InsideView isn't a new company, but what they're announcing today is certainly new: it's called "SalesView," and it brings social media to Enterprise CRM. This on-demand business application scours the web, then presents relevant customer data, discovered through that web harvesting, as well as through specialized research providers and social networks.

Out of the some 20,000 sources utilized, some are traditional, but many are "web 2.0" like Facebook, LinkedIn, Jigsaw, ZoomInfo, as well as web-based news sources, blogs, and job postings.

LinkedIn Integration

The data which is found is then presented within the context of enterprise CRM applications in use today. Currently, SalesView is available as a mashup for Salesforce.com and SugarCRM, but will soon be offering mashups for Microsoft CRM and Landslide Technologies, and, by the second quarter of 2008, a standalone application will be available.

Salesview/Salesforce Mashup

The product will be offered based on the "freemium model - their words, by the way, meaning they're at least tapped in enough to subscribe to Wired - starting with a free version for light research. Pro and Team versions round-out the offerings, including more features, like unlimited watch lists, specialized providers, and the sharing of customized agents among members of the sales team.

InsideView's customers already include some big names like Ariba, Centive, Cisco/WebEx, Jobscience, LucidEra, Rearden Commerce, ServiceSource, StarCite Inc., SuccessFactors and Symantec.Cisco/WebEx, Jobscience, LucidEra, Rearden Commerce, ServiceSource, StarCite Inc., SuccessFactors and Symantec, among others.

In addition to InsideView, there are more companies that are also blurring the line between enterprise business and the social web. Another CRM offering, this time from Tactile CRM, started using the Google Contacts API to import Gmail contacts into their web-based CRM tool.

And then there is Oracle's CRM on Demand service that was announced in November 2007, which includes social networking features like those found in MySpace or Facebook, such as the ability to create and join groups, ala Facebook.

Another is Kintera, whose software-as-a-service has been calling itself "social CRM" for awhile, since their product captures online activity, like email and web form donations, and merges it with offline activity, entered via standard data entry techniques.

However, InsideView claims to be one of the first true examples of a Socialprise CRM application, and, in comparison with others, it seems like a valid claim.

"We are experiencing an inevitable convergence of social media, user generated content and enterprise applications. SalesView is born of this trend, and delivers on its promise with a smart, fresh and complete approach to business search and intelligence," said Rand Schulman, chief marketing officer of InsideView.

The connected social web in business? Bring it on. And while you're at it, maybe it's time to consider unblocking Facebook on the firewall, too.