Social software spending to cross $1bn in 2013: Gartner

MUMBAI, INDIA: Gartner in its latest study finds by 2013, spending on social software to support sales, marketing and customer service processes will exceed $1 billion globally, whereas, overall spending on CRM software in 2012 will cross $12 billion. This mean that social CRM will encompass eight percent of all CRM spending in 2012, up from four percent in 2010.

“Over the next three years, social CRM will continue its exponential rise, software-as-a-service (SaaS) will become routine, salesforce.com will reshuffle the market order, and consultants and system integrators will sell their own CRM software,” said Ed Thompson, vice president and distinguished analyst, Gartner.

Sales, marketing and customer service technologies, projects and implementations will all see rapid changes over the next few years.

In order to offer sales, marketing, service and other business line managers, as well as C-level executives’ guidance with their CRM investments, Gartner has detailed its predictions for CRM in 2011 and beyond.

Gartner recommends a three-step approach to develop a social CRM strategy over the next 12 months:

Determine if there are any social CRM projects already under way; look in the marketing or customer service departments first.

Calculate the likelihood that you will be forced to start something in 2011 – your industry and culture are the best indicators.

Find case studies specific to your industry that can provide examples of what is possible, and share them with other decision makers in your organization.

Gartner also finds that by 2015, one-third of spending on new CRM software will be SaaS.

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In 2009, 24 percent of the CRM software market was delivered by SaaS, and this crossed 26 percent in 2010.

Gartner said that buyers of CRM applications should resist the temptation to bypass the IT organization in the short term. Instead, involve IT in purchase decisions early on to avoid the most-frequently cited downstream issue of data integration, and to address potential concerns about inadequate security, scalability and privacy. IT organizations should focus on integration skills.

The other limitations of SaaS remain, but are eroding over time, whereas integration skills remain problematic.

The study also finds that by 2015, all Tier 1 CRM ESPs will invest in their own bolt-on CRM application software.

In 2010, all Tier 1 CRM external service providers (ESPs) custom-built application functionality on projects; developed configurations or industry templates for major independent software vendors (ISVs); packaged CRM applications, such as SAP and Oracle's Siebel; and productized work done on projects for use on later bids.

However, less than half of the Tier 1 ESPs developed additive stand-alone CRM applications that coexist with ISV packaged applications. The majority of Tier 1 CRM ESPs are now investing in client-agnostic R&D that is not project-funded to build their own bolt-on or best-of-breed CRM application software to run on platforms such as Force.com and Microsoft's xRM.

Gartner recommends that consultants and system integrators should carefully select areas of investment, start with their industry and process strengths, and avoid overinvesting in the short term.