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CRM To Lead SMB Enterprise Software Spending
August 24, 2004

According to Aberdeen Research, small and medium businesses identified managing the volatility of customer demand as a top priority for the coming year. Two-thirds of respondents said they intend to improve their capabilities for acquiring and retaining customers.

Though SMBs still see cost-cutting as the primary reason for making enterprise software purchases, customer acquisition and retention ranks second. According to the data, SMBs will spend more on CRM functionality than any other enterprise software area this year.

Financial Apps Lead
Nearly all companies surveyed had deployed financial enterprise software with Microsoft products leading the way with just over 20%. 42% of respondents reported that their spending on financial applications will not change this year. However, nearly one-third indicated that it will increase.

CRM Close Behind
Interestingly, CRM software was the next-most-adopted product category. 23% of respondents said that they plan to make significant investments in CRM software this year. Another 37 percent reported that they expect to see their CRM spending increase slightly.

Again, SMBs have deployed Microsoft CRM applications more than any other vendor, 29%. CRM software developed in-house, though, was the third most popular, with 10% of companies saying they had built their own systems.