Magic Quadrant for Sales Force Automation · 2019-09-16 · Our evaluation of 19 vendors helps...

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MagicQuadrantforSalesForceAutomationPublished26June2019-IDG00368698-55minread

ByAnalystsTheodoreTravis,MelissaHilbert,AdnanZijadic,IlonaHansen

TheSFAmarketgrew12.8%toanestimated$6.9billionin2018.VendorsimprovedAIfordata

capture,predictiveanalyticsandrelationshipintelligenceinthepastyear.Ourevaluationof19

vendorshelpsapplicationleaderschoosethesolutionthatbestmeetstheirsalesexecution

requirements.

MarketDefinition/DescriptionGartnerdefinessalesforceautomation(SFA)assystemsthatsupporttheautomationofsales

activities,processesandadministrativeresponsibilitiesfororganizations’salesprofessionals.

GartnerconsidersSFAtobefoundationaltechnology,implementedtoautomateanorganization’s

coresalesprocesses.

ThecorecapabilitiesofSFAinclude:

MagicQuadrantFigure1.MagicQuadrantforSalesForceAutomation

Account,contactandopportunitymanagement■

Salesactivitymanagement■

Salesforecasting■

Mobileapplications■

Reporting■

Partnerrelationshipmanagement(PRM)■

Platformcapabilities■

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Source:Gartner(June2019)

VendorStrengthsandCautions

bpm’online

Bpm’onlinemovesfromtheChallengerstotheLeadersquadrantthisyearduetoitsconsistently

highcustomerexperienceevaluationsfromreferencecustomers,improvedproductfunctionality

andstrengthofdeployment.Bpm’onlinesalesisacomprehensiveSFAproductthatisunderpinned

bybusinessprocessmanagementfunctionality,usefulformanagingcomplexsalesprocesses.

SFAispartofabiggersuitefrombpm’onlinethatalsoincludesintegratedmarketingandservice

functionality.ThevendorissuitableforlongandshortsalescyclesinbothB2BandB2Csales

processes,particularlyformidsizetoenterprise-sizesalesorganizations.Thislastyear,thevendor

hasreleasedpredictivemachinelearningmodelsforleadandopportunityscores,aswellas

predictivescoringthatcustomerscancreate.Recentreleaseshavealsoincludednew

functionalityforUIcustomizationandintegrationswithe-commerce,billingandExactOnlineERP.

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Strengths

Cautions

Copper

Copper,formerlyknownasProsperWorks,makesitsinauguralappearanceinthisMagicQuadrant

andispositionedasaNichePlayer.ItoffersanSFAproductforB2Bsmallbusinessesthat

nativelyintegrateswithGoogleGSuiteapplicationsandistheonlySFAproductonGoogle’slistof

recommendedbusinessapplications.TheCopperCRMproductrunsasaplug-intoGmailand

featuresmostofthecoreSFAcapabilitiesthatGartnertracks,includingapplicationcustomization

withcustomdataobjects.Italsooffersasetofnativemarketingandsalesextensions,suchas

relationshipintelligence,leadmanagementandcampaignmanagement,thatsmallbusinesses

willvalue.Inthepastyear,thevendorhasimproveditsSFAcapabilities,addingmulticurrency

functions,SSO/SAMLauthenticationandameetingscheduler.

Strengths

Customerexperience:Forthethirdconsecutiveyear,referencecustomersofbpm’onlinegave

thevendorthehighestoverallcustomerexperiencescoresinthisMagicQuadrant.

■

ImplementationandISVpartners:Bpm’onlinehasauniquestrategyforsupporting

implementationpartnersinkeygeographicregions,encouragingthemtonotonlydeliverSFA

implementationsbutalsodevelopindustry-tailoredproductsthatcanalsobesoldonthe

vendor’sapplicationmarketplace.Byhelpingpartnersdevelopdualrevenuestreams,

bpm’onlinegrowsitsecosystemfasterthanitwouldsupportingimplementersandISVswith

separateprograms.

■

Productexecution:Bpm’onlineprovidesaUIthatiseasytofollowandmodern.Thesales

productincludestheabilitytoapplypredictiveanalyticmodelstoopportunities,includinghealth

scoresandnext-bestactions.Referencecustomersnoteditsoveralleaseofusefroman

administrativeperspectiveaswellasforitscriticalcapabilities,givingbpm’onlinethehighest

ease-of-usescoreofallthevendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.

■

Go-to-marketexecution:ReferencecustomersofallvendorsinthisMagicQuadrantsaidthey

hadconsideredbpm’onlinefarlessversustheotherLeaders.Gartneralsonotesthatbpm’online

makeslessuseofthoughtleadershipandsocialmediaversusthosevendors.

■

Geographicstrategy:Withunder15%ofcustomersinAPACorLatinandCentralAmerica,and

under20%ofcustomersinNorthAmerica,bpm’onlinehasmuchlesspresenceinthose

geographiesversustheotherLeadersintheMagicQuadrant.

■

Training:Somereferencecustomersnotedthatmoreandbetteronlinetrainingisneededfrom

bpm’online.

■

Integration:CopperfeaturesaRESTAPIthatsupportsawiderangeoffirst-partyintegrations,

includingvendorssuchasSlack,Mailchimp,RingCentral.HubSpot,DropboxandDocuSign.

■

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Cautions

CRMNEXT

CRMNEXTmovedfromtheVisionariestotheChallengersquadrantbasedonitsscopeof

advancedcapabilities,suchasbottechnology,white-spaceanalyticsandmachinelearning.

CRMNEXTofferscloud-basedCRMsoftwaresolutionsforprimarilyB2Cusecases.Intermsof

customers,thevendorhasconductedoneofthelargestbankingCRMimplementationsinthe

world,with325,000usersacross5,000locationsand19countries.CRMNEXThelpscustomer

organizationswithbridgingacrossdifferenttechnologies,asmanyhavesomesortofCRM

implementedalready.Itconcentratesonanalyzingcurrentstrengthsandadvisesorganizationson

howtoselltoexistingandnewcustomersbyfocusingonsupportingvision,strategyand

executioncapabilitiesthroughitsCRMproducts.Inthepast12months,thevendorhasadded

integrationtotheDatanextanalyticsplatformprovidedbyitsparentcompany,AcidaesSolution,

whichprovidesanintelligenceinfrastructure,datapipelineandAImodelsrequiredforAI-based

workflowsandprocesses.

Strengths

Dozensofotherintegrationsareavailableonthevendor’sapplicationmarketplaceviaAPI

connectorsthataremaintainedbyZapier.

Resellersandimplementationpartners:ComparedtootherNichePlayersinthisMagic

Quadrant,Copperhasalargernetworkofimplementersthatspanallgeographies.Italsohas

resellerarrangementswiththetop60worldwideGooglepartnersellers.

