August 26, 2008 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q3 2008

Transcription

1 August 26, 2008 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q by Pete Marston for Business Process & Applications Professionals Making Leaders Successful Every Day

2 Includes a Forrester Wave August 26, 2008 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q Solutions From Microsoft, Oracle, RightNow, And Salesforce.com Lead The Way by Pete Marston with William Band, Natalie L. Petouhoff, Ph.D., Elisse Gaynor, Sharyn Leaver, and Andrew Magarie EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Forrester s 517-criteria evaluation of midmarket customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, we found that Oracle s Siebel CRM Professional Edition and CRM On Demand products, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, RightNow CRM, and salesforce.com s salesforce led the pack. They distanced themselves from the competition with strong sales force automation and usability capabilities. Right behind the Leaders is a crowded group of Strong Performers including software-as-a-service (SaaS) players like Entellium and NetSuite; versatile deployment solutions like SageCRM, Selligent X@, and Sugar Enterprise; and traditional, on-premise solutions like Maximizer CRM, CDC Software s Pivotal CRM, Consona CRM s Onyx CRM, and Sage SalesLogix. Finally, closing out the group as a Contender is FrontRange Solutions GoldMine Enterprise Edition a longstanding CRM solution with a significant customer and user base. TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 Shopping For A Midmarket CRM Suite Is Still A Headache Despite Massive Consolidation From 2005 To 2007, A Bevy Of Choices Remain The Three Types Of CRM Vendors To Consider 5 Midmarket CRM Evaluation Overview Buyer Interest Centers On Current Offering, Strategy, And Market Presence Vendors Evaluated: Multifunctional CRM Suites Suited For Midmarket Organizations 6 Strong Performers Challenge Existing Leaders In A Crowded Market 11 Vendor Profiles Leaders: Microsoft, Oracle, RightNow, And Salesforce Solutions Move To The Finals Strong Performers: A Crowded Group Seeks To Cause Major Upsets Contenders: A Cagey Veteran Looks To Challenge 16 Supplemental Material NOTES & RESOURCES In Q2 2008, Forrester evaluated 35 CRM solutions. In the CRM midmarket suites category, Forrester surveyed and interviewed 13 CRM vendors offering 15 CRM suites: CDC Software, Consona CRM, Entellium, FrontRange Solutions, Maximizer Software, Microsoft, NetSuite, Oracle, RightNow Technologies, Sage Software, salesforce.com, Selligent, and SugarCRM. We also surveyed 165 vendor-supplied references. Related Research Documents Mobilizing Sales To Handheld Devices May 9, 2008 Topic Overview: Customer Relationship Management 2008 March 25, 2008 Market Overview: SFA And PRM Solutions March 21, , Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Forrester, Forrester Wave, RoleView, Technographics, TechRadar, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. Forrester clients may make one attributed copy or slide of each figure contained herein. Additional reproduction is strictly prohibited. For additional reproduction rights and usage information, go to Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. To purchase reprints of this document, please resourcecenter@forrester.com.

