CRM Vendors Embrace AI, Automation to Break Down Silos, Nucleus Research CRM Value Matrix Finds

By PRNewswire On Oct 12, 2018

Leaders Extending Enhanced Analytics Capabilities to Deliver Better Predictive Models and Enhance Usability

Productivity takes center stage in the H2 2018 CRM Value Matrix from Nucleus Research. Automation, AI and predictive capabilities deployed in meaningful ways are helping to break down silos, increase usability and simplifying CRM applications across organizations.

H2 #ValueMatrix for #CRM shows leaders breaking down silos https://nucleusresearch.com/research/single/crm-technology-value-matrix-2h2018/

“In this latest Value Matrix, Salesforce, Oracle, and Microsoft show they continue to deliver value for users, recently through integration and embedded artificial intelligence,” said Ian Campbell, CEO at Nucleus Research. “With cloud applications, users face relatively low barriers to changing solutions, forcing vendors to remain ultra-competitive. We expect CRM solutions to continue to provide increasing returns for end users into the future.”

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Leaders in the 2018 H2 CRM Value Matrix include: Bpm’online, Infor CX, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle CX Cloud, Salesforce.com, Satuit Technologies and Veeva Systems.

“With more than 90% of new CRM deployments happening in the cloud, leaders are delivering new innovation and opportunities for benefit every few months,” said Rebecca Wettemann, VP of research at Nucleus Research. “As companies continue to evolve their customer engagement strategies to stay competitive, reducing barriers to adoption and improving the quality – and intelligence – of customer interactions are high priorities on vendors’ and customers’ roadmaps.”

Beyond seeking to grow the number of CRM deployments, vendors are employing sticky edge-capabilities that extend their overall footprint into field service automation, configure price quote (CPQ) capabilities and enhanced analytics that further drive ROI for customers. In an environment where application lock-in is less of a concern today for customers, it’s become increasingly important to offer better ways to carry on a deployment’s value over time beyond regular updates to the core product.

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“Enhancements in automation or AI are no longer making waves in user productivity. You can only get so far with isolated datasets as you run into walls from within divided silos. Leaders in the CRM Value Matrix are in the process of breaking down these walls, connecting disparate business processes across sales, service and marketing to provide greater value from new deployments,” said Dan Elman, analyst at Nucleus Research.

Vendors are evaluated within the Value Matrix on both usability and functionality – key drivers of value – and placed into four categories: Leaders, Experts, Facilitators, and Core Providers. Customers can use the Matrices to evaluate vendor short lists as well as to make the case for maintaining existing applications.