■

Advancedcapabilities:TheapplicationhasfunctionsnotcommonwithotherNichePlayer

offerings,suchasautomated“whoknowswho”functions,automatedactivitycapturefrom

emails,andautomatedpopulationofnewaccountandcontractrecordsfrominboundemails.

■

CoreSFAcapabilities:CopperlacksthesamedepthofnativeSFAfunctionsthatiscommonto

theLeadersinthisMagicQuadrantandimportanttolargeenterprises.Themostnotable

examplesareopportunityrevenueschedules,productandpricebooks,andadvanced

forecastingfunctions.ThesystemalsolacksnativePRMcapabilities.

■

Reporting:ReferencecustomersforCoppercitedconcernsaboutitsinabilitytobuildcustom

reportsorexportdatafromreports,aswellasitsinabilitytoconductpipelineinspection

analysis.

■

Customersupport:ReferencecustomersgaveCoppercomparativelylowscoresforthequality

oftechnicalsupport,professionalservicesandcustomersuccessprocesses,andthe

availabilityofend-usertraining.

■

Deploymentoptions:NotableforvendorsinthisMagicQuadrant,CRMNEXToffersseveral

differentdeploymentoptions.ItsupportsSaaSthroughcloudprovidedbyAWS,privatecloud

managedeitherbycustomersorathirdparty,andon-premises,whichisleveragedbyaround

60%ofitscustomers.

■

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Cautions

Freshworks

FreshworksmakesitsfirstappearanceinthisMagicQuadrant,asaNichePlayer.TheSFAproduct

Freshsalesisaimedatsmallandsomemidsizesalesorganizations,ofupto200salesusers.

FreshsaleshascoreSFAcapabilitiesincludingaccountandcontactmanagement,opportunities,

pipelinemanagement,andreporting,aswellasasignificantnumberofnativeproductextensions.

FreshsaleshasdeploymentsworldwideandishostedonAWS.Organizationslookingatthe

productwillfinditsuitableforbasictomoderatelycomplexsalesprocessesbecauseofthespan

ofitscapabilities.ThemostnotableimprovementstoFreshsalesoverthelastyearhaveincluded

Office365calendarintegration,configurablesalesactivities,integrationtoHubSpotformarketing

automation,andenhancedleadscoringcapabilities.Thevendorplanstoreleasecapabilitiessuch

asCPQ,anAI-basedsalesassistantandpredictiveforecastinginthenext12months.

Strengths

Usability:CRMNEXTwasratedhighbyitsreferencecustomersforitsUI,easynavigationand

customizationpossibilities.Prospectswithagreaterneedforindividualworkflowsand

particularsalesprocesseswillappreciatethesefunctionalities.

■

Businessimprovements:SeveralsurveyedreferencecustomersstatedthatCRMNEXT’sSFA

capabilitiesmeasurablyimprovedthecustomer/buyerexperienceaswellastheirsales

executionefficienciesandeffectiveness.

■

Regionalsupport:RegionalsupportforimplementationsoutsideofAPACisacaution.The

vendorhascomparativelyfewerimplementationpartnersforSFAdeploymentsrelativetothe

othervendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.Todate,allofitsimplementationsinNorthAmericahave

beensuppliedbyitsownprofessionalservicesteam.

■

Marketstrategy:ComparedtotheLeadersinthisMagicQuadrant,CRMNEXT’smarket

segmentationstrategyislimited.ItsSFAofferingisaimedatlargeandenterprise-sizeselling

B2Csalesorganizationsinthefinancialservicessector(75%ofitscustomerscomefromthe

bankingandinsuranceverticals).

■

Capabilitiesforleadmanagement:Somereferencecustomersnotedthattheyneedbetter

integrationswithcommerciallead-generationdatabases,andthatsocialmediaanalyticscould

beimproved.Theyalsoexpresseddisappointmentwiththeemailtemplatedesignerandmass

emailmodules.ProspectsseekingrobustmarketingtechnologiesneedtoassessCRMNEXT

capabilitiesindepthtoensuresuitability.

■

Productoffering:FreshworksisstrongonproductpackagingversusmanyoftheLeadersin

thisMagicQuadrant,basedonGartneranalysis.Thevendor’svaluepropositionrestsinallof

sales’needsbeingincludedaspartofanintegratedsetoffeatures,inasingleproductona

single,consistenttechnologystack.Theproducthasseveralcapabilities,suchasanincluded

■

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Cautions

Insightly

InsightlyremainsintheNichePlayersquadrantwhileimprovingitsposition,basedonanimproved

abilitytoexecute.InsightlyCRMincludescapabilitiesforsales,projectmanagementandcustom

processdesigninasingleSaaSproductoffering.Theprojectmanagementmoduledirectly

integrateswithopportunityrecords—afunctionrelevantforbusinessesthatconvertcloseddeals

intoimplementationprojects.InsightlyoffersbothfreemiumandenterpriseSFAproducts,withthe

enterpriseproductsuitableforsmalltomidsizesalesteamsparticularlyintheprofessional

servicesandmanufacturingverticals.Thevendorhasimprovedtheproductinthepastyear,

addingcustomobjects,anewpagelayoutdesignerandnewemailintegrationcapabilities.Most

notably,theproductnowincludesnativeproduct,pricebookandquotefunctions—capabilities

thatareimportantformostB2Bsellers.

Strengths

CTIdialer,leadscoring,andSMSandchatintegration,thatareoftenadd-onproductextensions

withotherSFAvendors.

Configurabilityanddeployment:SeveralreferencecustomersintheMagicQuadrantsurvey

notedthehighdegreeofconfigurabilityinFreshworksFreshsales,anditseaseofdeployment.

■

Salesexecution:Freshworkshasdoubleditscustomerbaseoverthepastyear,whichputsit

amongthefastest-growingvendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.

■

Customersupport/success:Referencecustomershaveindicateddissatisfactionwith

Freshworks’customersupportandcustomersuccessteams,scoringthevendorcomparatively

lowamongallothervendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.

■

Productcapabilities:Freshworksreceivedlowerreferencecustomerscoresformobile,

forecasting,reportsanddashboards,integration,andplatformcapabilitiescomparedtothe

othervendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.Somerespondentscitedlimitedreportingfeaturesand

limitedfieldanddatamappingcapabilities.

■

Verticalproductofferings:Freshworkscurrentlydoesnotofferanyvertical-specificproducts

foritsFreshsalessolutionoutofthebox,whichleavesclientstocustomizethesolutionusing

theirownorthird-partyresources.

