The most popular and comprehensive Open Source ECM platform
Let us know more
Cloud Computing: Mobile and Social Help CRM Power Past ERP to Become Top IT Spending Category
ERP has dropped as the top IT priority for most businesses. CRM, rather than previous front-leader ERP, is now the top IT investment priority for businesses. The top three priorities are now CRM, ERP, and office productivity tools. The Gartner report found that businesses have greatly increased the value that they place on CRM. It’s partly because CRM systems are evolving.
In particular, the ‘R’ (Relationship) of CRM is being more forcefully accentuated in new releases of CRM software as users demand more Mobile and Social features to enable better collaboration with customers. While early versions of CRM focused on automating the rolodex, tracking sales leads, and managing marketing campaigns, newer versions of CRM focus on building better avenues of communication and collaboration with customers.
Gartner categorizes CRM features and applications into three groups: operational, analytical and social:
- Operational. Manages customer-facing processes (80 percent of applications cover these features)
- Analytical. Includes features for customer segmentation and forecasting customer needs, typically used for cross-selling. (12 percent of applications handle this)
- Social. Enables better communication and collaboration with customers (8 percent of CRM applications focus on this)
Gartner found that businesses are spending most right now to acquire greater social CRM capabilities. Spending is less in the area of CRM analytic features. And the smallest amount of CRM spending is happening in the area of basic operational CRM capabilities.
Gartner characterized this, by saying that “Organizations are most interested in increasing spending on CRM software now because they are focused on customer retention/satisfaction and attracting new customers. Mobile and social technology requirements are also driving CRM spending, with mobile devices forcing change even faster than social networks.”
