of all information and communication activities linked to contacts. Sophisticated contact managers provide calendar sharing features and allow several people in a company to access the same database.
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A Contact Management System (CMS) may be chosen because it is thought to provide the following advantages:[1]
A contact manager is usually used for instances where the sales interaction model of the organization is a one-to-many interaction model, in which a single sales representative is responsible for multiple roles within a company. Alternatively, a company with a many-to-many interaction model, in which many sales representatives are targeting a single job role, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is preferred.:[1]
CRM's usually extend the features of a contact management solution into a more comprehensive record of all interactions as now many people need to collaborate on the same information.
The current trend is an integrated CMS and CRM solutions that can provide both one-to-one and many-to-many capabilities. It can allow a user to have their own contact list and manage their contacts, while at the same time provide complete collaboration options. These are the optimal solutions as they provide a SMB or SOHO the option to grow without having to upgrade to a CRM later on.