■

Productoffering:InsightlyCRMfeaturesasetofnativecapabilitiesrelevantformidsize

businesses,spanningbasicSFAcapabilitiesplusleadmanagementandquotegeneration.It

alsohasnativeintegrationswithSlack,Mailchimp,XeroandQuickBooks.

■

Usability:InsightlyCRMincludesseveralautomatedfunctionsthatimproveusability,including

automatedassociationtoLinkedInprofilerecordsandemailtemplateintegrationwithinthe

product’sGmailplug-in.

■

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Cautions

Microsoft

MicrosoftremainsintheLeadersquadrantasitcontinuestodeliverbothonitsproductvisionfor

SFAwithintheMicrosoftDynamics365offering,andonitssalesexecution.TheSFAproductin

Dynamics365isrelevantformidsize,largeandenterprise-sizeclients,asthevendorhas

packagedsolutionstoaddressallSFAfunctionalneeds.TheSFAproductisrelevantforB2Band

B2Cusecases,andbothshort-andlong-cyclesalesprocesses.Microsoftcontinuestoinvest

primarilyintheSaaSversionofitsproduct,withtheon-premisesversiononanannualrelease

schedule.WithDynamics365SalesInsightsbecominggenerallyavailableinlate2018,Microsoft

hasenhanceditsproductofferingwithmeaningfulfunctionssuchas“whoknowswho”indicators

andcustomerrelationshiphealthanalysis.Inaddition,thelatestversion(v.9+),whichhasbeen

rearchitectedintoamicroservicesarchitecture,affordsclientstheabilitytomorefrequentlyutilize

Azure-basedapplicationservices.

Strengths

Cautions

Implementation:ReferencecustomersintheMagicQuadrantsurveystatedthatInsightlyCRM

waseasytoimplementandrequiredcomparativelylittleend-usertraining.

■

Criticalcapabilities:ReferencecustomersforInsightlygavethevendorcomparativelylow

scoresforcorecapabilitiessuchasopportunityforecasting,mobilefunctionalityandadvanced

analytics.

■

Advancedcapabilities:ComparedtothekeyvendorsinthisMagicQuadrant,InsightlyCRM

lacksadvancedfeaturessuchascustomforecastperiods,opportunitysplitsandpredictive

opportunityscoring.

■

Customerexperience:Insightlydrewcomparativelylowscoresfromreferencecustomersfor

valueattainedfromtheproduct.

■

Applicationecosystem:MicrosoftcontinuestoattractnewISVsandnewapplicationofferings

toitsapplicationmarketplace,whichisimportantforapplicationleaderswhowanttoavoid

buildingcustomextensionsintheirSFAdeployments.

■

Scalabilityandintegration:Microsoftreferenceclientscitedtheapplication’sabilitytoscale

withtheAzure-basedservicesandplatform.Theyciteditseaseofconfigurationandhowyou

canextenditusingFlowandPowerAppstoaddressmorecomplexbusinessneeds.

■

Productscope:Microsofthascontinuedtoincreaseandexecuteonitssalesproductvision,

expandingtheintegrationtoLinkedInSalesNavigatorwithfunctionsnotavailablethroughother

SFAvendors.ItalsohasanotableproductvisionforusingAIforaugmentedrelationship

intelligence.

■

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Oracle

OraclestrengthensitspositionintheLeadersquadrantintermsofcompletenessofvision.Oracle

CXSalesispartofOracleEngagementCloud,whichoffersbothSalesandServicesolutionswithin

theOracleCXCloudSuite.EngagementCloudisaSaaS-basedsolutionforB2BandB2Csales,

withseveralrelevantadd-onsincludingSalesPerformanceManagementandCPQ.Oraclehasa

relevantproductvisionforautomatingsalesprocesses,whichincludesintegrationwithadjacent

OracleproductsandadvancementsinAIandrelationshipintelligence.WhileOracleCXCloud

Suiteisinstalledinbothmidsizeandlargeorganizations,itisrelevantforenterpriseswithlarge

userbasesandcomplexrequirements.Thevendorhasacquiredcustomersinhightech,

automotive,media,CPG,telecomandfinancialservicesoverthelastyear.Ithasalsoimprovedits

virtualdigitalsalesassistantfunctionstoincludeanassistantinSlackandMicrosoftTeamsfor

collaboration,andhasdeliveredconversationalinterfacesforvoiceandSMS.Withitsacquisition

ofDataFox,OraclecanalsonowdeliverAI-basedcustomerdataenrichmentservices.

Strengths

Cautions

Verticalsolutions:Microsofthasnotinvestedinpackagedvertical-specificofferingstothe

sameextentasotherLeadersintheMagicQuadrant.Thismeansthatapplicationleadersmust

doadditionalduediligenceonwhichimplementationpartnerisbest-suitedtobuildcustom

vertical-specificsolutionsfortheirsalesusecases.

■

Productroadmapcommunication:SomereferencecustomersstatedthatMicrosoftdoesnot

communicateitsproductroadmaptothemeffectivelyorclearly.Thismeansclientslack

awarenessofupcomingdeprecationstolegacyfunctionality,workaroundsforlegacy

functionalityandnewreleasesreplacinglegacyfunctionality.

■

Customersupport/successmanagement:ComparedtothevendorsinthisMagicQuadrant

thatarestrongestincustomersupportandcustomersuccess,referencecustomersfor

Microsoftgavethevendormuchlowerscores.

■

Verticalsolutions:ComparedtoothervendorsinthisMagicQuadrant,Oracleoffersawider

spanofindustry-specificsolutions.Ithassolutionsfortheautomotive,communications,CPG,

high-tech,manufacturing,financialservices,highereducationandhospitalityindustries.

■

Productstrategy:OracleprovidessolutionsthatarerelevanttoallB2BandB2Clong-andshort-

cycleusecases,aswellasindirectsales.OracleEngagementCloudincludessalesand

servicesunderitsCXCloudSuite,andthesesolutionscanbeusedwithintheCXindustry

solutions.

■

Implementationexperience:NewOracleEngagementCloudorCXSalesreferencecustomers

notedthatdeploymentwithpartnerswasapositiveexperience,andthattheyreceivedgood

technicalsupportfromOraclecustomerservice.

■

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Pegasystems

PegasystemsremainsintheVisionariesquadrantthisyearinanimprovedposition,basedonits

abilitytoexecuteandproductenhancements.ThevendorprovidesmultipleCRMtechnologies

suchasSFAandothers,digitalprocessautomation,andbusinessprocessmanagement.ItsPega

SalesAutomationSFAproductisprimarilydeployedbylargeenterpriseswithcomplexB2Cor

indirectsalesprocesses,suchasthoseininsurance,healthcare,telecomandfinancialservices.

