William Band Quotations

When these organizations looked back, in terms of criteria they did or would use to select CRM software, product capabilities were not nearly as important as most once thought they were.

Many times, clients don't take the proper leadership role. However, the risk is high as four out of 10 client/PSP relationships fail.

One of the things that struck me is that software vendors have been beat up in this sector for a while. But the consultants they use and depend on heavily don't come out as well as I thought they might.

Basically, companies are still struggling to capture benefits from CRM.

This shift in relative growth rates reflects the increasing importance of after-market services to the revenue mix of CRM software vendors. These rates of growth indicate a mature market, matching the anticipated pace of overall I.T. spending. However, the total amount of money to be invested in CRM remains large.

Both of these initiatives aim to align each company's offerings with the SOA world of the future.

CRM is not going away. It has gone through a cycle of over-inflated expectations, to the sense that the software is not useful at all to a more mature stage, with companies always trying to improve their customer interactions.

Selection of a CRM vendor is a marriage, not a date. Enterprise buyers must think carefully about the vendor partner they choose and understand the long-term commitment of these decisions.

Companies should firmly establish budgets, change requests and fixed price rather than open ended contracts. The trouble often starts with a lack of clarity in scope and definition.

It was a surprise. CRM is a mature industry; the people in it are pragmatic, so there shouldn't be a lot of surprises.

Executives have always wanted to make better, faster decisions. But brutal global competition makes this imperative even more acute. Oracle's database heritage gives credibility to their claim to being the best at helping companies with this issue.

Executives have always wanted to make better, faster decisions. But brutal, global competition makes this imperative even more acute. Oracle's database heritage gives credibility to their claim to being the best at helping companies with this issue.

The key is, clients really need to understand the role they want the consultant to play. Basically each group has strengths. A client has to be thoughtful about who they select.