Software as a Service (SaaS)

CUPERTINO, Calif. –(Business Wire)– SugarCRM Inc., the world’s leading provider of commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM) software, today announced the beta release of new reporting and wireless capabilities for SugarCRM, the fastest-growing CRM solution in the market today. The new reporting and analytics engine provides SugarCRM users with improved insight into sales effectiveness and customer behavior. Revamped wireless capabilities deliver the feature-rich SugarCRM user experience on mobile phones, including support for the popular BlackBerry(R) and iPhone mobile handsets.

“SugarCRM’s new wireless offering eliminates the traditional tradeoff between mobility and usability. Salespeople can now get the true Web-based experience of SugarCRM on their mobile phones,” said John Roberts, CEO of SugarCRM. “Our new reporting analysis advances our product philosophy of making the complex simple by providing deep analytical and reporting tools in an easy-to-use interface.”

New Features

n addition to analytical and mobile enhancements, SugarCRM has also strengthened data import features, enhanced the ability to create custom objects and modules with Sugar Module Builder, and introduced new tracking functionality which allows SugarCRM administrators to get a better view into system usage and performance.

Advanced Reporting and Analytics

– New User Interface and Wizard combines a simple, intuitive design with a guided process to walk the user through report creation.

– Complex Reporting Sets allow users to create complex reports across multiple modules (contacts, accounts, opportunities, cases), as well as support for combining two data sets (inner joins) or reporting on unmatched records between two data sets (outer data joins).

– Matrix Reports create powerful reports across modules with the ability to group by multiple attributes. Users can create complex pivot tables in HTML with capabilities to display operations like Sum, Average, Count and Percentage, similar to functions in Microsoft Excel.

– Run-Time Filters allow users to change the attributes of a report in real-time, similar to pivot tables.

– Excel Integration captures Sugar report information in the familiar, easy-to-use Microsoft Office application.

Wireless

New Sugar wireless features provide users with a rich mobile application experience when using SugarCRM.

– Improved User Interface provides navigation into edit, detail, and list views, as well as the ability to access employee directory, store preferences and view recent items.

– Rich HTML Client delivers rich presentation of SugarCRM data through a standard Web browser.

– Device Independent allows users to view SugarCRM data from any PDA or smart phone, including the BlackBerry and iPhone.

– New Search Capabilities allow users to find information quickly with the press of a few buttons.

In addition to end-user features, this new release provides new capabilities for importing data into SugarCRM, managing users, and building and deploying custom objects and modules.

Tracker

SugarCRM introduces new functionality for tracking how workers are using the system and how SugarCRM is performing. These measurements provide CRM administrators and managers better visibility into user adoption and system performance.

– Tracker Reports provide a snapshot into system usage in order to increase user adoption and visibility into CRM utilization. Users can view reports on weekly CRM activities, records and modules viewed, cumulative login time and online status of other team members.

– System Monitoring provides administrators information on how the system is being used and potential stress points for the application. Administrators can view which modules are heavily used, response times for requests, and CRM utilization across teams and individuals.

Data Import Enhancements

Import Tools have been broadened and strengthened, making it easier than ever to move data from applications such as Excel, Act!, Microsoft Outlook and Salesforce.com into SugarCRM.

– Import on All Modules allows users to import information from other CRM applications into all modules with SugarCRM, reducing data re-entry.

– Improved Import User Interface provides more options for ensuring data transfer is executed smoothly and accurately into SugarCRM.

– Data Quality Controls allows administrators to specify whether data imports should create new records or update existing records, reducing duplicate information.

Module Builder

SugarCRM continues to expand the capabilities of Module Builder, an administrative tool which enables users to build custom modules from scratch or combine existing or custom objects into a brand new module.

Improvements include:

– New Relationships allow for new modules to be related to multiple existing modules. For example, a new survey module could be linked across the opportunities and cases module to track customer satisfaction.

– Auditing provides a complete history of module creation and modifications to better keep track of customizations.