PegasystemsoffersoneofthemostcompletespansofnativeSFAcapabilitiesofthevendorsin

thisMagicQuadrant.Itsproductsrunonasingle,consistenttechnologyarchitecture—an

attributenotfoundwithsomeoftheLeaders.ItalsohasanotablespanofAIcapabilities,offering

predictiveanalytics,next-best-actionrecommendationsandnaturallanguageprocessing(NLP)

capabilities.Inthepastyear,thevendorhasimprovedtheproductwithasaleschatbotforlead

qualificationandnewemailAIproductivityfunctions.

Strengths

Cautions

Customerexperience:Oraclereceivedverylowsurveyscoresversusothervendorsinthis

MagicQuadrantforcustomerexperience.Referencecustomersgaveitlowerscoresthanother

vendorsreceivedinareassuchasoverallcustomerexperienceandvaluereceivedfromthe

product.

■

Productfunctionality:ReferencecustomersofOracleexpressedthatimplementingterritory

structuresandmaintenancewasdifficult,andthattheproductlackedflexibilitywhen

integratingERPorCPQwithEngagementCloud.Theyalsonotedthatsomeprocesseswere

overlycomplexandnoteasytomanage.

■

Operations:ReferencecustomersscoredOraclecomparativelyverylowforthequalityofits

professionalservices.Thevendorisalsooneofthelowest-scoredvendorsinthisMagic

Quadrantforsatisfactionwithend-usertraining,basedonthereferencesurveyresults.

■

Verticalproducts:Pegasystemsprovidescomprehensivevertical-packagedproductsforthe

insurance,healthcare,communicationsandfinancialservicesindustries.

■

Guidedsellingcapabilities:Administratorscanbuildandautomatecomplex,multistepsales

processesusingPegasystems’processdesignerandreal-timedecisioningengine,Customer

DecisionHub.Thedecisioningengineusescustomizablemachinelearningalgorithmsto

suggestnext-bestactionstosellers.

■

Platformcapabilities:ReferencecustomerspositivelynotedthecapabilitiesofPegasystems’

low-codeplatformforbuildingcustomapplicationsandworkflows.Theyalsocreditedthe

vendorforofferingon-premisessoftwaredelivery—afactorthatcontinuestobeimportantfor

GartnerclientsinAPACandsomefinancialservicescompanies.

■

Capabilities:ThePegasystemsmarketplaceforpartner-developedadd-onsislimitedcompared

tothoseoftheotherevaluatedSFAvendors.

■

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Pipedrive

PipedriveisanewentranttotheMagicQuadrantthisyear,withapositionintheNichePlayers

quadrant.Itpositionsitselfassuchbasedonitsabilitytoexecute,primarilydrivenbyitscustomer

experienceandsupportexecution.PipedriveisaSaaS-onlySFAproductaimedatsmalland

midsizebusinesssellingteamsofupto200salesrepsinNorthAmericaandEurope.Inthepast

year,Pipedrivehasinvestedconsiderablyinitsproduct,withreleasesrangingfromworkflow

automationtocalendarandcontactsyncfromGoogle,MicrosoftOutlookorMicrosoftExchange.

Ithasintroducedaschedulerthatallowsforasingleclientandsalesrepviewofrespective

calendarstobookmeetings,designedtoaddresssalesproductivity.

Strengths

Cautions

Regionalfocus:PegasystemsissellingmostlyinNorthAmerica.Ithassignificantlyfewer

customersinEMEAandAPAC,andnocustomersinLatinAmerica.Severalreference

customersstateddissatisfactionwiththeavailabilityofqualitythird-partyimplementation

resources.ThoseconsideringPegasystemsforaglobaldeploymentshouldassessthe

availabilityofproductandimplementationresources,especiallyoutsideofNorthAmerica.

■

Easeofdeploymentandintegration:Pegasystemsreceivedcomparativelylowscoresforits

easeofdeploymentfromreferencecustomers.Itwasfurthermorepoorlyratedforalackof

plug-insforintegratingwith,forexample,third-partymarketingautomationtoolsandincentive

managementBItools.

■

Calendarintegration:Solidintegrationwithcalendaringsolutions,suchasOutlookandGoogle,

offerssalesrepstheabilitytosendmeetingtimesviaaninteractiveclientschedulerfromwithin

Pipedrive,circumventingtheprocessofschedulingviaemail.

■

Productcapabilities:ReferencecustomersscoredPipedrivehighlyforitsaccountandcontact

management,activitymanagement,opportunity,andleadmanagementfunctions.

■

Implementationpartners:ComparedtoothervendorsofsimilarsizeinthisMagicQuadrant,

PipedrivehasamoreampleandestablishedlistofpartnersacrossNorthAmerica,Europe,

LatinAmericaandAPAC.

■

Partnerrelationshipmanagement:PipedrivedoesnotsupportPRMcapabilities,whichmay

detersomeorganizationsthatdependonchannelsellingpartners.

■

Implementationservices:Pipedrivedoesnothaveaprofessionalservicesorganization,which

meansthatallitscustomersmustself-implementtheproduct.

■

Forecastmanagement:Pipedrivereceivedoneofthelowestscoresfromreferencecustomers

ofallvendorsinthisMagicQuadrantforforecastmanagement.Gartnernotesthattheproduct

lackscoreforecastingcapabilitiessuchasforecastcategories,revenueschedulesanda

forecastsubmissionprocess.

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PipelineDeals

PipelineDealsmaintainsitspositionasaNicheVendorwhilecontinuingtoimproveitsabilityto

execute.ThevendorhasacompetitivelypricedSaaSSFAofferingalsocalledPipelineDeals,which

itaimsatsmallbusinessesandsomemidsizecompanies.TheproductofferscoreSFAfunctions,

nativeemailmarketingautomationandleadmanagement—capabilitiesthatarerelevantforhigh-

techcompaniesthatneedtocoordinatetheirsalesandmarketingprocesses.Themajorityofits

implementationsareinNorthAmerica,withsomedeploymentsinotherregionssuchasEurope

andAPAC.Recentenhancementshaveincludedacompletelyrebuiltandredesignedmobile

application,asingle-clickfunctiontoupdateactivities,andaMicrosoftExceladd-in.

Strengths

Cautions

Pipeliner

Pipelinerisanewentrantthisyear,positionedintheNichePlayersquadrantbasedonitsabilityto

executeoncoreSFAcapabilities.ThevendorismostoftendeployedinNorthAmericaandEurope.

