By Chris Bucholtz

A while back (I can’t pinpoint the date, but it was a while ago) I said that any CRM provider that did not include a truly effective mobile component would eventually become a casualty of consolidation. (Smarter people than me said it a lot earlier, I admit.) Independently reaching a similar view was Maximizer Software. That point was driven home today when Maximizer announced its new brand, Maximizer Mobile CRM.

A name change may not seem like much, but it shows a lot of things about Maximizer. First off, the company’s had its eye on the mobile CRM ball for a long time, as our Q&A with the company’s CTO, Will Anderson, revealed. Second, it shows a degree of confidence – you can’t do mobile effectively if you don’t have an effective CRM foundation in place first.

The company’s working to get products for all major handheld systems out there, with MaxMobile for BlackBerry or Windows Mobile devices, MaxLink for Palm devices, and Wireless Web Access for, real-time access to Maximizer CRM data through other mobile devices (like the iPhone) through the web browser. It’s also exciting to talk to people at the company who really use their own stuff on their handheld devices - and understand how tough it can be gaining traction for mobile CRM in businesses where sales reps may already use many different handhelds.

Today’s news also shows the company’s faith in the concept; of its 120,000 customers, Maximizer points out that 1600 are customers of its mobile solutions. That’s not a huge percentage, but it is bound to grow – especially if Maximizer can continue to back up its evangelizing for the concept with solutions that work.