Customer relationship management (CRM) vendors have misled customers with tales of ‘end-to-end solutions’ when they only provide a portion of it, according to market analyst Ovum Ltd. There isn’t anyone who’s got the whole story, says Cassandra Millhouse, author of the report entitled Ovum Evaluates: CRM in the Front Office. Companies are forced to pay for connectivity for their call center, field sales or e-commerce channels unserviced by the software, says the report. The situation is now changing however, says Millhouse, as vendors release more products and as they buy the expertise of other firms, a recent example being Oracle’s acquisition of Dutch field services firm Geodan (CI No 3,690). There will be consolidation, predicts Millhouse, who names Oracle and Siebel as probable powerhouses emerging from the fray, joined perhaps by Clarify, SAP and IBM.
