CRM Technologies Most Valued in the Finance Function

CRM technologies are the most valued in the finance function, followed by cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) and analytics and business intelligence tools, with all three expected to see high investment going forward, according to new research from Gartner.

Chief finance officers "are increasingly relying on CRM applications to analyze sales forecasts more accurately, using historical performance data to evaluate the likelihood of sales materializing," says Nick Duffy, senior director analyst in the Gartner Finance practice. "The fact that this is the highest-valued technology in this survey shows CFOs are looking for deeper insight on customer trends that drive financial outcomes."

Finance department leaders, meanwhile, are using analytics and business intelligence for data visualization, as well as for data prep, modeling logic writing analytic tools.

"With a volatile business environment, there's a need to provide faster, decision-ready financial insights to leaders in the business," Duffy explains. "Integration with AI capabilities is making this more accessible than ever for finance teams, so these tools rank highly for adoption and future investment currently."

At the same time, cloud ERP is quickly replacing on-premises deployments of the software, with finance functions keen to tap into the advanced features available via the subscription model.