3 2 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q SHOPPING FOR A MIDMARKET CRM SUITE IS STILL A HEADACHE As technology improvements emerge due to innovations in Web technologies, service-oriented architecture (SOA), and social networking apps, the solution landscape for CRM applications continues to evolve and change making CRM application selection as much fun as a week-long hangover. Despite Massive Consolidation From 2005 To 2007, A Bevy Of Choices Remain When Forrester last conducted our review of midmarket CRM suites in Q1 2007, substantial M&A activity was in flight, drastically reducing the number of vendors playing in the market, and SaaS had recently made the jump from unconventional to viable. Since then, the market has gotten more cluttered as: Vendors are marketing to just about everyone. Lately, traditional midmarket CRM solution providers have been winning enterprise customers, and enterprise solution providers have been offering solutions to midmarket companies. And M&A activity hasn t exactly shortened the list of product options to choose from. Instead, many acquiring vendors have maintained products they inherited, resulting in as many as three distinct CRM product lines coming from the same CRM vendor. Significant solution tradeoffs remain. CRM spans the broad categories of sales, service, and marketing. Unfortunately, not all solutions in the market offer capabilities across the full breadth of CRM, and some offer deeper capabilities in certain areas than others do. With increased interest for applications to support mobile resources, solution selection requires added dimensions of evaluation. 1 Web 2.0 adds another wrinkle. The advent of Web 2.0 technologies has put a different slant on technology selection in all app categories including CRM. Innovative businesses are using Web 2.0 tools to collaborate internally and externally on sales, customer service, and marketing collateral; connect social networking tools into a business environment to help identify leads better; and utilize community networks to better provide service to customers. 2 The Three Types Of CRM Vendors To Consider As a buyer considering CRM solutions, you have three groups to choose from (see Figure 1): Enterprise CRM suites. This category comprises vendor solutions primarily targeted toward organizations with revenues of more than $1 billion per year and/or more than 1,000 employees. CRM vendors focused on enterprise-class organizations typically offer a full range of functionalities, can scale to serve large user populations, and offer support for multiple languages and countries. They offer their products primarily through the traditional on-premise license model. However, several of the leading players now also offer hosted and SaaS deployment options. August 26, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

4 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q Midmarket CRM suites. This category comprises vendor solutions primarily targeted toward the small and medium-size business (SMB) market organizations with revenues of less than $1 billion per year and/or fewer than 1,000 employees. CRM vendors in this group also offer a breadth of CRM functionalities; they often have more limited capabilities in specific areas, and their solutions are simpler to use than solutions built for the enterprise market. These vendors are less suitable for large-scale global deployments. Vendors in this group also offer a variety of deployment options, including on-premise licensed, hosted, and SaaS. Some vendors in this category have upgraded their solutions to be more suitable to enterprise-class buyers and are gaining acceptance in that segment as well. CRM specialty tools. This category comprises vendors that offer solutions with narrow functional breadth but deep specialty capabilities, for both enterprise and midmarket organizations. Specialty CRM tools are available for marketing automation, sales force automation (SFA), customer service, partner channel management and collaboration, customer analytics, and customer data management. 2008, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 26, 2008

5 4 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q Figure 1 Types Of CRM Solutions Enterprise CRM suites CRM suites appropriate for firms with revenues of $1 billion a year or more and/or 1,000 employees or more Amdocs CES Customer Management Chordiant Software Cx Suite ciboodle Consona s Onyx CRM* Infor CRM Epiphany Microsoft Dynamics CRM* Oracle CRM On Demand* Oracle s E-Business Suite CRM Oracle s PeopleSoft CRM Oracle s Siebel Pegasystems Customer Process Manager RightNow CRM* salesforce* SAP CRM Midmarket CRM suites CRM suites appropriate for firms with revenues less than $1 billion a year and/or less than 1,000 employees CDC Software s Pivotal CRM Consona s Onyx CRM* Entellium s esalesforce, Rave, ecustomer Center FrontRange Solutions GoldMine Enterprise Edition Maximizer CRM Microsoft Dynamics CRM* NetSuite Oracle CRM On Demand* Oracle s Siebel CRM Professional Edition RightNow CRM* Sage CRM Sage SalesLogix salesforce* Selligent X@ Sugar Enterprise CRM specialty tools Analytics tools: SPSS Predictive Analytics Customer data management tools: D&B Purisma s Purisma Data Hub IBM InfoSphere MDM Server Initiate Master Data Service Oracle s Customer Data Hub Oracle s Siebel Universal Customer Master SAP NetWeaver MDM SAS DataFlux s CDI Solution Siperian MDM Hub Sun Master Data Management Suite Customer service tools: Consona s KNOVA Service Resolution Management Suite egain Service Genesys Telecommunications Labs CIM Platform InQuira s Customer Experience Platform KANA Suite LivePerson s Enterprise Platform Numara FootPrint s for eservice Talisma CIM Marketing automation tools: Alterian Marketing Suite Aprimo Enterprise SAS Customer Intelligence Platform Teradata Customer Management Unica s Affinium Marketing Management Partner channel management and collaboration tools: BLUEROADS Click Commerce s ecommerce Suite Sales force automation tools: CDC Software s Saratoga *These vendors have a significant base of both enterprise and midmarket customers Source: Forrester Research, Inc. August 26, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

