ISM Announces Winners of 2009 Top 15 CRM Software Awards for Enterprise and Small & Medium Business Solutions

ISM Top 15 CRM Enterprise Winners (+)

• Amdocs CRM CES v. 7.5.2 – Amdocs Limited
• CDC Pivotal CRM v. 6.0 – CDC Software
• C2 CRM v. 8.6 – Clear C2, Inc.
• Consona CRM – Consona Corporation
• Firstwave CRM v. 4.1 – Firstwave Technologies, Inc.
• Infor CRM – Infor Global Solutions
• CMS v. 9.0/OnContact CRM V v. 6.2– OnContact Software Corp.
• ExSellence 5.9 & IAS 360 3.5 – Optima Technologies, Inc.
• PeopleSoft CRM – Oracle Corporation
• RightNow CRM February 09 – RightNow Technologies, Inc.
• Sage SalesLogix v.7.5. – Sage Software
• Salesforce.com – Salesforce.com
• SAP CRM 7.0 – SAP AG
• Sword Ciboodle v.2.10 – Sword Group
• Update seven – update software AG

ISM Top 15 CRM SMB Winners (++)

• Ardexus MODE v. 6.1 – Ardexus, Inc.
• Powertrak v. 9.0 – Axonom, Inc.
• C2 CRM v. 8.6 – Clear C2, Inc.
• Goldmine Enterprise Edition 6.05 – FrontRange Solutions, Inc.
• Salesplace 2008.6.1. – Interchange Solutions
• Maximizer CRM 10.5 – Maximizer Software Inc.
• Microsoft CRM 4.0 - Microsoft Corporation
• NetSuite CRM 2008.2 & NetSuite 2008.2 – NetSuite, Inc.
• CMS v. 9.0/OnContact CRM V v. 6.2 – OnContact Software Corporation
• Oracle CRM OnDemand – Oracle Corporation
• Relavis CRM 7.5 – Relavis Corporation
• Sage CRM 6.2 – Sage Software
• Sage SalesLogix v. 7.5 – Sage Software
• Salesforce.com – Salesforce.com
• Salespage CRM– Salespage Technologies, LLC
• StayinFront CRM v. 11 – StayinFront, Inc.
• Sugar CRM v.5.2 – Sugar CRM

(++): Seventeen packages qualified for the Top 15 CRM SMB Awards for 2009

The annual Top 15 awards are based on the testing of CRM software from around the world that are sold in the North American marketplace. New trends for 2009 are identified from vendor surveys and intensive testing at the ISM Software Lab at its Bethesda, Md. headquarters. Each software program ISM tests is rated according to 217 selection criteria, including 102 business functions, 51 technical features, 36 implementation capabilities, 11 real time criteria and 17 user-support features. With no ownership in or by a vendor, ISM's software analysis is 100 percent unbiased.

Based on the software testing process, Goldenberg points out several new business application and technology trends in CRM software:

· Integration with Social Media applications: CRM vendors are now beginning to offer integration with third party comprehensive social media applications. Social media is information content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies to facilitate communications, influence and interaction with peers and with public audiences typically via the Internet and mobile communications networks.

· Increased Availability of Social Media Type Functionality: CRM vendors are now providing access to Social Media type functionality. Social Media can also refer to Web-based services that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users. It is a world where computers and other technology have shifted from a means of one-way static communication to platforms for interaction and community building.

· Increased Use of Business Intelligence Analytical Tools in CRM Solutions: Business Intelligence Analytical tools, or predictive modeling, now can predict the monetary value and profitability of a particular customer: from profiling customers based on their behavior to segmenting markets, from predicting customer purchases based on past purchase information and psychographic/demographic data and from determining cross-selling opportunities.

· Increased Number of Mobile CRM Offerings and a Move Toward Real-Time CRM: CRM vendors continue to develop and release CRM application modules, especially those that are bundled with or work on a large variety of handheld and/or wireless devices. These include PDAs (with various operating systems), and smart phones that support wireless infrastructure technologies like CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), GSM (Global System for Multiple communications), TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data), SMS (Short Messaging Services), and packet radio networks.

· Increased CRM Offerings via the SaaS Model: CRM software vendors are increasingly offering CRM software solutions via the SaaS model, which is also referred to as Application Service Provider (ASP) or on-demand solution. A 2007 IDC report predicts that many software companies would derive a majority of their revenues from subscription agreements rather than perpetual licenses by 2010. The SaaS model is attractive to many companies because it can circumvent traditional problems with the CRM client-server model including high prices, cumbersome deployments and software upgrades.

ABOUT ISM
Founded in 1985, ISM Inc. offers strategic advisor services to organizations planning and implementing Social Media, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Contact Center initiatives. ISM annually publishes The Guide to CRM Automation and Top 15 CRM and Real Time CRM software reviews. Barton Goldenberg, founder and president of ISM, is the author of CRM in Real Time (published by Information Today) and CRM Automation (published by Prentice Hall) and is a columnist for a number of publications including CRM Magazine. To learn more, go to www.ismguide.com or call (301) 656-8448.