The Top Customer Relationship Management Software Solutions

5 Global Leaders in CRM-Client

1. ORACLE - SIEBEL
The Oracle CRM software portfolio includes Oracle Siebel CRM, Oracle CRM on Demand, Oracle
E-Business Suite (EBS), PeopleSoft Enterprise, Oracle Contact Center Anywhere (CCA), RightNow
and the newest flagship product, Fusion CRM. Oracle counts over 6,000 global CRM customers,
about 6 millions users and approximately 130 million self service users.
Siebel Systems was the undisputed CRM software leader from the 90's through the turn of the
century, peaking at 45% market share in 2002. Since being acquired in 2005 by Oracle, the
software solution has continued its assertive push however with stiff competition from arch rival
SAP, and multiple ways to measure market share, both SAP and Oracle claim the top CRM
software position. Most analysts give Oracle a slight edge, however, it really comes down to what
measures are used.
Oracle Siebel is a mature and impressive customer relationship management system. The
applications roots were deep in Sales Force Automation (SFA), however, over several years the
company acquired or built-out a broad CRM suite with dozens of industry specific vertical market
CRM solutions.
Oracle Siebel, like most legacy client-server CRM systems, has a reputation for high risk, and
expensive deploymentsleaving this type of enterprise software solution for midmarket and
enterprise-level customers and budgets. In fact, failed implementations and frustrated
customers were the primary impetus for the rise and sky-rocketing growth of cloud or software
as a service (SaaS) CRM applications. Not to be left out of a major market movement, Oracle also
delivers its Oracle CRM on Demand for SaaS CRM prospects as well as RightNow for customer
service and customer experience prospects and Oracle Fusion for higher-end, broad-based CRM.
Over the longer run, Oracle Fusion will become the flagship product, however, that is still several
years into the future.
2. SAP
The SAP CRM system is a fully integrated customer relationship management (CRM) application
that targets business software requirements of midsize and enterprise organizations across
industries and locations.
SAP's CRM system offers several integrated modules that automate traditional customer facing
process areas such as SAP CRM Sales (sales force automation), SAP CRM Marketing, SAP CRM
Service, SAP CRM Interaction Center, SAP CRM Web Channel (with E-Marketing, E-Service and ECommerce) and SAP CRM Partner Channel Management.

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Similar to arch rival and top competitor Oracle, SAP has more recently released two SaaS CRM
systemsSAP Sales on Demand which is a cloud CRM extension for the company's on-premise
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) application and SAP Business ByDesign which is a full ERP
cloud suite that includes CRM.
For businesses seeking a wholesale transition to the cloud, the Business ByDesign cloud product
is the only option available from SAP. Business ByDesign is a purpose built cloud and SaaS product
covering the breadth of ERP and CRM.
3. SALESFORCE
Salesforce.com is still the (relative) new guy, but no longer a small guy. The cloud CRM pioneer
and advocate is now the third largest CRM software company in terms of market share (although
Microsoft also asserts this position and the two are very close in CRM market share). While not
nearly the size if its major software competitorssuch as Oracle, SAP and Microsoftit has
nonetheless secured over two million global customers and for the most part continues to show
higher growth than the market average.
Salesforce.com became a leading vendor of customer relationship management software
applications using the software-as-a-service or cloud computing model. The company's flagship
product is a CRM system designed for businesses of all sizes and industries worldwide and
focusing on the disruptive opportunities driven by cloud, social and mobile.
Salesforce is also advancing its platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solution called Force.com and
managing an eco-system of somewhat integrated third party products in an online marketplace
called AppExchange. Salesforce.com prices its CRM software solutions to businesses on a
subscription basis, primarily through direct sales but also less frequently through a business
partner channel. The software solution is not available for on-premise or private cloud use.
4. MYCROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM
Microsoft is in the number four CRM software market position. As is often the history with
Microsoft, it takes them a few versions to get a new product right, but once they get it they have
the proven experience is scaling growth like no other competitor.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is the 5th version release for the customer relationship
management software. Some analysts point out there was never a version number two and
Microsoft accelerated their version count as they skipped from version one to version three.
However, with the most recent name change from CRM 5 to Dynamics CRM 2011, Microsoft has
moved away from the sequential version numbering scheme.
Dynamics CRM is somewhat unique in an increasingly crowded CRM software market to use the
same code base for both on-premise and software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery models. It also
gives customers more choices in hosting delivery by supporting multiple public clouds for SaaS