6 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q MIDMARKET CRM EVALUATION OVERVIEW To assess the state of the CRM market and see how the vendors stack up against each other, Forrester evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of top CRM vendors including enterprise suite and midmarket suite vendors across 517 criteria. We then applied two sets of criteria weightings: one appropriate for large, enterprise-class deployments and another focused on midmarket priorities. The following assessment will help you see how the 15 midmarket CRM suite products that we evaluated stack up against each other. Buyer Interest Centers On Current Offering, Strategy, And Market Presence After examining past research, user need assessments, and vendor and expert interviews, we developed a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria. We evaluated vendors against approximately 517 criteria, which we grouped into three high-level buckets: Current offering. Forrester reviewed the breadth of each vendor s product offering, global capabilities, and adaptation to specific industry requirements. We evaluated vendor s customer data management abilities and usability. We also weaved in cost and the strength of their technology platforms and tools as important considerations. Strategy. Forrester evaluated the strength of each vendor s product strategy and vision and how they intend to be leaders in the midmarket CRM arena. We included in the review the means by which vendors seek to deliver a satisfactory application ownership experience to their customers and how long it takes customers to realize value from the solution. Market presence. Forrester calibrated the size of each vendor s customer base and evaluated the depth of human and financial resources available to enhance their products and serve customers. Vendors Evaluated: Multifunctional CRM Suites Suited For Midmarket Organizations Forrester included 15 products in the midmarket CRM assessment: Entellium esalesforce, FrontRange s GoldMine Enterprise Edition (GMEE), Maximizer CRM, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, NetSuite, Onyx CRM, Oracle CRM On Demand, Pivotal CRM, Siebel CRM Professional Edition, RightNow CRM, SageCRM, Sage SalesLogix, salesforce, Selligent X@, and Sugar Enterprise (see Figure 2). Each of these products: Offers a multifunctional CRM applications suite. Each product has functionality in a minimum of three of the following CRM subdisciplines and tools: customer analytics, customer data management, customer service, ecommerce, field service, marketing, partner relationship management (PRM), and SFA. We did not cover specialist vendors that offer a smaller subset of CRM functionality in this evaluation. Is appropriate for SMBs or divisions of large enterprises. SMBs and divisions of large enterprises are typically more IT and budget-constrained than large enterprises. These firms 2008, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 26, 2008