ThePipelinerCRMproductisappropriateforsmalltomidsizeB2Bsalesorganizations,butcan

supportlargeenterprisesifneeded.TheproductprovidescoreSFAcapabilitiesbutlackssome

productextensionscommonfromtheLeadersinthisMagicQuadrant,suchasamobileappSDK

forbuildingcustomsalesapps.AdministratorscanbuildcustomAPIconnectionstothird-party

appsusingthevendor’sAutomationHubintegrationPaaScapability.Theproductfeaturesan

Contractingandpricingflexibility:ReferencecustomersgavePipelineDealsnotablyhighscores

forcontractingflexibility,notingthattheycancanceltheircontractsatanytimeandhaveeven

hadpricingfixedforextendedperiods.

■

Customersupport:Phone,emailandchatsupportareprovidedtoallcustomersatnoextra

cost.Referencecustomersgavehighmarksforthededicationandthoroughnessofthe

PipelineDealscustomersupportteam,includingtheexperiencefromimplementationtogoing

live.

■

Easeofuse:ReferencecustomersratedthePipelineDealsproducthighlyforcorecapabilities

suchasopportunityforecastingaswellasreportsanddashboards,andforothercapabilities

suchasactivity,opportunitymanagement,andaccountandcontactmanagement.

■

Configurabilityandcustomization:PipelineDealsreferencecustomerscitedtheneedtocreate

customworkaroundstofunctionalityanddatafieldsduetothelimitedconfigurabilityand

customizationcomponentsoftheout-of-the-boxoffering.

■

Integration:ThePipelineDealsproducthaslimitedintegrationwithbroadermarketingsuite

offeringsbeyondintegrationwithActiveDEMAND.

■

ImplementationandISVpartners:PipelineDealslacksanecosystemofimplementationservice

providersandISVpartnerstohelpimplementorextendtheapplication’sfunctionality.

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attractiveUI,includingusefulfunctionssuchasactivitycards,andhasacompellingmobileapp

offeringembeddedAIfeaturesatnoadditionalcost.Inaddition,Pipelinerhasalsoreleasedan

integrationwithPandaDoc,whichfunctionsasaCPQsolution.

Strengths

Cautions

Salesforce

SalesforceremainsintheLeadersquadrantforthe13 thconsecutiveyear,reflectingitssustained

strengthofproductvision,marketingexecutionandrevenuegrowthfortheSalesCloudSFA

product.GartnerestimatesthatSalesforceachievedapproximately53%SFAmarketsharein

2018.ThevendorhasawidespanofnativefunctionalityforallSFAcriticalcapabilities,

particularlyforecastingandPRM.Thevendor’sapplicationmarketplace,AppExchange,continues

tobeacompetitivedifferentiatorandisoftenapositivefactorinbuyers’SFAselectionprocesses.

Inthepastyear,Salesforcehasreleasedtwocapabilities—predictiveAIsalesforecastingand

HighVelocitySales—thathaveaddressedmeaningfulgapsintheSalesCloudproductline.Italso

releasedanupdatedproductforsmallbusinesses,SalesforceEssentials,whichfeatures

predictivecalendarmanagementandAIactivitycapture.

Strengths

Mobile:PipelinerCRMoffersstrongmobilecapabilities,includingnativeAIfunctionsforactivity

managementandofflineread/writeaccessforallSFAdata.

■

Capabilities:ReferencecustomersratedthePipelinerCRMproducthighlyforeaseofuse,its

accountandcontactmanagementcapabilities,opportunitymanagement,anditspredictive

analyticscapabilities.

■

Customerservice:PipelinerCRMreceivedhighmarksfromreferencecustomersforitsquality

oftechnicalsupport—amongthehighestofanyvendorinthisMagicQuadrant.

■

Implementationpartners:PipelinerCRMdoesnotdependonimplementationpartners,

meaningcustomersmusteitherusetheimplementationservicesprovidedbythevendoritself,

orself-implement.

■

Capabilities:RelativetoallthevendorsinthisMagicQuadrant,referencecustomersfor

PipelinergavetheapplicationcomparativelylowscoresfornoncoreSFAcapabilities,including

contentmanagement,CPQandadvancedanalytics.

■

Reportsanddashboards:Somereferencecustomersnoteddifficultieswiththereporting

capabilitiesofPipelinerCRM,includinglimitedreportgenerationfunctionsandbelow-average

usability.

■

Marketstrategy:OfallthevendorssurveyedbyGartnerinthisMagicQuadrant,Salesforcehas

anotablystrongmarketstrategy.Itoffersproductsfordifferentcustomersegments,fromSMB

toglobalenterprise.Itdevelopsmarketingmessagesandcontentforalldecision-makingroles.

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Cautions

SAP

SAPmovesfromtheVisionariestotheLeadersquadrantforthefirsttime,basedonitsincreased

salesexecution,marketingexecutionandSFAcapabilities.SAPSalesCloud,partoftheSAP

CustomerExperiencesuite,isanativemultitenantcloudapplicationthatrunsonSAP

infrastructure.SAPSalesClouddeliversthefullscopeofSFAfunctions,aswellasadd-on

productsforquote-to-cashandsalesperformancemanagementthatarerelevanttolargeand

enterprise-sizesalesorganizations.SAPsellsmostlyintothemanufacturing,professional

services,CPGandhigh-techindustries.UnlikemostothervendorsinthisMagicQuadrant,SAP

hoststheapplicationinitsowndatacentersaroundtheworld,includingintheU.S.,Germany,

Netherlands,Australia,Singapore,India,Japan,ChinaandRussia.Inthepast12months,SAPhas

implementedover375newfeaturesrequestedbyitscustomers.

Strengths

Ithasoneofthelargestimplementationpartnerecosystems,supportingdeploymentsinall

geographies.

Marketresponsivenessandinnovation:OfallthevendorsinthisMagicQuadrant,Salesforce

hasdeliveredaveryhighnumberofproductenhancementsinthepastyear.Thequalityof

thoseenhancementsalsoexceededtheaveragesofthoseoftheothervendors.

■

Platformcapabilities:ReferencecustomersnotedthequalityoftheSalesforceplatform,

particularlyitsabilitytosupportagiledevelopmentandcustomapplicationsthatextendSFA

functionality.

■

Mobilecapabilities:OfallthevendorsinthisMagicQuadrant,Salesforcereferencecustomers

gavethevendorcomparativelylowerscoresformobilecapabilities,citingapoormobileUIor

difficultycustomizingthemobileapptomeettheirspecificsalesprocess.

■

Artificialintelligence:ReferencecustomersgaveSalesforcecomparativelylowscoresfor

predictiveanalyticsforguidedselling,forecasting,opportunityscoringandrelationship

intelligenceversusallthevendors.ProspectsevaluatingSalesCloudEinsteinshouldbearthis

inmind.

