CRM

In a further consolidation of the customer relationship management (CRM) space, Pegasystems on Tuesday agreed to acquire Chordiant Software for $161.5 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.

The acquisition looks like a steal for Pegasystems. Chordiant's revenues totaled $76.3 million for the four quarters ended Dec. 31, and it made $52.3 million in cash and investments during the same period.

Leading business-software maker SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) on Monday announced a strategic shift in the corporate suite. Léo Apotheker has resigned as CEO and member of the SAP executive board, effective immediately. The abrupt decision came as part of a "mutual agreement" with the company's supervisory board not to extend Apotheker's contract as a member of the executive board.

Apotheker joined SAP, which is based in Germany but well-known worldwide, more than 20 years ago. The company didn't offer details on severance or his future plans.

The cloud-computing market may get hotter this year as Salesforce.com appears to be paving the acquisitions road. The enterprise cloud-computing company last week moved to raise $500 million, adding to its billion-dollar cash reserves.

Since then, speculation has been fierce about what the company plans to do with the money. Some are betting Salesforce will scoop up e-mail marketing-software company Constant Contact. Others are predicting the firm will acquire the likes of a SuccessFactors or Taleo. Still others expect Salesforce to purchase RightNow.

Keeping CRM customer data secure isn't a one-size-fits-all task. Indeed, tackling security issues around CRM data demands close examination of vendors as well as internal and external threats -- and it's a vital part of customer relationship management.

The days of being tied down and/or rushing back to desks to manage customer relationships are fast drawing to a close thanks to new and rapidly evolving mobile CRM tools, aided and abetted by powerful netbooks and smartphones operating on 3G and very soon 4G/LTE networks. Mobile CRM apps are delivering functionality that is quickly approaching that of CRM solutions used at fixed locations.

Here is a sample of the latest developments in mobile CRM from leading suppliers:

Maximizer (www.maximizer.com)

There's something about customer relationship management (CRM). While other sectors in the IT world are struggling, CRM vendors are holding their own despite the down economy by helping enterprises retain customers and build sales pipelines.

Worldwide CRM market revenue totaled $9.15 billion in 2008. That's a 12.5 percent increase from 2007 revenue of $8.13 billion, according to Gartner. Enterprise investments in technologies focused on customer retention, analytics and on-demand solutions drove the growth even as new strategies emerged in 2009.

There is a growing trend in the CRM space towards alternative delivery and design methods, versus traditional on-premises applications written to proprietary software. These Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and open source models have several advantages, including flexibility, avoiding vendor lock-in, shorter lead times, and cost savings.

Alternative CRM solutions are also becoming more feature rich and robust. Here are two recent examples:

These are challenging times for creating, developing, and maintaining customer relationships. More than ever, every customer -- one who is willing to spend (and pay on time) -- is golden. At the same time there are new channels: mobile and social media that customers are choosing and must be opened and maintained. Meanwhile the costs of attracting and keeping each customer must be minimized to maximize net revenues.