Baan Co NV, the Dutch enterprise resource planning system developer vendor, is trying to sell its customer relationship management product Front Office into selected vertical markets. It will sign up 10 CRM firms with experience in those markets in the next ten months, according to Mark Bardoe, recently appointed business development director for Baan UK.
Baan is particularly keen to tap the financial services markets, and will also enlist companies with knowledge of the insurance, telecommunications and retail sectors before September, says Bardoe. Baan brought Bardoe on board from a sales background with UK CRM firm, Parallax Solutions, to grow indirect sales. Bardoe says that a realistic target for indirect sales would be 25% of revenue for the Europe, Middle East and Africa by June.
In addition it has just completed a reseller deal with Reading, UK-based Market Solutions Ltd, which has ten years experience of the business to business financial services market (CI No 3,711). Market Solutions will target large firms in retail and financial services sectors and has a customer base of 150 organizations. Average implementation sizes, says managing director Tania Holmes, are 350 to 500 seats.
Baan is an attractive option for small CRM software companies not only because of the scale of the company and the geographical distribution opportunities it offers firms like Market Solutions, but also its background as an enterprise resource planning vendor. Its experience in integrating software with legacy systems, for example, and its partnerships with systems integrators and consultancies are two advantages it claims to differentiate it in the crowded and often cloudy CRM marketplace.