■

LightningExperience:ReferencecustomersexpressedconcernsabouttheLightning

ExperienceversionofSalesforceSalesCloud,citingalackofsomeimportantfunctionsfrom

theClassicinterface.TheyalsonotedthatsomenewfunctionsinLightningarenotasusableor

functionalaswhatwasprovidedpreviously.

■

Functionalityenhancements:SAPoffersacollaborativeonlinetool,SAPCustomerInfluence,

whichprovidestheopportunityforcustomersandpartnerstoenterproductinvestmentideas

aswellasvoteontheideasofothers.TheSAPProductManagementorganizationisdirectly

responsibleformonitoringtheseideasandbringingthosethatalignwithSAPstrategyintothe

solutionovertime.

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Cautions

SugarCRM

SugarCRMmaintainsitsspotintheVisionariesquadrantthisyear,primarilydrivenbyitswell-

executedmarketingstrategyandarevampedsellingmodelfocusedonenterpriseIT

organizations.TheSFAproduct,alsonamedSugarCRM,issuitablefororganizationsofallsizes

butisfocusedonmidsizeandenterprise-sizesalesorganizationswith200to5,000employees.

ThevendorhasoneofthetopapplicationreleasecadencesofthevendorsinthisMagic

Quadrant.Itisoneofahandfulofthesevendorsofferingmultipledeploymentoptions,viaSaaS,

on-premisesorpartner-hostedoptions.SugarCRMcontinuestoenhancetheSFAproduct,recently

enhancingitsmobileappbyenablingsalesrepstocreate,manageandsendquoteswhileinthe

field.Inthepastyear,thevendorhasenhanceditsHintrelationshipintelligenceproductand

added100prebuiltreports.

Strengths

Verticalsolutions:SAPSalesCloudprovidesverticalpackagedcapabilitiesaswellasindustry-

specificprocessflows,datamodelsandattributes.Thefollowingprepackagedindustry

productsareavailable:CPG,hightech,manufacturing,professionalservices,publicsector,

travel,sportandentertainment,highereducation,banking,insuranceandautomotive.

■

Implementationpartners:SAPpossessesoneofthelargestimplementationpartnernetworks,

featuring1,100authorizedimplementationpartnersand6,600certifiedimplementation

resources.

■

Capabilities:ReferencecustomersofSAPgavethevendorcomparativelyverylowscoresinthe

MagicQuadrantsurveyfornoncoreSFAcapabilities,includingCPQ,contentmanagement,

systemadministratorfunctionsandeaseofuse.

■

Marketplace:ComparedtootherLeadersinthisMagicQuadrant,SAP’smarketplaceismore

limitedintermsofthenumberofapplicationsprovidedthroughdevelopmentpartners.

■

Productstrategy:AyearafterSAP’sacquisitionofCallidusCloudandtheSAPC/4HANA

productannouncement,customers(includingSAPcustomers)andMagicQuadrantreferences

alikecontinuetociteconcernsaboutthevendor’sproductstrategy.Forexample,SAP

customersareseekingguidanceaboutwhichCPQ—SalesCloud,theERP(S/4HANA)

environmentorCallidusCloudCPQ—shouldbethepredominantCPQapplication.

■

Dataintelligence:SugarCRM’sHintproductsurfacesrelevantcontact/accountinformationand

tosellersbypushingupdatesthroughemail,in-appdashletsandbrowser-basednotifications.

Thisalleviatessomeuserneedtocontractwiththird-partydataintelligencesolutions,and

reducestheamountoftimesellersneedtospendresearchingforcustomerinformation.

■

Customerserviceandsupport:SugarCRMreceivedamongthehighestsurveyscoresfor

customerserviceandproductsupportprocessesofallthevendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.This

isprimarilyduetothedepthofthesupportoffering,fromself-servicethroughtoVIPsupport,

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Cautions

Vtiger

ThisisVtiger’sfirstappearanceinthisMagicQuadrant,placedintheNichePlayersquadrant.With

officesintheU.S.andIndia,thevendorhascustomerslargelyinNorthAmericaandEMEA.ItsSFA

product,SalesCRM,isbuiltuponitsopen-sourceplatformandsupportscorefeaturessuchas

accountandopportunitymanagementaswellaspipelineandforecastmanagement.Itis

deployedinthecloud,ineitheraprivateorsharedenvironmentviaAWShostingservices.Vtiger

offersthreeSalesCRMeditions:Starter,ProfessionalandEnterprise.Itiswell-suitedforsmallto

midsizecompaniesandismostrelevantforlong-cycleB2Busecases.Itservesverticalssuchas

manufacturing,hightech,consultingservices,andbusinessprocessoutsourcingservices.It

supportsrelationshipintelligencefunctionsforaccountsandcontacts.VtigersupportsAndroid

andiOSformobileapps.

Strengths

forcustomersandpartners.Moreover,itoffersclientstheabilitytoreceivesupportdownatthe

developerlevelviacodecustomizationreviews.

Marketingexecution:SugarCRMhasimprovedmarketingexecutioninthepastyear,appearing

onanincreasingnumberoftheSFAshortlistsofGartner’sclients.Prospectspositivelynoted

theimportanceoftheSugarCRMplatformforbuildingcustomsalesprocessesthatdonotfit

thesalesprocessmodelsprovidedbyotherSFAvendors.

■

Upgradeprocess:ReferencecustomersmentioneddissatisfactionwiththeSugarCRMplatform

upgradeprocess,oftenleadingtounevenfunctionalityacrossdesktopandmobileapplications.

■

Productfunctionality:SugarCRMreceivedlowreferencecustomerscoresforitscapabilitiesin

accountandcontactmanagement,opportunitymanagement,forecasting,reportsand

dashboards,andintegrationcapabilityfunctions.Somementionedneedingmoreflexible

reportingandevennoteditslimitedout-of-the-boxintegrationcapabilities.

■

Userinterface:ReferencecustomerscitedconcernswiththeUIofSugarCRM,primarilythe

difficultytheyhavenavigatingcertainfeatures.TheysuggestedaneedtoupgradetheUIfor

easiernavigationanduser-friendliness.

■

Customersupport:Vtiger’sreferencecustomerscorewasabovetheall-vendoraveragefor

customersupport.Surveyrespondentsciteditschatandphoneresponsivenessaskeysupport

channelsthatareusedeffectively.

■

Configurationandcustomization:ReferencecustomersofVtigerwereverysatisfiedwithSales

CRM’sconfigurationoptions,notingthattheproductallowsforahigherlevelofcustomization

tomatchtheseller’sprocessesthanotherSFAproductsthattheyevaluated.

