Report Ranks Both Enterprise and On-Demand Market Vendors

Nucleus Research, the leading provider of Return on Investment (ROI)-focused research and advisory services for the global IT industry, today announced the availability of two new ROI Scorecards which measure the strength of vendor solutions in both the Enterprise and On-Demand CRM markets. The reports conclude continued evolution of the CRM market with Siebel Systems scoring at the top in both enterprise and on-demand classifications. The Enterprise CRM Market and On-Demand CRM Market reports are available on the Nucleus Research website at NucleusResearch.com; detailed scorecards for each vendor are available to Nucleus Research Tech Advisor clients.

Enterprise CRM solutions share many of the same overall key success indicators as On-Demand solutions, including the need for careful integration with other applications and advanced analytics. Nucleus found that many companies have achieved a positive ROI from CRM, provided they have a measured approach to deployment, chose vendors and implementation partners that could provide real guidance, and addressed the human factors inherent in CRM projects.

"Market consolidation, accelerated investment in areas such as analytics and vertical solutions, and functionality enhancements in on-demand solutions have changed the opportunities for ROI from CRM dramatically in the past 18 months," said Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research. "Nucleus's latest scorecards on the market help users to evaluate real ROI opportunities in an evolving landscape for both enterprise and on-demand solutions."

Nucleus Market ROI Scorecards compare competing vendors' ROI scores and provide insights on key themes impacting ROI in a particular market segment. Part of an ongoing series, the ROI Scorecard announced today includes rankings for the CRM market and covers vendors including Siebel Systems, Microsoft, Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, RightNow, Salesforce.com, and NetSuite.

Overall vendor scores, with a highest possible of 5.0 found Siebel Systems leading the Enterprise CRM category with a 4.2. Microsoft Business Solutions - Great Plains tied for second with Oracle in that category with both receiving a score of 4.0. In the On-Demand CRM category, Siebel Systems and RightNow tied for first place with a 4.4 score. The Enterprise CRM Market and On-Demand CRM Market reports can be viewed on the Nucleus Research website at www.nucleusresearch.com. These reports along with a comprehensive compilation of industry scorecard reports will be available as part of Nucleus Research’s Redbook available in June.

Ratings are determined by Nucleus's assessment of five key factors contributing to the ability of a solution to deliver a positive return on investment:

• Deployment – based on how easily and quickly a solution can be deployed
• Adoption – based on usability and the potential scalability of adoption
• Support – based on the ability of the solution to function with limited internal support costs
• Business Impact – based on the potential of the solution to deliver returns through clear and repeatable benefits
• Vendor – based on a vendor's track record and ability to help a customer maximize ROI

About Nucleus Research

Nucleus Research is the leading provider of Return on Investment (ROI)-focused research and advisory services for the global IT industry, providing real-world information to decision-makers as they seek to maximize business returns from their technology investments. The organization’s goal is to support business decision markers as they strategize and plan for growth using the best technology solutions available. Nucleus’ expert analysts focus on research issues across the entire enterprise software and hardware space to provide its clients with ongoing advice to help with both short-term technology decisions and long-term strategic plans. Blending financial analysis and case-based investigations with comprehensive technology expertise to deliver factual return-on-investment (ROI) data to organizations worldwide, Nucleus uses an uncompromising set of processes and tools to evaluate the financial return on IT assets and is the only firm to gain certification from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. For more information, visit NucleusResearch.com.