The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software market is growing once again, especially those solutions focused on increasing demand in small enterprise and mid-markets. New market trends, such as Software as a Service (SaaS) and application development trends (e. g. Open Source Software, Web 2.0, community-based development) are reshaping CRM software delivery models, functional choices and value perceptions. As a result, IT decision makers are once again struggling to make effective CRM product comparisons. This research note takes an in-depth, comparative look at key players in the CRM small enterprise market and their main offerings. Coverage includes:
- A comprehensive overview of the factors influencing the CRM market.
- A graphical and text-based comparison of the five leading CRM products suitable for small enterprises, including relative vendor and product rankings.
- A summary of the relative strengths and weaknesses of each product.
- General recommendations for product selection.
Due to the emergence of new delivery (SaaS) and development models (e.g. open source, community-based development), CRM choices for small enterprises are expected to increase in number in the next 1-2 years, reiterating the need for companies to engage in a formal vendor selection process.