7 6 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q seek CRM solutions that offer quicker deployments, lower total cost of ownership, and more outof-the-box support for their business than what the enterprise CRM suites are providing. The vendors that we included have shown their ability (including producing customer references) to serve smaller deployments through solution functionality, pricing, packaging, and services. Offers a product in now general release and use by customers. The vendors we included have a specific solution (release) that was generally available at the time of data collection for this evaluation with at least three references available for contact. Forrester did not include SAP because the vendor did not provide data on its midmarket solution in time for the evaluation. SAP does, however, offer a product for midmarket customers. It is called SAP Business All-in-One. STRONG PERFORMERS CHALLENGE EXISTING LEADERS IN A CROWDED MARKET The evaluation uncovered a market in which (see Figure 3): Five Leaders blaze the trail with improved offerings and strategies. Oracle Siebel CRM Professional Edition and CRM On Demand, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, RightNow CRM, and salesforce.com took top honors as Leaders. They led the way with strong strategies and overall functionality across Forrester s 13 categories. Nine Strong Performers battle it out. In a crowded group, we witnessed much jostling among Entellium s esalesforce, NetSuite, Maximizer CRM, Onyx CRM, Pivotal CRM, Sage SalesLogix, SageCRM, and SelligentX@, and Sugar Enterprise. Maximizer CRM boasts a strong customer base, while SelligentX@ and Onyx provide sound functionality. esalesforce, NetSuite, and SageCRM offer strong strategies, while Pivotal CRM, Sage SalesLogix, and Sugar Enterprise offer sound ones. One solution is edged out as a Contender but is close behind the rest. FrontRange Solutions GoldMine Enterprise Edition moved from a Strong Performer to a Contender in this year s midmarket CRM suites Forrester Wave evaluation. The product continues to host an impressive customer base, but, when compared to other solutions in the marketplace, it falls short in functionality and strategy. This evaluation of the midmarket CRM suites landscape is intended to be a starting point only. Readers are encouraged to view detailed product evaluations and adapt the criteria weightings to fit their individual needs through the Forrester Wave Excel-based vendor comparison tool. August 26, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

8 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q Figure 2 Evaluated Vendors: Product Information And Selection Criteria Vendor Product evaluated Product version evaluated Version release date CDC Software Pivotal CRM 6.0 March 2008 Consona CRM Onyx CRM OEP 6.0 September 2006 Entellium esalesforce, Rave, Entellium ecustomer Center Rave 50/50 release April 2008 FrontRange Solutions GoldMine Enterprise Edition 6.05 February 2008 Maximizer Software Maximizer CRM 10 February 2008 Microsoft Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 December 2007 NetSuite NetSuite Version 2008 Release 1 March 2008 Oracle Oracle CRM On Demand Release 15 March 2008 Oracle Siebel CRM Professional Edition RightNow Technologies RightNow CRM February 08 February 2008 Sage Software Sage SalesLogix March 2008 Sage Software SageCRM 6.1 October 2007 salesforce.com salesforce Summer 08 May 2008 Selligent Selligent X@ 7.50 August 2007 SugarCRM Sugar Enterprise 5.x December 2007 Vendor selection criteria The vendor offers a multifunctional CRM applications suite, comprising three or more CRM subdisciplines. The vendor targets midmarket organizations with complex business requirements. The solution was generally available at the time of data collection for this evaluation with at least three references available for contact. Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 2008, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 26, 2008

9 8 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q Figure 3 Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q3 08 Strong Risky Strong Bets Contenders Performers Leaders Current offering FrontRange Solutions Oracle Siebel CRM Professional Microsoft RightNow Technologies Oracle CRM On Demand NetSuite Sage SalesLogix Consona CRM Selligent CDC Software salesforce.com Entellium Maximizer Software SageCRM SugarCRM Go online to download the Forrester Wave tool for more detailed product evaluations, feature comparisons, and customizable rankings. Market presence Full vendor participation Weak Weak Strategy Strong Source: Forrester Research, Inc. August 26, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

10 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q Figure 3 Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites Q3 08 (Cont.) Forrester s Weighting CDC Software Consona CRM Entellium FrontRange Solutions Maximizer Software Microsoft NetSuite Oracle CRM On Demand CURRENT OFFERING Sales Marketing Customer service Field service ecommerce Parnter channel management Analytics Customer data management Internationalization Industy business process support Architecture and platform Usability Cost 50% 12% 12% 12% 2% 2% 2% 8% 5% 3% 6% 6% 15% 15% STRATEGY Time-to-value Product strategy Application ownership experience Corporate strategy 50% 25% 25% 25% 25% MARKET PRESENCE Customer base Employees Financial performance 0% 80% 10% 10% All scores are based on a scale of 0 (weak) to 5 (strong). Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 2008, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 26, 2008

