The U.S. economy is still a mess as debate continues to boil over in Washington about the debt ceiling, balancing the national budget, taxes, and spending cuts. For many people, their own personal economies are in just as much turmoil, with unemployment or fears of job losses, belt-tightening, and debt relief services on the minds of many.

But, there are signs of economic recovery, at least from corporate America. For one, companies are in the buying mode again: Just in the past month alone, we’ve seen Augme acquire JagTag, Verint Systems acquire Vovici, and, just yesterday, Oracle announced plans to acquire knowledge management solutions provider inQuira. Details of a few other high-powered deals have surfaced in the past few months.

And a new report from CompTIA, the non-profit trade association of the IT industry, released just yesterday brings possibly the greatest financial news of all, and gives a clear indication of where the economy might be headed.

According to CompTIA, small and midsized businesses (SMBs) intend to expand their use of technology to improve customer interactions, mobility options, and operational efficiencies. In fact, seven out of 10 SMBs surveyed said they expect to increase their technology spending during the next 12 months, and a full third expect to increase their IT budgets by 10 percent or more. Most companies expect a 5 percent increase this year, though some can expect to devote significantly higher percentages, while others will probably spend less.

It’s unclear whether this increase in spending will reflect large, one-time purchases or smaller purchases over time, but either scenario is still a good sign for technology vendors and solution providers.

SMBs cited a desire for better network efficiencies and robustness, improved connections with customers online and in mobile environments, enhanced resource management and tracking, and more business analytics as key motivators for their increased spending. That too is a good sign for vendors and solutions providers, and provides a wealth of opportunity for CRM vendors in particular.

Or it could just be that technology is more accessible, more affordable, and more available to SMBs than ever before, as Seth Robinson, director of technology analysis at CompTIA., suggests. “SMBs may not have an abundance of capital to invest, so they have to make every dollar count. But the majority is willing to spend money on new technologies, especially solutions that give them capabilities on par with a larger enterprise,” he said in a statement.

As for me, I’m a glass-is-half-full optimist, and I hope corporate buying behaviors are a sign of greater confidence in an economic recovery. Heaven knows we could all use some good economic news right about now.

When I started at CRM, I was told that I would receive a lot of press releases and pitches. I gracefully acknowledged this warning and was met with a resounding “No, really. You will receive a lot.” I quickly realized that my Midwest charm was not going to tame the beast. Don’t get me wrong, I am flattered and appreciate the story ideas and opportunities that come my way, but yes, it is overwhelming.

As I sunk my teeth into my tofu Pad Thai last night, my Blackberry vibrated. Kind of a buzzkill. Anyway, being the technology addict that I am. I took a break from my dinner to see what was up. What did I find? That’s right, another story pitch. However this particular e-mail caught my eye. Jade Natal of Lewis Pulse wrote:

Hi Brittany,

With magazines chocked full of relationship advice, it’s no mystery that relationships are difficult. And like an individual trying to navigate the complexities of love, companies experience the same trials and tribulations with their customer relationships.

She continues:

Managing consumer-brand relationships can be a complicated and often murky endeavor—and this lack of clarity can be problematic when businesses are trying to make the most out of their customer feedback programs.

Brilliant. I spend a lot of time explaining to my friends and family what the heck CRM actually entails. Natal provides a wonderful analogy and captures the joy I have as an editor for this publication. So the next time that I met with a blank stare, I guarantee that I will mention this love affair.

Rumors have been circulating for some time about a possible sale by Alcatel-Lucent of its Enterprise Services Division, which includes Genesys Telecommunications Labs as well as other units that offer technologies for unified communications, IP telephony, security, and networking. The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported on the possibility as early as mid-April.

Well yesterday, Alcatel-Luncent attempted to clear the air. In a statement on its Web site, the company, which is based in Paris, announced that it is “exploring strategic options to enhance the future opportunities of its Enterprise business. All options are being explored, including discussions with third parties.”

The company also said that it would be meeting with employee representatives of the Enterprise business to discuss its options.

“No decision has been made on the options being explored, and there is no certainty that this review will result in any change to the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise business,” the statement said.

Steve Hilton, principal analyst at Analysis Mason, however, says a sale of the unit is likely. “They should have sold the division two years ago, and I’m sure they would have sold it had markets been stronger,” he wrote in an email.

“The Alcatel-Lucent enterprise unit is underperforming, and frankly, it’s tertiary to Alcatel-Lucent to begin with. No need to keep something that isn’t your core business, especially when your core business isn’t exactly setting sales records,” Hilton adds.

