The ability to effectively serve customers, individuals and organizations alike requires that contact centers have information that is--or is as close to--real-time as possible, i.e., real-time data. With more inexpensive, yet full-service CRM options available, organizations of all sizes are starting to realize the benefit of having all of their data in one system. It is a slow process, but we should begin to see these silos disappear in a few years as more and more companies standardize on one main system of record for customer data.
Source: CRM Daily