11 10 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q Figure 3 Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites Q3 08 (Cont.) Forrester s Weighting Oracle Siebel CRM Professional RightNow Technologies Sage SalesLogix SageCRM salesforce.com Selligent SugarCRM CURRENT OFFERING Sales Marketing Customer service Field service ecommerce Parnter channel management Analytics Customer data management Internationalization Industy business process support Architecture and platform Usability Cost 50% 12% 12% 12% 2% 2% 2% 8% 5% 3% 6% 6% 15% 15% STRATEGY Time-to-value Product strategy Application ownership experience Corporate strategy 50% 25% 25% 25% 25% MARKET PRESENCE Customer base Employees Financial performance 0% 80% 10% 10% All scores are based on a scale of 0 (weak) to 5 (strong). Source: Forrester Research, Inc. August 26, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

12 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q VENDOR PROFILES Leaders: Microsoft, Oracle, RightNow, And Salesforce Solutions Move To The Finals Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Over the past five years, Microsoft has established itself as a major CRM player thanks to deep capital investment, a formidable strategy, and strong branding. The product is strong in SFA, internationalization, and usability. Arguably its greatest strength is its native Microsoft Office user experience. The solution is set up to look, feel, and function like Outlook. Sales analysis tools, opportunity management, and setup and configuration capabilities are the application s key SFA strengths. The product also is available in multiple deployment options and is attractively priced below many of the alternative products in the market. The solution is built on the Microsoft.NET framework and integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft productivity tools, like Office, Outlook, and SharePoint. Where the solution is weaker, however, is in support for ecommerce and industry business process support. The product does not possess deep industry vertical capabilities, and offers minimal partner relationship management (PRM) capabilities natively, forcing buyers that want deeper PRM capabilities to augment the application through integration to BLUEROADS. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is best suited for organizations that are Microsoft-technology-centric for their business applications and technology stack and that desire flexibility and choice for their method of application deployment. Oracle CRM On Demand. Oracle CRM On Demand remains the flagship SaaS CRM suite solution offered by Oracle. The product shares the same code base but doesn t include as much functionality as its on-premise sibling, Oracle s Siebel CRM Professional Edition. With Oracle at the helm, Oracle CRM On Demand clearly has a strong capital foundation, organizational support, and backing. It offers a very attractive price point for buyers wanting a highly usable solution with modern architecture. The solution offers strong SFA and internationalization capabilities. The product, however, faces limitations in ecommerce, field service, and industry business process support. Oracle CRM On Demand is part of the Oracle Siebel family of products. Oracle CRM On Demand is best suited for businesses wanting a SaaS deployment method and that are committed to the Oracle platform and Oracle technologies. RightNow CRM. RightNow has grown from a relatively small player focused on customer service to a strong CRM suites provider in a condensed period of time. The firm has grown its revenues significantly over the past few years, quelling skeptics fears of potential longevity and sustainability issues. RightNow CRM offers key strengths in customer service and internationalization, and its low application costs are highly attractive to businesses with shallow pockets. Another key strength is the solution s deployment versatility. Although the vast majority of customers select RightNow CRM in SaaS deployment, the product is also available in on-premise deployment, allowing buyers flexibility to migrate from one deployment method to another. 2008, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 26, 2008