■

Productvision:ComparedtoothervendorsinthisMagicQuadrant,Vtigeroffersahigher

numberofnativesalescapabilities,includingquotamanagement,leadmanagementandorder

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Cautions

X2Engine

X2EnginemakesitsfirstappearanceinthisMagicQuadrant,positionedasaNichePlayer.ItsSFA

product,X2CRM,isbasedonanopen-sourceplatformandisanativecomponentinthevendor’s

CRMproductsuite.Itissuitableforsmalltomidsizeorganizations.Itincludescorecapabilities

suchasaccountandcontactmanagementaswellasopportunitymanagement,alongwith

additionalfeaturesforpipelinemanagement.Inthelastyear,itaddedmarketingautomation

acrossallSFAmodules.X2EnginehascustomersinEMEA,APACandNorthAmerica,andserves

industriesincludingmanufacturing,financialservicesandfinancialinvestment.Itdoesitsown

deploymentsbutplanstodevelopanetworkofsystemimplementers.X2CRMisdeployedas

SaaSviaAWSorGCCinthreeversions:sharedservices,on-premisesandviadedicatedprivate

servers.ThislatterdeliverymethodisrelevantintheSFAmarketforcompaniesinthefinancial

servicesvertical.ReferencecustomersscoredX2CRMamongthestrongestofallthesevendors

forsatisfactionwithtechnicalsupport.

Strengths

Cautions

management.

Productcapabilities:ReferencecustomersforVtigergaveSalesCRMcomparativelylowoverall

satisfactionscoresforthefollowingSFAfunctions:salesactivities,opportunities,reportsand

dashboards,systemadministratorfunctions,mobile,andintegration.Theyalsocitedconcerns

withtheproduct’slimitedreportingfunctionalitiesanddifficultieswithintegration.

■

Marketstrategy:Vtigerhasalimitedmarketstrategythatinvolvestargetingmostlysmall-

businessCXOs.Itdoesnotoffervertical-specificproductsoranappmarketplace.

■

Pricingandcontracts:ReferencecustomersforVtigergavethevendorcomparativelylow

ratingsforpricingandcontractflexibility.

■

Salesexecution:X2Enginesawhealthyyear-over-yearrevenuegrowthin2018.Itscoredwell

withreferencecustomersforcontractnegotiationandflexibilityaswellaspricing.

■

Customerexperience:ReferencecustomersratedX2Enginehighlyforcustomersupport,

technicalsupportandeaseofintegration.

■

Professionalservices:ReferencecustomerscitedX2Engine’seaseofdeployment.Theygaveit

oneofthebestscoresofallthevendorsinthisMagicQuadrantforsatisfactionwithits

professionalservicesteam.

■

Marketstrategy:ComparedtotheLeadersinthisMagicQuadrant,X2Enginehasamuchmore

modestgo-to-marketstrategy.Itprimarilytargetscompaniesintheprofessionalservicesand

high-techverticals,aimingitsmarketingmessagesatbusinessleaderswhoaredissatisfied

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Xiaoshouyi

XiaoshouyiremainsaNichePlayerasitcontinuestoselltoChina-basedcompaniesonly.TheSFA

product,brandedinternationallyasIngageAppin2018butstillreferredtoasXiaoshouyiinChina,

iswell-suitedforsmalltomidsizebusinessesthathaveB2BandB2Csalesprocesses.Xiaoshouyi

hashadsuccessacquiringcustomersinthemanufacturing,high-tech/software,consumergoods

andprofessionalservicesindustries.Itoffersfree,professional,enterpriseandflagshipeditionsof

theproduct.CapabilitiesincludecoreSFAfunctionalitysuchaslead,territory,opportunityand

accountmanagement,aswellassomenear-corecapabilitiessuchasCPQrelationship

intelligence.ThevendorhasastrongmobileappforiOSandAndroid,withamajorUIupdatethis

lastyear,andcommunicationwithWeChatisnativelyembedded.Overthelastyear,ithas

introducedWeChatMiniAppsthatconnectconsumersandretailstorestochannelpartnersand

manufacturers,forbothwebandmobile,aswellasimprovementstoitsanalyticsoffering.

Strengths

Cautions

withtheirincumbentSFAsolution.Thevendoralsoprovidesmore-limitedthoughtleadership

messaging.

Userinterface:SomereferencecustomersofX2EnginecitedthepoorqualityofX2CRM’sUI,

notingthatitseemstolagbehindtheusabilityandattractivenessexhibitedbythoseofother

SFAvendors.

■

Product:X2EngineX2CRMhaslimitedfunctionalitycomparedtotheproductsoftheLeadersin

thisMagicQuadrant.ItoffersonlylightPRMfunctions,andmostofitsenhancementsoverthe

lastyearhavebeenbugfixesandminorimprovements.

■

Chinasalesstrategy:XiaoshouyihasastrongsalesstrategyfortheChinesemarket.Itsellsto

targetedrolesforbusinessandIT,haslocalimplementationpartners,andoffersintegrations

withbusinesssearchandcommunicationwithvendorssuchasTianyanchaandWeChat.

■

Product:Xiaoshouyi’sadvancedanalyticscapabilitieswereratedhighlybyreference

customers,withitsscoresinthetopthreevendorsinthisMagicQuadrant.Administratorscan

defineandmanageopportunityscoringschemes,anddeveloperscanbuildcustommobile

appsusingopenAPIs.

■

Implementation:ManyreferencecustomersnotedtheeaseofdeploymentofXiaoshouyi.The

vendorhasdeployedwithlocalimplementationpartnersoverthelastyear.

■

Customerretention:Xiaoshouyiisamongthebottomtierofvendorsforcustomerretention,as

measuredintermsofannualcontractvalue.Referencecustomersnotedsomedifficultiesor

complexitytotheproductthatpresentchallengesinadoption.

■

Applicationmarketplace:ComparedtotheleadingvendorsintheMagicQuadrantthatmaintain

third-partyapplicationmarketplaces,XiaoshouyihasalimitednumberofISVsolutionsthat

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Zendesk(Base)

ZendeskisagainintheVisionariesquadrantonthestrengthofitsproductforB2Bsalesuse

cases.TheZendeskSellproductforSFAistheproductformerlyknownasBaseCRM(Zendesk

acquiredBaseinSeptember2018).Fortheforeseeablefuture,ZendeskSellremainsaseparate

productline,independentoftheZendeskserviceproduct.ZendeskSellisprimarilydesignedfor

mobilesalesusecasesonsmallsalesteams,especiallyforsellersinthehigh-tech,mediaand

professionalservicesindustries.Inthepastyear,thevendorhasupdatedtheproductwithnew

Zapierintegrationstothird-partyapplicationsandnewbatchupdatefunctions.However,itno

longersellstheApollopredictiveandprescriptiveanalyticsproductformanagingopportunities;

thiswillbereplacedwithZendesk’sownnativeanalyticsproductinthenearfuture.

