When I asked Tom Lacalamita, Computer Consultant for This Is What I Do, what Zoho applications he uses, he responded, “Ask me what I don’t use. It’s a shorter list.” After 3 ½ years of use, Lacalamita believes he’s turned on every application in the Zoho suite. He first started with CRM but then started applying all the collaboration tools and Zoho Creator to develop some database applications.
It wasn’t always that way, said Lacalamita in my interview with him at the Small Business Expo in New York. He admitted he used to barely managed contacts. All his salespeople kept their lists on PDAs or in PST files. He realized if somebody lost their computer he’d lose months of business. He needed a better solution that would maximize the efforts of his marketing department, and keep track of everything, especially opportunities. He looked at Salesforce but the pricing was prohibitive.
Lacalamita saw Zoho in a magazine, tried it out and said, “This is one of the best things I’ve ever seen. We haven’t looked back since.”
Now he uses all the collaboration tools and everyone can access the same information at the same time, no matter where they are, and on whatever device. Projects that used to take forever get done in just minutes. “The turnaround time for clients is tremendous. They love it,” said Lacalamita.
Lacalamita is a big proponent of collaboration, which he believes is a word that a lot of people don’t understand.
“When you have creative people in different departments, getting together at a drop of a hat or click of a mouse is one of the most important things that any business should be able to look at and understand,” he said.
Comments