13 12 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q Key drawbacks to the solution, however, include its limited support for field service and ecommerce. The solution lacks core field service capabilities as well as functionality to support scheduling, mobility, spare parts management, and depot repair. RightNow CRM is best suited for organizations in need of a customer-service-centric solution with a rapid time to value. Salesforce. With recent announcements of landing close to 45,000 clients and annual revenues teetering toward the $1 billion range, salesforce shows no signs of slowing down. Key strengths of the salesforce application are its usability and deep SFA capabilities. The product also boasts strong functionality in partner relationship management, and the application is built on a modern architecture, allowing for robust scalability, reliability and availability, and openness to connect to other applications via Web services. Where the solution is weaker, however, is in its support for ecommerce and industry business process support. This means that buyers may have to engage in lengthy and heavy customization efforts to tailor the application to meet their specific vertical needs or turn to its partner ecosystem (App Exchange) to fill in gaps. The product is only available in SaaS deployment, so organizations selecting salesforce must be committed to the SaaS platform. The salesforce application is best suited for businesses that are looking for an easy-to-use, rapidly deployable sales management and customer service CRM application and that are committed to the SaaS platform. Siebel CRM Professional Edition. Oracle s Siebel CRM Professional Edition offers a best-ofbreed CRM solution to the midmarket. Like its sister product, Oracle CRM On Demand, Siebel CRM Professional Edition relies on strong financial backing and support from parent company Oracle. The product boasts strength in PRM, analytics, SFA, and field service. The solution also offers a modern architecture that s open, scalable, secure, and reliable and is set up well to integrate with other systems and databases. On the downside, however, the solution has a small customer base, and competition from Oracle s Siebel enterprise product and Oracle CRM On Demand, as well as ongoing post- Oracle acquisition activity, could cannibalize R&D resources, resulting in a diluted focus on the Professional Edition product going forward. Siebel CRM Professional Edition is best suited for organizations with highly complex CRM processes that have sophisticated integration requirements with diverse back-end systems and that primarily prefer on-premise deployments. Strong Performers: A Crowded Group Seeks To Cause Major Upsets Entellium s esalesforce. Entellium s esalesforce remains atop the pole position within the Strong Performers group, with strength in SFA and an open architecture that supports Web services and SOA. Its low user cost fee is a key advantage when compared with other solutions in the market, especially for buyer organizations with limited funds to spend on an application. The solution also possesses strength in usability, and, as a SaaS solution, the application is highly reliable and available. August 26, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

14 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q On the downside, the core application is only available as SaaS, so organizations will face limitations in managing their customer data within their own network walls. In addition, the product does not offer native PRM capabilities and offers limited capabilities in industry business process support, ecommerce, field service, customer data management, marketing, and analytics. Entellium is a good fit for businesses looking for a low-cost SaaS CRM suite that s easy to use and possesses strong SFA capabilities. Maximizer CRM. With a solid customer base, Maximizer Software continues to demonstrate its abilities to support SMB organizations CRM requirements. The product s primary strengths are in usability, SFA, and low application costs. The solution is competitively priced and offers a fast time-to-value for an on-premise solution deployment time frames range from a few days to a few weeks. However, the product falls short in its industry business process support, field service, and PRM. The product is only available as an on-premise deployment. Maximizer CRM is appropriate for smaller firms and divisions of large organizations seeking an on-premise CRM suite with a low price tag. NetSuite. NetSuite, a recently minted public company, offers CRM tools as part of an all-in-one front- and back-office solution. The product s functionality spans enterprise resource planning (ERP), accounting, and ecommerce, as well as CRM. Key strengths for the solution center on low monthly user fees and fast time-to-value, as well as its SFA capabilities. Additionally, the product offers strong ease of use and uses a modern architecture and platform. The product is available in SaaS deployment, making hardware, software, and implementation costs immaterial. A key drawback for the solution is that it is limited in deployment options, so buyers need to be committed to the SaaS platform. In addition, the product lacks deep industry business process support and is limited in its support for field service. NetSuite is best suited for organizations needing an all-in-one business application that spans the front- and back-office functions of CRM, ERP, ecommerce, and financials. Onyx CRM. Consona CRM s Onyx has been a long-standing supplier of CRM suite functionality for the mid- and enterprise markets. The product s key strengths center on usability, internationalization, customer service, SFA, and architecture. Its three-tier architecture enhances product performance, which, in turn, aids the product s usability. And its support for multibyte and Unicode makes the solution highly usable for a diverse set of international users. Conversely, the product s primary weaknesses are in ecommerce, field service, and its support for industry business processes. The solution is available in on-premise and hosted on-premise deployments. Onyx is best suited for services-based organizations requiring global deployments with sales and service support needs. 2008, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 26, 2008