– Dashlet Support allows users to expose summary views of custom data within the SugarCRM application.

– New Templates to track files and opportunity information. SugarCRM users can now build new modules to track information related to people, requests, company, as well as documents and opportunities.

SugarCRM Delivers Enhanced Enterprise Reporting and Wireless Features

SAP is delaying the launch of its Business ByDesign on-demand software offering for small and medium-sized businesses, saying it needs to further automate some processes before the launch. That, coupled with a decline in earnings, sent the company’s shares lower.

By Maria Sheahan

SAP (NYSE: SAP)  disappointed investors Wednesday when it delayed the rollout of its new Business ByDesign software product and reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter results.

At 11:31 a.m., shares of SAP were down 1.45 euros (US$2.26) or 4.38 percent at 31.60 euros ($49.21), while the DAX index was at 6,884.42 points, down 0.88 points or 0.01 percent.

“We expect some disappointment in the market today because license revenues were 10 percent below expectations and software and software-related service revenues were 3 percent below the consensus,” said Merck Finck analyst Theo Kitz.

Profit Slips

Net profit fell 22 percent to 242 million euros ($377 million) as the company spent more in the run-up to the planned launch of Business ByDesign and was hit by acquisition-related costs. The figure missed the consensus forecast of 298 million euros ($464 million).

Total revenue also missed consensus, rising to 2.460 billion euros ($3.83 billion), less than the 2.520 billion euros ($3.92 billion) expected.

First-quarter software and software-related service revenue climbed 14.6 percent, while software revenue rose 10.7 percent, missing estimates calling for an increase of nearly 23 percent.

“We see the risk that full-year growth targets could be missed,” said UniCredit analyst Knut Woller.

“Second-quarter comparables are a high barrier to cross, when both SAP and Business Objects reported clear double-digit license growth rates of around 20 percent year-on-year,” Woller commented.

SAP earlier said it still expects full-year software and software related service revenue — excluding a 180 million euros ($280.3 million) non-recurring revenue writedown from the acquisition of Business Objects — to increase in a range of 24 percent to 27 percent at constant currencies.

Launch Delayed

Further disappointing the market, SAP said it is reshuffling market launch plans for its Business ByDesign software products and as a result now expects to reach its target of $1 billion in revenue from Business ByDesign between 12 months and 18 months later than the original 2010 target.

“The slower than expected developments at Business ByDesign are not good news, but were to a certain extent to be expected, and good news is that Business ByDesign will (after 2008) no longer drag down earnings,” said MM Warburg analyst Michael Bahlmann.

On the upside, SAP raised its guidance for full-year operating margin to a range of 28.5 percent to 29.0 percent, compared with a previous target of 27.5 percent to 28.0 percent, as it cuts investments in Business ByDesign by about 100 million euros ($155.8 million) this year.

The target excludes a non-recurring deferred support revenue write-down from the acquisition of Business Objects and acquisition related charges.

The company previously said it planned to spend between 175 million euros ($272 million) and 225 million euros ($350.7 million) on the product this year.

Bottom Line Savings

UniCredit’s Woller pointed out that the lower level of investments will help the company’s bottom line this year.

SAP’s chief executive Henning Kagermann sought to calm jittery investors by saying the company is “totally committed” to Business ByDesign, adding the delay has nothing to do with the market environment.

He said the company will need the additional time to automate certain processes, ensuring that the product will be profitable when it hits the market.

CRM News: Vendors: SAP Delays Business ByDesign Launch After Tough Quarter

Quite often, sales managers and executives don’t have the time and experience to train correctly. Companies with internal training departments often provide guidance, but sales training is quite different from designing and delivering training to other areas within an organization, such as customer care, engineering, or human resources.

By Jonathan Farrington

Not enough companies have learned how to employ sales training as a strategic tool. Those that have are leaders in their industries, offering their shareholders maximum return on investment. They are able to quickly adapt to changing market conditions, are respected by their customers, and provide consistent sales performance.