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delivery. Customers have the option to subscribe to Dynamics CRM directly from Microsoft or
may choose from a number of hosting providers and specialized Microsoft channel partners.
Microsoft CRM also allows cloud customers and business partners to install sever-side code in
the Microsoft cloud. This permits greater extensibility for a number of business processes not
supported by some competitors such as Salesforce.com. Microsoft's CRM solution will also
continue to advance in combination with Azure, its high profile public cloud platform. Additional
unique Microsoft CRM product capabilities include the tightest integration with Outlook, Office
& SharePoint; highly configurable role-based workflows; business intelligence (BI) and analytics;
and a suite of strong technology tools for software integration and customization.
5. SUGARCRM
SugarCRM doesn't match the company size or global brand recognition of the prior four CRM
vendors, but nonetheless is the number five market share leader and a very strong competitor in
its target markets.
Sugar is a maker of open source CRM software, and while there are dozens of open source CRM
software systems in the market, Sugar CRM stands alone and ahead of the pack primarily due to
offering an extremely easy to use product that is functionally rich and at a very low price point.
Sugar CRM is easily the most cost effective CRM solution in the market.
Open Source CRM software like Sugar is proliferating in large part because these systems provide
customers with choices outside of the traditional commercial or proprietary CRM applications
like SAP, Oracle, Salesforce and Microsoft. For companies seeking increased software control to
accommodate challenging industry requirements, unique business processes, complex feature
sets or budgetary constraints, open source CRM software can provide both a viable alternative
and an entry point to an enterprise-wide open source software technology strategy.
Very low acquisition costs, unfettered extensibility, choice in software delivery methods such as
SaaS/cloud or on-premise, freedom from vendor lock-in and growing support from global
ecosystems are driving increased attention and adoption of open source CRM systems.

PGDIM - Chandra Shekhar Pal 1402039 Sec A

5 Global Leaders in CRM-Cloud

1. Salesforce
Salesforce.com is a cloud Customer Relationship Management software pioneer and advocate and is also
now the third largest CRM software company in terms of market share (although Microsoft also asserts this
ranking and the two are very close in CRM market share). While Salesforce is not nearly the size if its direct
software competitorssuch as Oracle, SAP and Microsoftit has secured over two million global
customers and for the most part continues to show higher growth than the market average.
Salesforce.com became a top crm cloud vendor using the software-as-a-service computing model. The
company's flagship product is a cloud CRM system designed for businesses of all sizes and industries
worldwide and focusing on the disruptive opportunities driven by cloud, social and mobile.
Salesforce.com is increasing focus on its platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solution called Force.com and
managing an online ecosystem of somewhat loosely integrated third party products in an iTunes-like
marketplace called AppExchange. Salesforce.com prices its CRM software solutions to businesses on a
subscription basis, primarily through direct sales but also less frequently through a business partner channel.
The software solution is not available for on-premise or private cloud use. While there are multiple editions
to choose from, each with varying price points, Salesforce.com is known to be one of the most expensive,
if not the most expensive, cloud CRM systems in the industry

2. Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Microsoft is in the number four CRM software market positionalthough is showing some of the
highest growth in the Customer Relationship Management software industry so this ranking may
change quickly. As is often the history with Microsoft, it generally takes them a few versions to
get a new product right, but once they get it to that point they have the proven experience is scaling
growth like no other CRM software competitor.Dynamics CRM is currently in the 5th version
release. Some analysts point out there was never a version number two and Microsoft accelerated
their version count as they skipped from version one to version three. But with the most recent
name change from CRM 5 to Dynamics CRM 2011, Microsoft has shifted away from the
sequential version numbering scheme. Microsoft CRM is somewhat unique in an increasingly
competitive CRM software market in that it uses the same underlying code base for both onpremise and cloud or software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery. It also gives customers more choices
in hosting delivery by enabling multiple public cloud providers for SaaS delivery. Customers have
the option to subscribe to MS Dynamics CRM directly from Microsoft or may choose from a
number of hosting providers and specialized Microsoft channel partners. This can give customers
more flexibility to choose a data center based on proximity, redundancy, Service Level Agreement
(SLA), cost or other factors.Microsoft Dynamics CRM also allows cloud CRM customers and
business partners to install sever-side code in the Microsoft cloud. This permits more extensibility
for a number of business processes not supported by some competitors such as Salesforce.com or

PGDIM - Chandra Shekhar Pal 1402039 Sec A

Oracle OnDemand. Microsoft's CRM software is designed to advance in parallel with Azure, its
high profile and truly global public cloud platform. Additional unique Microsoft CRM product
capabilities include the tightest integration with Outlook, Office & SharePoint; extremely
configurable role-based workflow processes; real business intelligence (BI) and analytics; and a
suite of strong technology tools for system integration and software customization.