15 14 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q Pivotal CRM. Over the past year, CDC Software has generated strong financial growth. The firm continues to target serving large and medium-size organizations within the financial services industry. The solution s strengths center on low license costs and internationalization capabilities. Where the solution stumbles, however, is in ecommerce, field service, and analytics. Pivotal CRM lacks native functionality in several areas of ecommerce and field service, and it offers only basic analytics. The solution is available in on-premise and hosted on-premise deployments. Pivotal CRM is best suited for financial services organizations that seek a low-cost CRM suite and that have diverse internationalization requirements. SageCRM. SageCRM is part of the Sage family of CRM products, which also includes ACT! and Sage SalesLogix. It boasts a very large customer base and is quick to deploy. The solution s primary strengths are a low price tag and strong usability. The solution offers an intuitive administrative UI, possesses strong performance capabilities, and offers strong product help. In addition, the product integrates well with other Sage back-office software products like Peachtree, and Sage ERP. SageCRM is offered in both on-premise and SaaS deployments. Key drawbacks include limited capabilities for ecommerce, industry business process support, and field service. In addition, the product does not support partner channel management well and lacks robust analytics capabilities. SageCRM is a good fit for midmarket organizations that already use other Sage back-office products and that have limited technology budgets, yet require a solution that offers multiple deployment options and sound sales functionality. Sage SalesLogix. Considered Sage s premium CRM product offering, Sage SalesLogix targets midmarket organizations with 1,000 users or fewer. SalesLogix boasts a large customer base, meaning that the product is mature and tested. Its key strengths include usability, cost, SFA, and internationalization support. The product generates fast response times, supports multiple mobile devices, and offers rich help functionality that enhances the solution s usability. Plus, the software and ongoing fees are low, making it very attractive from a financial standpoint. The product is weak, however, in ecommerce, PRM, and field service. The solution lacks ecommerce setup and configuration capabilities, as well as interactive selling, billing and payment, Web auctions, and distributed order management. The product is offered in hosted on-premise and on-premise deployments, but it is not offered as SaaS, thereby limiting buyers choice for how they want to deploy the application. Sage SalesLogix is best suited for businesses that value solution usability and that have several hundred users needing rich SFA functionality at a low cost point. Selligent X@. Selligent is a new entrant in Forrester s 2008 midmarket CRM suites evaluation. The Belgium-based firm is approximately 10 years old and primarily serves customers in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. The product s key strengths are in its internationalization capabilities, low application costs, high usability, and modern architecture August 26, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

16 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q and platform. The application can be deployed in variety of ways, including SaaS, on-premise, or hosted, and functionality is the same across deployments. On the downside, however, the product struggles with supporting ecommerce, industry business process support, and partner channel management. Selligent X@ is a product best suited for organizations requiring diverse language support and a flexible architecture at a low price point. Sugar Enterprise. SugarCRM offers open source CRM, allowing firms to leverage free code to manage basic sales, service, and marketing activities. Sugar CRM s Professional CRM and Enterprise CRM editions are available for a fee. The open source model allows organizations to take a basic CRM platform application and build upon it using their own IT resources or add on modules that are available through SugarCRM s partner and developer communities. The application is offered in SaaS and on-premise deployments. Key strengths of the SugarCRM system include low application costs, internationalization support, usability, and SFA functionality. Additionally, because the application is based on open source technologies, technical skill sets required to support the application tend to be homogenous, thereby lowering resource support costs. Key weaknesses for the solution, however, are that it provides very limited support for partner channel management, ecommerce, and field service. Additionally, the product does not provide much industry business process support, so buyers with strong industry vertical needs will need to build out functionality through custom development. Sugar Enterprise is a strong, low-cost choice for organizations that want deep customization flexibility in a packaged CRM application. Contenders: A Cagey Veteran Looks To Challenge GoldMine Enterprise Edition. FrontRange Solutions GoldMine has a long history of serving midmarket organizations, evident through the product s sizeable customer base (estimated at 130,000). High points of the GoldMine product are its low application cost, sound SFA functionality, and modern architecture and platform. It serves the basic sales and contact management needs that organizations seek in a CRM solution, and it also possesses support for several of the newer Web 2.0 enabling technologies. In addition, the product is available in hosted on-premise and on-premise deployments. On the downside, however, the product lacks PRM capabilities and offers very weak support for industry business processes, ecommerce, field service, and built-in analytics. It also lacks mobile device support. GoldMine is a product best suited for midmarket organizations that seek a traditional SFA solution at a low cost and that value customer base as an indication of the product s strength and versatility. 2008, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 26, 2008

