CRM 2004: Will Old Problems Sink New Users?

63% of companies have deployed or are deploying CRM
75% are or will soon use CRM for data mining and analytics
43% at large companies that have deployed Crm say it deserves the bad press
59% say data integration issues led to CRM project delays and cost overruns
63% say CRM systems require a major cultural change

Customer relationship management is becoming a commonplace technology. Soon, two-thirds of all U.S. companies will have deployed a CRM system, according to this month’s CIO Insight survey of 341 IT executives. Lower prices, due in part to hosted, Web-based systems, and the desire to analyze customer data and satisfy clients are driving adoption. Interest in CRM for sales force and call-center automation remains strong, too. But CRM has disappointed many IT executives, especially those at large companies. We found that one out of three companies that have deployed CRM have failed to achieve the ROI and business goals they hoped for—especially when these projects run over time and budget. The most common reason for delays: data integration issues. The key success factor is to win the acceptance of business managers and users by bringing them into CRM projects from the get-go. Unfortunately, many companies now deploying CRM haven’t gotten the message.