Gartner Magic Quadrant Salesfrce Autmatin 2009 Sage CRM Slutins Opinin Brief Released July 24, 2009 Q. What is the Gartner Magic Quadrant (GMQ) fr SFA? A. The Gartner Magic Quadrant fr SFA is an analyst reprt released annually by The Gartner Grup, which assesses numerus CRM vendrs slutins against several criteria. The utput is a chart n which all slutins are pltted n tw axes Ability t Execute and Cmpleteness f Visin. See Exhibit A belw. Q. What is Sage s psitin n the validity and relevance f the study? A. Sage appreciates that the intent f the study is t prvide CRM prspects a cnslidated and relative assessment f the vendrs in the CRM market space, but believes the GMQ study has certain limitatins: The GMQ evaluates all vendrs against unifrm criteria, relative t each ther, withut regard fr each prduct s target market, price pint, r unique value prpsitin (e.g. ACT!, a cntact manager, is placed n the same matrix as SAP, Oracle and ther large enterprise CRM slutins). The criteria used t measure vendrs psitins in the GMQ are published as part f the study; hwever it shuld nt be assumed that Gartner s criteria apply equally t the business requirements within different segments f the market. Gartner is a fr prfit analyst firm, which has business relatinships with many f the vendrs n the GMQ. Exhibit A. Gartner Magic Quadrant, SFA 2009
Q. What specific cmments des the Gartner Magic Quadrant reprt include fr each prduct in the Sage CRM Slutins prtfli? What supplementary infrmatin shuld be prvided t custmers and partners regarding Gartner s published cmments? A. ACT!: Gartner MQ Cmments Strengths: Lw cst, n premises sftware alternative (lists fr $229 fr standard perpetual license). Optimized fr cntact management prcesses. Large installed base f small businesses and salespeple Sage Sftware states that it has 2.8 millin ACT! users and 43,000 crprate custmers (mre than 10 users in a single installatin). Ease f use and simplicity fr ne (salespersn) t many (custmer) relatinship mdels where there is limited cllabrative extended team (such as marketing) interactin fr cntact and basic pprtunity management. Large cmpany backing with Sage. Gartner MQ Cmments Cautins: ACT! custmers have cited issues with installatins and upgrade prcesses fr larger distributed client and server envirnments; many cmpanies use ACT! Web client and Citrix t reduce this emplyment burden. Nt suitable fr cmpanies with extensive integratin, cmplex sales prcesses r brad sales functinal ftprint requirements. Market pressure frm lw end SaaS prviders. Sage Perspective n Gartner MQ Cmments: ACT! is a purpsely designed cntact and custmer manager fr use by small businesses, sales peple and small crprate teams. It has a 20 year histry as the #1 selling slutin in its categry, largely because it s s easy t learn and use. In a recent usability study, it was fund that ACT! enables its users t be 25% mre prductive as cmpared t Micrsft CRM and Salesfrce.cm. Evaluating ACT! at its several hundred dllars per user price pint using the same criteria as larger enterprise slutins priced in the thusands leads t a misleading cnclusin. If evaluated against custmer requirements in the small business segment, and cnsidering the slutin s maturity, leadership and price/value equatin, ACT! wuld rank extremely high n bth Cmpleteness f Visin and Ability t Execute. Gartner did validate ACT! s psitin as the ideal chice fr individuals and cmpanies seeking a lw cst, easy t use slutin t manage cntacts and share custmer infrmatin within teams. The cautins that Gartner cited are generally utside the scpe f what the large majrity f ACT! custmers seek t achieve with the prduct. As ACT! custmers grw and their business requirements mature, Sage ffers lgical migratin paths t either ACT! Premium, Sage CRM r Sage SalesLgix. Additinally, Gartner cited pressure frm lwend SaaS prviders as a cautin, whereas actually, ACT! has favrable ROI cmpared t SaaS alternatives. This is especially true fr 6+ users r usage lnger than 18 mnths. The ACT! crprate custmer cunt is 48,000, nt 43,000 as published.
