SaaS increases CRM slice

MUMBAI: The CRM market growth has been driven by technology and enterprise investments focused on customer retention, Analytics and On-Demand solutions.

And, Software as a Service (SaaS) continued to drive the market forward, representing nearly 20 per cent of total CRM software market revenue in 2008, up from just over 15 percent in 2007, as per a recent report.

Overall, worldwide CRM market revenue totaled $9.15 billion in 2008, a 12.5 percent increase from 2007 revenue of $8.13 billion, according to Gartner Inc as shared in a press release.

Interest in social networking and social software also escalated in 2008 as businesses were confronted with the sales, marketing, and serviceability impact of increasing consumer participation in online forums.

"Despite financial market volatility, the worldwide CRM market enjoyed its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth as businesses continued to invest in solutions across all sub segments," said Sharon Mertz, research director at Gartner. "Actual market growth was moderated by a stronger dollar but reflects higher contributions from emerging markets."

Also, SAP continued to be the market leader accounting for 22.5 per cent of worldwide CRM software revenue in 2008, but this is down from a 25.5 per cent share in 2007. Microsoft experienced the strongest growth rate among the top five vendors, as its revenue increased 75 per cent in 2008.