2021 CRM Value Matrix Highlights Increased Flexibility and Customer-Centric Ideals

Nucleus Research's return-on-investment-focused analysis recognizes Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle CX Cloud, Salesforce, SugarCRM and Zoho as CRM leaders

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nucleus Research today released the 2021 CRM Value Matrix, the yearly assessment of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) market. Through user conversations, vendor participation, and Nucleus’ year-round ROI assessments of technology deployment, vendors were evaluated on their solutions' usability and functionality.

Over the past year, vendors greatly improved platform flexibility, accommodating remote, hybrid, and in-person work. Leading vendors offered an integrated platform that is customer-centric rather than role-centric. As a result, Nucleus Research named Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle CX Cloud, Salesforce, SugarCRM and Zoho as CRM leaders.

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked innovation with lasting change in how business is done and how technology plays a role in facilitating it. This includes investing in supporting varied pipeline types, team configurations, automated deal flows, and custom dashboard requirements while developing specific coaching and onboarding tools designed with remote work in mind.

When evaluating, compared to previous years, Nucleus put more weight on each vendor's ability to address the entire customer life cycle via platform modules or capabilities since customer service, marketing, and back office functionalities become increasingly relevant and value-add components to vendors’ CRM strategies.

“The CRM space continues to be a tough competition as vendors look to integrate more advance technology and practices while working to stay ahead of their competitors,” said Ian Campbell, CEO of Nucleus Research. “Vendors that adapt to the changing industry while adopting crucial practices and technology will continue to lead the market successfully.”

“The pandemic challenged vendors to accommodate the mass shift to remote work, prompting heavy investment in automation, tools to reduce overall IT complexity and continued progress with integrated analytics and AI-based functionality,” said Daniel Elman, analyst at Nucleus Research. “Leading vendors took the challenge as an opportunity to create long-lasting change and shift the focus to the consumer.”

Click here to see the full report.

About Nucleus Research

Nucleus Research is a global provider of investigative, case-based technology research and advisory services. The company’s ROI-focused research approach provides unique insight into the actual results technology solutions deliver, allowing organizations to cut through marketing hype to understand real operational value and select or renew the best technology solution for their environment. For more information, visit NucleusResearch.com.