A. Sage SalesLgix: Gartner MQ Cmments Strengths: Gd custmer supprt fr end users and business partners. Custmizatin and cnfigurability. Supprts cnnected and discnnected laptp deplyment mdels. Large cmpany viability as part f Sage. Alternative fr rganizatins up t 750 users, midmarket and upper midmarket cmpanies and divisins f large enterprises. Largest deplyment is 2000 users. Gartner MQ Cmments Cautins: The functinal ftprint is fcused mre n cre pprtunity management, nt n capabilities such as sales cnfiguratin, pricing management, incentive cmpensatin r perfrmance management functinality. Custmers cited general challenges in upgrading t pst Sage SalesLgix v7.2 releases, specifically adjusting t new platfrm changes. Clients have stated the need fr better system management fr discnnected mbile laptp users t push ut changes during the upgrade prcess. Sage Perspective n Gartner MQ Cmments: Sage SalesLgix maintained its slid psitin in the 2009 GMQ. This is a psitive, cnsidering SalesLgix is being evaluated using the same criteria as and relative t large enterprise slutins such as Oracle and SAP. Sage SalesLgix ffers SMBs and divisins f larger enterprises utstanding value fr full featured CRM. The authring Gartner analyst has persnally acknwledged Sage SalesLgix as an enterprise class vendr by virtue f its psitin in the upper half f the GMQ and its base f mid enterprise custmers. Gartner again recgnized Sage SalesLgix fr its custmer supprt and fr the expertise f its business partners, as well fr its custmizatin capabilities, deplyment ptins and flexibility. The viability f Sage as a cmpany is als nted as a strength. Gartner nted that Sage SalesLgix des nt cntain certain specialized sales autmatin functinality ut f the bx, hwever many custmers and/r their partners have taken advantage f the rbust custmizatin capabilities f Sage SalesLgix t create custm slutins, and/r have integrated with a best f breed slutin t deliver this functinality t users. Sage SalesLgix ffers a number f Endrsed Partner Slutins that meet Sage s standards fr quality and integratin. Gartner cited general challenges fr custmers upgrading frm lder versins f Sage SalesLgix t the new Sage SalesLgix web platfrm. Sage and its business partners wrk hand in hand with each custmer t ensure the success f their upgrade. This cmment was based n the analyst s interactins with a small sample f Sage SalesLgix custmers, and it is nt necessarily representative f the general custmer ppulatin. New custmers wuld nt be subject t the perceived upgrade challenges, and may select their preferred deplyment mdel Windws r Web r may deply a hybrid slutin.
A. Sage CRM: Gartner MQ Cmments Strengths: Cre pprtunity management and end user system usability. Custmizatin and cnfiguratin capabilities (fcus f 6.2 release). Gd slutin fr Sage ERP custmers due t Sage CRM integratin fcus n enabling end t end business prcess supprt, such as pprtunity t cash. Supprts discnnected laptp data synchrnizatin; hwever, custmers must be slated t the budget fr quality assurance time t test laptp versins separate frm server versins. Large cmpany viability as part f Sage. Gartner MQ Cmments Cautins: Nn Sage ERP custmers are nt the strategic fcus fr Sage CRM. Multiple delivery ptins (n premises and SaaS) are difficult t sustain release cmpatibility. Limited sales functinal ftprint and partnerships fr functinal supprt fr capabilities such as sales cnfiguratin, incentive cmpensatin. Sage Perspective n Gartner MQ Cmments: Sage CRM is a cmprehensive CRM slutin with deep ERP integratin capabilities aimed specifically at SMBs wh want an easy t use and easy t deply slutin. Gartner has validated this in the 2009 SFA Magic Quadrant. Gartner calls ut Sage CRM s strng cre pprtunity management and end user system usability, underlining its strength in managing sales teams and the pprtunity management prcess as well as the ease f use f Sage CRM. Gartner recgnizes Sage CRM as a Gd slutin fr Sage ERP custmers due t Sage CRM s integratin fcus n enabling end t end business prcess supprt, such as "pprtunity t