The salespeople who work for those companies are motivated, stay in their jobs longer and are proud to help in recruiting their friends who have been successful selling for other companies. That improves the “bloodline” and saves on recruiting fees.

Quite often, sales managers and executives don’t have the time and experience to train correctly. Companies with internal training departments often provide guidance, but sales training is quite different from designing and delivering training to other areas within an organization, such as customer care, engineering, or human resources.

Assess Your Situation

The first step for any company deciding to make a change in their sales approach is always an assessment of the situation. What processes and methods are currently being employed by the company? What has its sales performance been? What percentage of salespeople are delivering against plan? What are the biggest obstacles to success? How dynamic or stable is the company’s environment? What are the practices and expectations of the buyers?

These are only a few considerations.

The primary objective of creating an individually tailored Organizational Development Program has to be: To achieve consistently superior results through the performance of every key individual. After all, our people are our most important — and indeed, expensive — resource; it therefore makes sense for us to want to see a full and proper return on that investment.

Specifically, we are seeking to achieve optimum performance levels via a process and an all-encompassing framework for defining performance standards. This involves assessing, appraising, developing, implementing, reviewing and providing continual feedback on performance.

Emphasis is placed on creating an environment in which the “can do/will do” mentality thrives and becomes the norm — success and achievement are expected and, as a consequence, are much more likely to happen.

Key Factors for Optimum Performance

I believe it is essential to bring together a number of key factors when aiming for optimum performance levels. A simplified formula would be:

Attitude + Skills + Process (A.S.P.) = Success.

Attitude is fundamental to any achievement because individuals with the right attitude are far more likely to embrace the essential skills, and at the same time recognize the control that the process brings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Almost two-thirds of Americans have had some experience with mobile Internet use, and the adoption trend is most pronounced among teens and young adults, according to Pew Research Center. About 60 percent of adults 18 to 29 use text messaging every day, compared with only 14 percent of their parents.

By Ben Kunz

Google’s biggest threat may not be Microsoft  or Yahoo.

No, one of the most formidable challenges facing Google is likely sitting in your pocket or purse. It’s your cell phone, and it will put added pressure on Google and other Internet companies to revamp the way they handle online marketing.

As more people use cell phones and their tiny glass screens to gain access to the Internet, Google and its fellow online advertisers will have less space, or what’s called ad inventory, to place marketing messages for customers. Google makes money selling ad inventory. And its ad inventory is diminished on a cell phone.

iPhone as Tipping Point

Google can now fit about 10 ads on a standard computer screen. [If you look at Google search results on a PC monitor, paid ads are the listings at the very top and along the right.] But on your cell phone, if you type in a search query at google.com you get only one or two paid ads in response.

Imagine the horror that would befall your business if a large slice of what you sell suddenly disappeared. A similar fate could befall companies that depend on online advertising, as small screens become the gateway to the Internet.

Of course, no one’s suggesting that consumers will abandon standard computer screens overnight. And early research shows that mobile  advertising may be more effective than standard online advertising, suggesting that it will be more lucrative for the companies that rely on it. Still, the shift is coming fast enough that Google must get prepared.

It was Apple, a frequent Google collaborator, that tipped the trend. Consumer use of mobile Internet in the U.S. has longed trailed Asia and Europe, where standardized cell networks made it easier for handset makers to produce gadgets that tap the Web at blazingly fast speeds. But in the summer of 2007, Apple rocked America by launching the iPhone. The computer maker wasn’t the first to put the Web on phones, but for many consumers, the iPhone made the experience more robust.

Almost two-thirds of Americans have had some experience with mobile Internet use, and the adoption trend is most pronounced among teens and young adults, according to Pew Research Center. About 60 percent of adults 18 to 29 use text messaging every day, compared with only 14 percent of their parents. Nearly one-third of young adults use mobile Internet. This is the future, because people take their media habits with them as they age.

