Oracle and SAP Surf Side-by-Side in Forrester Wave on Enterprise CRM

CRM for large enterprises is a game for megavendors, to judge by a new report from Forrester Research. “The Forrester Wave: Enterprise CRM Suites, Q3 ‘08” is ruled by Oracle’s Siebel CRM and by SAP CRM; SAP’s suite ranks better in terms of future strategy, but Oracle rates with the strongest current offering and market presence. Not to be outdone, Microsoft Dynamics CRM makes a respectable showing due to the strength of Microsoft’s strategic vision, though its market share and current capabilities still lag the other two powerhouses.

Many of the names appearing in the Enterprise Wave are the same as were cited in the recent Midmarket CRM report (covered by destinationCRM here). That report noted that midmarket customers have considerable breadth of choice, and the same is true at the large enterprise level.

Oracle’s market presence is not limited to its Siebel property, either. Three other Oracle-owned options made the Forrester Wave as well:

• Oracle CRM On Demand;
• Oracle E-Business Suite CRM; and
• Oracle PeopleSoft CRM.

“Oracle is intent on sustaining Siebel’s leadership position in the CRM market,” writes William Band, principal analyst and report author. “Oracle’s Siebel vision is to provide robust capabilities that empower users to better address customer needs, enable businesses to be more responsive to growth, and create a superior ownership experience for the enterprise. The Siebel product for enterprise-class customers has achieved best-of-breed status for most CRM functionalities, with the exception of e-commerce.”

Other competitors in the top right corner of the Wave -- where current offering and strategic vision are greatest -- include Oracle CRM On Demand, RightNow Technologies, and Salesforce.com.

Occupying the next band behind the Leaders are the Strong Performers. This year’s crop includes:

• Consona’s Onyx CRM;
• Infor CRM Epiphany;
• Oracle E-Business Suite CRM;
• Oracle PeopleSoft CRM;
• Pegasystems; and
• Sword ciboodle.

Formerly known as Graham Technology, “upstart” Sword ciboodle “has pushed into the CRM market with [its] focus on the intersection of business process modeling, customer service, and customer interaction management,” Band writes. Built upon the ciboodle Process Platform, he adds, the CRM offering “provides strong support for customer service but generally weaker support for other functional areas of CRM such as sales, marketing field service, analytics, and customer data management.” Band also notes that ciboodle lacks a software-as-a-service (SaaS) option, something that has become more popular with enterprise CRM in recent years as evidenced by the successes of RightNow, Salesforce.com, and others.

In fact, the Forrester report says that every product in the Leaders section except for the top two (SAP and the on-premises Siebel CRM) either are delivered exclusively through the SaaS model or at least offer a SaaS option. (Oracle may be looking to reduce that list of exceptions from two to one, with its recent move to offer integration between its on-demand and on-premises offerings.) “The top two vendors are being chased by a pack of strong players, who have now proven their ability to serve enterprise-class organizations,” Band writes. “RightNow and Salesforce.com, which are SaaS solutions, are much faster to deploy, and easier to change, than traditional on-premise offerings; Microsoft recently launched its own SaaS solution, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online; and Oracle CRM On Demand is gaining traction in the market as a SaaS companion to Oracle’s Siebel.”

News relevant to the customer relationship management industry is posted several times a day on destinationCRM.com, in addition to the news section Insight that appears every month in the pages of CRM magazine. You may leave a public comment regarding this article by clicking on "Comments" at the top; to contact the editors, please email editor@destinationCRM.com.

Related Articles

Sword Ciboodle Releases Ciboodle Crowd

The contact center specialist launches a new social CRM product to build communities comprising agents, consumers, and enterprises.

7 Surf Atop the Forrester Wave of CRM Suites for Large Organizations

The Forrester Wave: CRM Suites for Large Organizations '10: Forrester Research names the seven top-performing vendors at the enterprise level.

7 Named Leaders in Forrester Wave of CRM Suites for Midsize Organizations

The Forrester Wave: CRM Suites for Midsized Organizations '10: In his annual evaluation, analyst Bill Band identifies the top-performing options for midmarket CRM.

Sword Ciboodle and SAS Announce Partnership

Sword Ciboodle and SAS revamp the contact center with SAS Real-Time Manager, designed to predict customer behavior.

New Challengers Added to Gartner Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence

Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence '10: Smaller vendors gain traction, but 75 percent of the market remains controlled by the top five vendors, with Oracle on top yet again.

Oracle Shines Up Siebel and Social Computing

Big Red's acquired powerhouse gets a major update, and adds sales gadgets to its social initiative.

Former Oracle Executive to Join SAP

A year out of the spotlight, John Wookey is back on the scene, except now he's playing on a different side.

All the News from NetSuite

Rounding up a slew of announcements from the on-demand CRM provider, including a half-price deal targeting Salesforce.com customers.

There's No Stopping CRM

New research from Gartner predicts strong market growth continuing through 2012, despite the coming economic downturn.

Enterprise CRM Is Three Sheets to the Wind

A new Forrester Wave on enterprise CRM finds Oracle and SAP to be riding at the crest, while a number of competitors stock the sea with solid options.

Oracle's Smaller Slice of CRM's Bigger Pie

The worldwide CRM market grew 11.5 percent in 2006 to just under $6.5 billion in revenue; while SAP continues to dominate, Oracle Corp. sees both its revenue and its market share slip.

Oracle Integrates CRM On Demand with Siebel

In an effort to unite on-demand and on-premises CRM, Oracle takes responsibility for product integration -- a move that looks particularly appealing for partner channel management.

Forrester Waves to Midmarket CRM

Forrester Wave: Midmarket CRM Suites '08: Despite consolidation, buying CRM software for the midmarket segment is still a major headache.

CRM Magazine Announces the Winners of the 2008 CRM Market Awards

Companies, customers, and industry visionaries are honored for successes in the CRM marketplace over the previous 12 months.

Four BI Vendors Crest the Forrester Wave

Forrester Wave '08: The latest report on enterprise business intelligence shows SAP's BusinessObjects property in a tight race with three other respected vendors.