cash." Regarding Gartner s cautin that: Nn Sage ERP custmers are nt the strategic fcus fr Sage CRM, Sage is cmmitted t prviding deep integratin between Sage CRM and Sage s market leading ERP prducts arund the glbe in rder t deliver an extrardinary custmer experience t Sage custmers internatinally. Based n recent research, we knw that nn Sage ERP custmers als are attracted t Sage CRM because f its ERP awareness and integratin capabilities, as well as its price/value, flexibility, ease f use and full suite CRM functinality. Regarding Gartner s cautin regarding multiple delivery ptins (n premises and SaaS), Sage CRM ffers flexible deplyment ptins, allwing custmers t chse between n premise and n demand versins, with a migratin path between the slutins as business requirements evlve. Gartner state that Sage CRM has a limited sales functinal ftprint and partnerships fr functinal supprt fr capabilities such as sales cnfiguratin, incentive cmpensatin, hwever the flexibility and custmizatin capabilities that Gartner praised within Sage CRM, mean that partners and custmers alike are well psitined t integrate Sage CRM with a wide range f best f breed 3rd party applicatins. Custmers and prspects shuld nt be put ff by the fact that Sage CRM is psitined as a Niche Player n the quadrant fr as Gartner says in the reprt: Many vendrs in ur Niche Players quadrant have better price/value alternatives fr less cmplex uses. Sage CRM represents a highly cmpelling prpsitin fr SMBs at an attractive price pint in tday s cst cnscius envirnment. In fact, recent research cnducted with ver 200 custmers glbally cited value fr mney as the 2nd biggest reasn behind ERP integratin as the main reasn why they chse Sage CRM.
Q. What else shuld cmpanies knw abut Sage and the Sage CRM Slutins prtfli that is nt cvered in the GMQ reprt? A. Sage Gartner nted the viability f Sage as a cmpany as a strength. Unlike any ther cmpany in ur industry, Sage has fcused exclusively n the business sftware needs f small and medium sized rganizatins fr the last 28 years. With ver 5.8 millin SMB business applicatin custmers arund the wrld tday, Sage is glbally recgnized as the market leader in this imprtant segment. Sage has a prtfli f business management slutins that meet the needs f small t medium sized businesses, including CRM, ERP, HR, Payment Services, and mre. Sage has a vast, mature partner channel that specializes in implementing, custmizing, supprting, and training n SMB slutins fr SMB businesses. A. Sage CRM Slutins Sage places great imprtance n custmer feedback and research. Extensive user testing is dne t ensure each f its Cntact Management and CRM prducts are easy t use and meet custmer requirements. The Sage CRM Slutins prtfli ffers custmers the pprtunity t be Custmers fr Life, and migrate t a mre rbust slutin as they grw and their business requirements change. Sage ffers flexibility t its custmers, with access ptins ranging frm n premise t Web based t clud based and mbile. N ther vendr in Sage s market space can ffer this. Qutes frm Gartner Reprt, Magic Quadrants and MarketScpes: Hw Gartner Evaluates Vendrs Within a Market. (Hawkins, 2008. Reprt #G00154752) 3.5 Hw t Use a Magic Quadrant Yur needs and circumstances shuld determine hw yu use the Magic Quadrant, nt the ther way arund. T evaluate vendrs in the Leaders quadrant nly and ignre thse in ther quadrants is risky and thus discuraged. Fr example, a vendr in the Niche Players quadrant culd ffer functins that are ideally suited t yur needs. Similarly, a leader may nt ffer functins that meet yur requirements fr example, its fferings may cst mre than cmpetitrs', r it may nt supprt yur regin r industry. Use a Magic Quadrant t narrw yur list f chices, but dn't base yur decisin nly n the mdel. 5.0 Frequently Asked Questins: Can Magic Quadrants and MarketScpes be used as vendr selectin tls? Magic Quadrants and MarketScpes analyze a market and can help yu t fcus yur search n imprtant criteria. Hwever, they will nt prvide the details needed during the vendr selectin prcess t align yur requirements t a vendr.