Rich Functionality, Expanded Marketplaces, Boosting Adoption of CRM Suites

November, 2020

The CRM market is changing. Today most CRM suite vendors are offering modular sales, customer service, and marketing functions, enabling organizations to pick solutions that are best tailored to meet their needs. They are also expanding their offerings with plug-and-play apps, which enables enterprises to customize and extend the functionality of CRM suites. Finally, an array of ready-to-use connectors is enabling easy integration. These factors have boosted adoption of CRM suites, which saw a 13% growth rate in 2020. These and other trends are explored in our new Customer Relationship Management Suites 2020-2021 Radarview™ report, a comprehensive study of enterprise CRM suite adoption trends and the vendor landscape. The report helps companies identify the right solutions to improve their customer relationships. It also offers detailed capability and experience analyses of CRM vendors to assist enterprises in identifying strategic partners for their customer relations transformation journeys. The report ranks the leaders, innovators, disruptors, and challengers in this space.

We evaluated 20 vendors that offer CRM suites, using a rigorous methodology against the dimensions of product maturity, enterprise adaptability, and innovation roadmap. Of those 20 vendors, we recognize 11 that have brought the most value to the market during the past 12 months.

The report recognizes CRM suite vendors in four categories:

    • Leaders: Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, SAP
    • Innovators: Hubspot, Infor, Zoho
    • Disruptors: Pegasystems, SugarCRM
    • Challengers: Avolin, Creatio

Figure 1 from the full report illustrates these categories:

MoneyShot CRM Suites2020 2021 1030x687 - Rich Functionality, Expanded Marketplaces, Boosting Adoption of CRM Suites

“Forward-thinking companies have long used CRM suites,” said Avasant Research Leader Saurabh Verma. “Now, modular availability, connectors, app ecosystems, and as-a-service commercial models have made adoption easier than before. The supplier landscape has been evolving quickly. And with the pandemic reinforcing the urgency for digitization and automation of CRM processes, we expect to see accelerated adoption.”

Here are some key findings from the report:

    • Demand for CRM suites has increased due to the need for low-touch operations that COVID-19 has created.
    • Availability of CRM suites as a standalone product and ready-to-use connectors is facilitating enterprise adoption.
    • Small and midsized businesses are now at the forefront of CRM suite adoption, as the SaaS model enables low-cost implementation.
    • CRM suite vendors are leveraging AI technologies to automate judgment-intensive processes.
    • CRM suites are enabling robust process automation solutions via acquisitions, partnerships, and in-house development.
    • CRM suites are leveraging virtual assistants to enhance clients’ experience.

The full report also features detailed RadarView profiles of the 11 CRM suite vendors, along with their solutions, offerings, and experience in deploying CRM suites.


This Research Byte is a brief overview of the Customer Relationship Management Suites 2020-2021 RadarViewTM report. The full report is available at no charge for Avasant Research subscribers, or it may be purchased by non-subscribers directly from our website (click for pricing).