Understanding What’s Ahead for CRM

At face value, CRM is not the exciting and vibrant industry it was even just a few years ago. The very industry that was first to adopt the Software-as-a-Service model and blaze the trail for the cloud seems to be stagnant lately. In our latest Technology Value Matrix for CRM, we see some vendors moving up, but essentially the same leaders holding roughly the same position as they did six months and even a year ago.

Salesforce.com shook up the industry 16 years ago and has continued to challenge its peers as a clear leader of the pack. After struggling at first, Oracle has risen to the cloud challenge and has been neck-and-neck with Salesforce.com as a clear frontrunner for more than three years. While Microsoft Dynamics trails, it continues to keep pace and remains a leader. Meanwhile Infor, Veeva Systems and now BPM’online maintain a steady challenge to the top contenders. With the exception of BPM’online’s entry, the Leaders Quadrant in the Value Matrix has remained essentially the same.

Rapidly Remaining the Same – For Now …

But this is a marathon, not a sprint. And the Value Matrix is a six-month snapshot of which vendors deliver the most beneficial solutions. While the pack of leaders hasn’t changed much, the real story is in the pace of the race. Development continues to accelerate, while the competition only gets more intense. All of the leaders have well-established cloud solutions. The real development now is around integration with other enterprise software and verticalized CRM targeting specific industries – even down to micro-verticals (think food retailer, real estate firms or auto dealerships). And while the pack has remained unchanged for the past 18 months, that could change at any minute.

One false move and any vendor could tumble. They may not be knocked out of the race, but a misstep could radically change the industry. Is a vendor overextended? Did they pick the right verticals to focus on? Will one get pulled down a rat hole trying to verticalize their application? Is one vendor about to unleash a whole new innovation that will shake up the pack?

These are all questions that businesses should be asking as they evaluate their CRM needs. We recommend that our clients get regular roadmaps from the CRM vendors they are considering and compare that with the most current research.

In fact, we are often asked why we issue a Value Matrix for CRM every six months as opposed to yearly. We talk to end-user customers daily and understand their needs. And we are close to the vendors to see the volatility and potential for rapid change. Taking the industry pulse every six months for this category makes the most sense.

Anyone who has ever followed a marathon knows that at any given moment, one runner can break away from the pack to claim the win. The leader at mile 15 might not even finish the race, while a runner from behind can mount a successful challenge. We understand the race and we are watching the CRM marathon closely. We aren’t even approaching the finish line, so expect more excitement ahead.