17 16 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL Online Resource The online version of Figure 3 is an Excel-based vendor comparison tool that provides detailed product evaluations and customizable rankings. Data Sources Used In This Forrester Wave Forrester used a combination of three data sources to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each solution: Vendor surveys. Forrester surveyed vendors on their capabilities as they relate to the evaluation criteria. Once we analyzed the completed vendor surveys, we conducted vendor calls where necessary to gather details of vendor qualifications. Vendor strategy briefings. Forrest conducted briefings with each vendor to learn about the vendor strategy for participating in the market, their espoused key differentiators, and their product development road map for the future. During some briefings, Forrester also received demonstrations of vendor product functionality to validate details of product capabilities. Customer reference survey. To validate product and vendor qualifications, Forrester also conducted a survey of three to five of each vendor s current customers. The total number of customers surveyed was 165. The Forrester Wave Methodology We conduct primary research to develop a list of vendors that meet our criteria to be evaluated in this market. From that initial pool of vendors, we then narrow our final list. We choose these vendors based on: 1) product fit; 2) customer success; and 3) Forrester client demand. We eliminate vendors that have limited customer references and products that don t fit the scope of our evaluation. After examining past research, user need assessments, and vendor and expert interviews, we develop the initial evaluation criteria. To evaluate the vendors and their products against our set of criteria, we gather details of product qualifications through a combination of lab evaluations, questionnaires, demos, and/or discussions with client references. We send evaluations to the vendors for their review, and we adjust the evaluations to provide the most accurate view of vendor offerings and strategies. We set default weightings to reflect our analysis of the needs of large user companies and/or other scenarios as outlined in the Forrester Wave document and then score the vendors based on a clearly defined scale. These default weightings are intended only as a starting point, and readers are encouraged to adapt the weightings to fit their individual needs through the Excel-based tool. The final scores generate the graphical depiction of the market based on current offering, strategy, and market presence. Forrester intends to update vendor evaluations regularly as product capabilities and vendor strategies evolve. August 26, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

18 The Forrester Wave : Midmarket CRM Suites, Q ENDNOTES 1 Enterprises and SMBs alike are looking to mobilize sales applications to improve their CRM capabilities. See the May 9, 2008, Mobilizing Sales To Handheld Devices report. 2 Social technologies are transforming the way all businesses operate, create products, and relate to customers. See the March 10, 2008, The CRM 2.0 Imperative report. 2008, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 26, 2008

19 M a k i n g L e a d e r s S u c c e s s f u l E v e r y D a y Headquarters Forrester Research, Inc. 400 Technology Square Cambridge, MA USA Tel: Fax: forrester@forrester.com Nasdaq symbol: FORR Research and Sales Offices Australia Israel Brazil Japan Canada Korea Denmark The Netherlands France Switzerland Germany United Kingdom Hong Kong United States India For a complete list of worldwide locations, visit For information on hard-copy or electronic reprints, please contact the Client Resource Center at , , or resourcecenter@forrester.com. We offer quantity discounts and special pricing for academic and nonprofit institutions. Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent technology and market research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology. For more than 24 years, Forrester has been making leaders successful every day through its proprietary research, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs. For more information, visit