According to Hilton, Alcatel-Lucent’s core business is the sale of equipment to the large telephone companies, and that is where it will likely maintain its focus. But even that unit has seen slumping sales for the past five years or so since Alcatel, a French company, and Lucent, an American spin-off of AT&T, merged.

The Enterprise Services unit, which some industry experts have said could be worth up to $1.5 billion, reportedly accounts for less that 10 percent of Alcatel’s total revenue.

But the one shining star in the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise portfolio has been the Genesys division, a clear-cut leader in the contact center space (In fact, Genesys has taken the top spot in the Interactive Voice Response category for the past seven consecutive years in CRM magazine’s Service Awards judging. The Genesys contact center software business accounts for 75 percent of the company’s enterprise revenue, and Alcatel-Lucent might be hesitant to give that up. Many analysts have been noting, though, for the past year or two, that the Genesys business was being hampered by Alcatel-Lucent’s moves to rein in its sales and marketing. Others, including Hilton, have suggested that Alcatel-Lucent hasn’t properly invested in the unit, hampering its ability to compete outside of its core markets.

Still, Hilton says its unlikely that Alcatel-Lucent would get rid of all the other pieces of its Enterprise business and keep Genesys.

As for possible buyers, Hilton is just speculating, but he hinted that possible suitors might include Siemens or Huawei, both of which are reportedly looking to expand their European sales efforts. Other names that have been bandied about include Cisco, HP, and Avaya.

“But most likely Alcatel-Lucent will sell to private equity, similar to the way Avaya went private a few years ago,” he says.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the next few months will bring, but I hope Alcatel-Lucent does something soon. The other Enterprise Services units have been bringing Genesys down for long enough.

I don’t understand what all of the fuss is about.

There, I said it.

This week, I accepted a Google+ invite from a friend back home and I was pumped. Why? I have only heard good things. Wait, I have heard extraordinary things. However, after creating my profile and poking around a bit, I was disappointed.

For the most part, I agree with David Pogue of the New York Times. “At first, Google+ looks like a shameless Facebook duplicate. There’s a place for you to make Posts (your thoughts and news, like Facebook’s Wall); there’s a Stream (an endless scrolling page of your friends’ posts, like Facebook’s News Feed); and even a little +1 button (a clone of Facebook’s Like button), which may be where Google+ gets its peculiar name.”

Basically, it’s Facebook 101 with a slight twist. The key difference, actually the “brilliant difference” in Pogue’s words: Circles. Let’s say you have some precious engagement pics with your honey that you don’t want that borderline stalkerish ex-love to see. In Facebook land, this would be somewhat of a hassle if you didn’t want to just defriend. When you share something on Google+, you can specify exactly which circles receive it. “In one fell swoop, Google has solved the layers-of-privacy problem that has dogged Facebook for years,” observes Pogue.

In addition to “hangouts” where you can gather with a few circles and have a virtual gathering, circles offers something sort of different. I’m not totally sold that this platform will trump or even match the popularity of Facebook. With its recent partnership with Skype, the veteran social networker is keeping up with the competition as it launches.

So, was it the anticipation or the actual product that got me down? I will need a few more pokes before delivering the verdict.

Two separate news items that I wrote about this week on destinationCRM.com have me actually looking forward to going to the grocery store. The first item had to do with a new virtual assistant that New York area drug retail chain Duane Reade was installing in its newest megastore in lower Manhattan.

I haven’t been to the store yet, but I plan to go there soon—even though it’s a little out of my way—just to check out this new technological marvel. According to the press release, the Virtual Assistant can provide store and brand promotional information to customers when they enter the store. It uses holographic imaging and audio-visual technologies to create the illusion of a real person, which has to be better than some of the so-called REAL people who really do work in my local supermarket and drug store.

The second item involves a geofencing application being employed at a Whole Foods Market in Long Beach, Calif. Since I’m in New York, that one might be a little harder to experience firsthand, but I welcome anyone in the area to visit the store and comment here on it.

Essentially, the store is using the geofencing technology for a customer loyalty program that rewards customers on their handheld devices before they enter the store.  In this particular case, customers who opt-in for the promotion and who are within proximity of the market will receive an introductory notice offering a free reusable shopping bag when they spend $35 or more inside the store. Other promotions will follow.

In both of these examples, the stores are using new and fun technologies to build stronger relationships with customers and pass on a few rewards for my loyalty. So I might have to listen to a short sales pitch; that’s a small price to pay for helping to make the most of my shopping experience.