2007-03-26
Contact: Jean Young
Young & Associates
919-718-7862
ISM Announces Winners of Top 15 CRM Software Awards
for Enterprise and Small & Medium Business Solutions
Based on Testing and Surveys, ISM President Barton Goldenberg Forecasts
Growth in Web 2.0 and User Collaboration, Business Intelligence Analytical Tools and
Search Engine
Marketing Functionality and Easier Data Access with Mobile
Devices
BETHESDA, March 26, 2007 The expanding Customer Relationship Management (CRM) industry is moving even stronger to incorporate Web technologies and applications by offering Web 2.0 functionality and user collaboration and search engine marketing capabilities along with sophisticated customer analytical tools such as predictive modeling. ISM (www.ismguide.com) announces the CRM trends for 2007 along with its annual Top 15 Software Awards in Enterprise and SMB categories.
The annual Top 15 Awards, begun in 1990, are based on the testing of CRM software from around the world. New trends for 2007 are identified from vendor surveys and intensive testing at the ISM Software Lab at its Bethesda, Md. headquarters, Each software program ISM tests is rated according to 217 selection criteria, including 103 business functions, 52 technical features, 36 implementation capabilities, 9 real time criteria and 17 user-support features. With no ownership in or by a vendor, ISM's software analysis is 100 percent unbiased.
"The winners are to be praised for obtaining the Top 15 honor given ISM's strenuous and comprehensive software selection process," said Goldenberg. "The Top 15 CRM Awards, which serve as the standard for CRM software, have expanded to include the Real Time CRM Awards, to be announced next month, and "Building Customer Communities" to be premiered this summer.
And the Top 15 Award winners in alphabetical order are:ISM Top 15 CRM Enterprise Winners (+)
*Amdocs
CRM v. 6 Amdocs Limited
*C2 CRM v. 8.0 Clear Technologies, Inc.
*CMS/Oncontact
V, Version 5.2 Oncontact
Software Corp.
*ExSellence 5.0 Optima Technologies, Inc.
*Firstwave CRM v. 3.1 Firstwave Technologies, Inc.
*growBusiness Solutions v. 3.1 Software Innovation ASA
*Infor CRM Infor
*mySAP CRM SAP AG
*Onyx v. 6.0 Onyx Software Corporation
*PeopleSoft CRM Oracle/PeopleSoft, Inc.
*Pivotal v. 5.9 Pivotal Corporation
*Salesforce.com
Salesforce.com
*Saratoga CRM 6.5.3 Saratoga Systems, Inc.
*Siebel 8.0 Oracle/Siebel Systems, Inc.
*Tibco Process RM v. 9.0 Tibco
*update 7.0 update software AG
(+): Sixteen packages qualified for the Top 15 CRM Enterprise Awards for 2007
ISM Top 15 CRM SMB Winners (++)
*Ardexus
MODE v. 5.5 Ardexus, Inc.
*C2 CRM v. 8.0 Clear Technologies, Inc.
*CMS/Oncontact
V, Version 5.2 Oncontact
Software Corp.
*Goldmine v. 7.0.3 & HEAT FrontRange Solutions, Inc.
*Maximizer Enterprise 9.5
Maximizer Software Inc.
*Microsoft CRM 3.0 -
Microsoft Corporation
*NetSuite CRM v. 11.0 &
NetSuite v. 11.0 NetSuite, Inc.
*Powertrak v. 8.02 Axonom, Inc.
*Relavis
CRM Relavis Corporation
*RightNow
CRM v. 8.0 RightNow Technologies, Inc.
*Sage CRM 100/200 v. 6.0 Sage Software
*Sage
SalesLogix v. 7.0 Sage Software
*Salesforce.com Salesforce.com
*Salesplace 2006.3.2
Interchange Solutions
*SalesPage
CRM SalesPage Technologies, LLC
*Siebel
CRM OnDemand Oracle/Siebel Systems,
Inc.
*StayinFront
CRM v. 9.3 StayinFront, Inc.
(++): Seventeen packages qualified for the Top 15 CRM SMB Awards for 2007
-more-
Based on the software testing process, Goldenberg points out several new business application and technology trends in CRM software:
· Move to greater online collaboration and sharing among users:
CRM vendors are beginning to provide the ability to access Web 2.0 functionality which includes real time customer feedback (RightNow) and e-Commerce applications (NetSuite) and to support open source software, particularly Salesforce.com's Apex language.
· Merging of Business Intelligence (BI) analytical tools with CRM even more popular and profitable:
From SAP to Matrix Technology, more vendors are incorporating BI through ETL software or connecting to data warehouses.
· Increased availability of search engine marketing functionality:
Vendors such as NetSuite are providing keyword marketing campaigns on major search engines. This includes tracking keyword clicks form the lead capture phrase to through each sales process and provides a ROI calculation.
· Increased number of mobile CRM offerings:
Siebel, Onyx, Amdocs and SAP all provide access to their CRM application modules on handheld devices running on MS-Windows CE and Palm operating systems. Sage is making mobile functionality available for its entire CRM product line. Many companies (Siebel, Amdocs and SAP) are part of the AntennaNetwork which ties together CRM, field service and supply chain.
Goldenberg also noted that the SMB market is continuing to grow with smaller companies realizing the bottom-line results of implementing CRM software from companies such as Microsoft and Maximizer. "We see real improvement in the CRM offerings for SMBs, more in tune with the needs of smaller companies.
The Top 15 for each category are featured in ISM's 15th edition of The Guide to CRM Automation and in CD format available online at (www.ismguide.com). For more information, call 1-877-ISMGUIDE or 301-656-8448.
ABOUT ISM
Founded in 1985, ISM Inc. offers strategic advisor services to organizations planning and implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and eCustomer initiatives. ISM annually publishes The Guide to CRM Automation and Top 15 CRM and Real Time CRM software reviews. Barton Goldenberg, founder and president of ISM, authors CRM Automation published by Prentice Hall and is a columnist for a number of publications including CRM Magazine. ISM private sector clients include AAA Mid-Atlantic, Delta Faucet, ExxonMobil, IBM, Lucent Technologies, McGraw-Hill, Nike, NYSE, PepsiCo, United Way of America, and United Way of Toronto; ISM's government clients include the Department of Defense and the US Postal Service.
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