3. Sugar CRM
SugarCRM doesn't match the large marketing budgets, global brand recognition or company size
of the prior CRM software leaders, but nonetheless is the number four (or arguably number five,
based on the particular measures) CRM market share leader and a very strong competitor in its
target markets. Sugar is a developer of open source CRM software, and while there are literally
dozens of open source CRM software systems in the marketplace, SugarCRM stands alone and
ahead of the pack primarily due to offering an extremely easy to use and flexible product that is
functionally rich, delivered at a very low price point and supported by a stable company.
SugarCRM is easily the most cost effective CRM software in the market. Open Source CRM
software like Sugar CRM is proliferating in large part because these applications provide
customers with choices outside of the traditional proprietary or commercial CRM systems like
Oracle, Microsoft, Salesforce.com and SAP. For organizations seeking increased business
software control to accommodate unique industry requirements, challenging business processes,
complex feature sets or tight budgetary constraints, open source CRM software can provide both
a appealing alternative and an entry point to an enterprise-wide open source software technology
strategy. Very low acquisition costs, limitless extensibility, flexible choice in software delivery
methods such as cloud/SaaS or on-premise, freedom from software vendor lock-in and growing
support from global ecosystems are driving increased attention, review and adoption of open
source CRM systems.
4. Oracle Right Now
Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, RightNow Technologies is the
developer of cloud CRM and customer experience solutions. The company's mantra is to help
other companies deliver great customer experiences, and lives by a compelling vision to 'rid the
world of bad experiences one consumer interaction at a time, 8 million times a day.' In 2012,
RightNow Technologies was acquired by Oracle.
Despite being a strong CRM software competitor, RightNow's solution doesn't fit as squarely
into the traditional CRM review format which generally examine sales, marketing and service
functions. RightNow's flagship product is RightNow CX (Customer Experience), and consists of
a product portfolio which includes Contact Center Experience, Web Experience, Social
Experience and an underlying Cloud Platform.
Now under the Oracle banner, and as one of several Oracle CRM software products, RightNow
is Oracle's go-to CRM solution for customers seeking CRM contact center, call center or
customer experience solutions in the cloud. Over the next few years, RightNow will coalesce

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with Oracle Fusionnot with any type of new technology refresh within the core RightNow
system but simply by integrating into the larger Oracle Fusion technology strategy.
5. Oracle On Demand
When it comes to cloud CRM software, the industry has watched Oracle exhibit a near
schizophrenic position regarding the validity and opportunity for software as a service Customer
Relationship Management solutions in the business software market. Even after Oracle inherited
the Siebel on Demand solution as part of the 2005 Siebel acquisition, the SaaS CRM product
languished with no major releases for 18 months. However, despite some initial reservations,
Oracle has made up lost time, acquired significant market share and advanced the Oracle CRM on
Demand software to earn a top CRM leadership position in the cloud CRM marketplace. Oracle
CRM on Demand includes a full CRM software suite of sales, marketing and customer support.
However, Oracle on-Demand is finding unique differentiation with a number of industry-focused,
vertical market CRM solutions as well as acting as a Tier 2 solution which integrates to Oracle's
enterprise (and generally on-premise) CRM systems such as E-Business Suite and Oracle Siebel.
The vertical market CRM approach is far more significant that most competitor claims. Most cloud
CRM systems use the same horizontal CRM software and customize a few fields or the services
implementation delivery for their claimed vertical market editions support. Oracle's on-demand
software has been more deeply tailored to accommodate vertical market feature sets and business
requirements. For example, Oracle CRM for Life Sciences supports mass creation of planned sales
calls, assessment types, book of business support for samples, and enhanced PDC assessments.
Likewise, Oracle CRM for Insurance includes fundamental features such as policy origination
support (with OPA integration), policy object enhancements (audit, custom object association,
attachment and book support, dynamic layout support), books of financial plans, risk categories
and premium calculations, claims adjudication and payment calculations, and self-service quoting
for brokers and customers.

PGDIM - Chandra Shekhar Pal 1402039 Sec A