Read the rest of this entry »

When the going gets rough, customer retention becomes even more important. By that logic, continued sluggishness in the overall economy could have little to no dampening effect on the CRM sector, which is on a roll.

By Erika Morphy

The customer relationship management industry will grow by 14.2 percent this year, Gartner (NYSE: IT) forecasts in a new report, with revenue expected to surpass US$8.9 billion. Last year, the CRM industry registered $7.8 billion in global sales, based on preliminary revenue figures. The market is expected to continue to grow through at least 2012, when revenues are forecast to reach $13.3 billion.

A number of factors are driving CRM growth, said Gartner Research Director Sharon Mertz, author of the report.

Global sales is one — particularly for large corporations in emerging markets. The strengthening grip of the Software as a Service model on the market is another.

Another factor is the boost to productivity from Web 2.0 add-ons that many CRM vendors are bringing to market.

“One thing that struck me this year even more so than usual is that vendor diversification business strategies are really contributing to growth,” Mertz told CRM Buyer.

In other words, there is no one strategy — not even SaaS  — to which CRM can attribute its growth trajectory.

“Vendors are doing all kinds of things — working with channel partners in new ways, focusing on emerging market regions, offering a variety of deployment models, and experimenting with new functionality — to bring in revenue,” said Mertz.

Global Growth

The global market is a major ingredient of CRM’s success, though, Mertz continued. “2007 was a tremendously strong year for most vendors, especially those that are growing their businesses outside of the United States.”

North America is the largest market for CRM total software  revenue, accounting for $4.3 billion in 2007. That total will reach $7.6 billion in 2012, Gartner expects. Europe, for its part, is expected to exhibit steady growth rising to $3.9 billion in 2012 from $2.6 billion in 2007.

However, the strongest growth in CRM spending is likely to occur in the Asia/Pacific region, where revenue is forecast to grow to $840 million in 2012 from $410 million in 2007, according to the research firm.

Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa are also expected to see upward growth in CRM spending, particularly in specific industries.

Increasing penetration of CRM solutions in developing economies will make greater contributions to vendor revenue during the next few years, Gartner predicts.

Some overseas vertical markets have proven to be particularly lucrative, Mertz said, such as telecommunications, banking and financial services, and retail.

Russia, while not considered an emerging market, provides a good illustration of the demand for CRM in countries that are quickly building out a capital base.

“A lot of its infrastructure needs to be updated,” Mertz said. “Consider its railroads, for instance. That is an enormous operation as it covers 11 time zones. It will need more infusions of technology to get running.”

India is another country attracting CRM investment, she noted. “Most North American CRM vendors have reported strong growth in India.”

SaaS and Recessionary Forces

By now, the market is familiar with the SaaS success story. Most on-premise vendors have some sort of Web delivery capability as well, because demand for it is so strong, Mertz pointed out.

SaaS will continue to drive growth in this sector, she said — particularly if the economy falls into recession.

It’s questionable, though, whether CRM will take a big hit if growth does start to contract. So far, publicly held vendors are turning in strong earnings. Amdocs (NYSE: DOX) , for instance, exceeded its guidance. “I don’t think that trend will necessarily continue this year, but so far so good,” Mertz said.

“If the ‘R’ word does happen, CRM is a place where we will see smart companies continue to spend,” Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research at Nucleus Research, told CRM Buyer.

“Companies realize that when consumers start to tighten their belts, the one thing they can do to counteract that is make sure they maintain or increase the quality of interactions with their customers,” she explained. “Retention becomes even more critical.”

Gartner does expect to see a slowdown in capital invested into enterprise technology this year, Mertz added.

The CRM growth factor that’s most difficult to quantify is the one that has had the biggest impact on spending — at least, according to Wettemann: new innovation and Web 2.0 technologies.

“There is an increased focus on CRM as a way to increase productivity,” she said, “so applications like presence monitoring, next-generation content management — applications that automatically generate a proposal — and social networking capabilities all are attracting attention by buyers.”

CRM News: Trends: Report: No Recession for CRM