Strengths

Cautions

integratewithit.

Configurationcapabilities:ReferencecustomersforXiaoshouyinotedissueswiththe

administratortoolsforconfiguringtheproduct,statingthatithaslimitedconfigurablelayout

capabilitiesandisdifficulttonavigate.

■

Salesandmarketingexecution:Zendeskhasstronglyimprovedsalesandmarketingexecution

inthepastyear.At16%year-over-yeargrowth,itachievedoneofthetoprevenuegrowthratesin

themarket,andwasoneofthetopvendorsconsideredbythetotalreferencecustomerpoolin

theMagicQuadrantsurvey.

■

Professionalservices:UnlikemostothervendorsinthisMagicQuadrant,implementation

servicesandcostsareincludedinthecostoftheZendesklicense.Allimplementationworkis

performedbythevendor’sownconsultants,whichisanadvantageforsoftwarebuyersthat

needtoimplementaSFAsolutionquickly.

■

Usability:ReferencecustomersforZendeskgavethevendorstrongscoresforusability,

mentioningthattheapplicationhasanintuitiveUIandrequirescomparativelylittleonboarding

time.

■

Platform:AdministratorscannotcustomizeZendeskSellwithcustomobjectsnorcontrol

recordaccessattherecordlevel—capabilitiesthatarecommonwiththeLeadersinthisMagic

Quadrant.Theselimitationswerealsocitedbyseveralofthevendor’sreferencecustomers.

■

Customerexperience:ComparedtothestrongestvendorsinthisMagicQuadrantforcustomer

experience,referencecustomersforZendeskSellgavethevendormuchlowersurveyscores

foroverallexperience,willingnesstorecommendtheproductandrelevancetoend-userneeds.

■

Productvision:Becauseofpendingproductdevelopmentdecisions,Zendesknolongersells

theApollopredictiveanalyticsproduct—acapabilityfavorablycitedbysurveyrespondentsin

previousiterationsofthisMagicQuadrant.

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Zoho

ZohohasmovedfromtheNichePlayerstotheChallengersquadrantthisyear,basedonimproved

salesexecution,marketstrategyandcustomerservice,aswellasitsscopeofproduct

capabilities.ZohooffersaSaaS-onlysuiteofCRMapplications,spanningsales,marketing,service

andcustomerexperience.TheSFAproduct,ZohoCRM,featuresthefullsetofSFAcapabilities,

includingPRM,andoffersasignificantnumberofnativeextensionssuchaslead,quoteand

territorymanagement.Inthepastyear,thevendorhasenhancedZohoCRMwithnewGDPR

compliancefunctions,emailauthenticationandvirtualmeetings.Thelatterfunctionisrelevantfor

softwarebuyersthathaveworldwideleadmanagementprocesses.

Strengths

Cautions

VendorsAddedandDropped

WereviewandadjustourinclusioncriteriaforMagicQuadrantsasmarketschange.Asaresultof

theseadjustments,themixofvendorsinanyMagicQuadrantmaychangeovertime.Avendor’s

appearanceinaMagicQuadrantoneyearandnotthenextdoesnotnecessarilyindicatethatwe

havechangedouropinionofthatvendor.Itmaybeareflectionofachangeinthemarketand,

therefore,changedevaluationcriteria,orofachangeoffocusbythatvendor.

Added

Valueproposition:ZohoistheonlyvendorinthisMagicQuadrantthatwillrefundmoneyto

clientsiftheyarenotsatisfiedorsuccessfulwithitsoffering.

■

Artificialintelligence:Zoho’sAIlayer,Zia,appliestoawiderangeofSFAprocesses,including

activityreminders,digitaltwinsalesassistantsandrelationshipintelligence.Ziadata

enrichmentprepopulatesaccountfieldswithpubliclyavailableaccountdata.

■

Usability:ReferencecustomersforZohogavethevendorcomparativelyhighscoresfor

usability,citingtheeaseofuseandarrayofapplicationcustomizationcapabilities.

■

Enhancements:ComparedtothestrongestvendorsinthisMagicQuadrantforproduct

enhancements,ZohohasreleasedfewerSFA-specificenhancementsinthepastyear.

■

Advancedcapabilities:Amongallthesevendors,Zoho’sreferencecustomersgavethevendor

comparativelylowscoresforpredictiveAIcapabilities,includingopportunityscoringand

predictiveforecasting.Theycitedconcernswiththeapplication’sfunctionsforadvanced

forecasting,notingthatthesystemdoesnotsufficientlysupportcomplexormatrixed

forecasts.

■

Integration:ReferencecustomerscitedconcernsusingtheSFAcapabilitiesinconjunctionwith

otherZohoproducts,notingthatsomeapplicationsdonotnativelyconnectandthatthevendor

doesnotprovideenoughdocumentationaboutintegrationbestpractices.

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Dropped

InclusionandExclusionCriteriaToqualifyforthisMagicQuadrant,vendorsmusthavemetatleastfiveofthefollowingcriteria:

Copper■

Freshworks■

Pipedrive■

Pipeliner■

Vtiger■

X2Engine■

Aptean■

Infor■

HaveatechnologysolutionthatautomatestheSFAcriticalcapabilities:

Thesolutionmustalsoprovidesalesforecastingandpipelinemanagementcapabilities.

■

Accountandcontactmanagement■

Salesactivitymanagement■

Opportunitymanagement■

Reportinganddashboards■

Mobileapplications■

Partnerrelationshipmanagement(PRM)■

API-integrations■

Haveatleast25customerswithliveSFAimplementationsasofMarch2019,spanningatleast

threeindustries(inaccordancewithindustrydefinitionsestablishedbyGartner).

■

HaveanaveragenumberofSFAuserspercustomer(notorg/instance)ofatleast25usersas

ofMarch2019.

■

RevenuefromSFAsoftwareandservicesofatleast$11millionduringcalendar2018.■

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HonorableMentions

SeveralvendorsintheSFAmarketproviderelevantcapabilitiesbutdidnotmeettheinclusion

criteriaforthisMagicQuadrant.Thefollowingmaybeworthconsidering:

EvaluationCriteria

AbilitytoExecute

Differentsalesorganizationsrequiredifferentlevelsofdepthandcomplexityintermsof

capabilities.Vendorsthatsupportawiderangeofcomplexityhavegreatermarketpotential,and

areratedaccordingly.Asthisisacross-industryMagicQuadrant,evaluationofaprovider’s

offeringisfocusedontheabilitytoserveseveralbroadindustrysectors,nottoprovideindustry-

specificsolutions.

ProductorService

Coregoodsandservicesthatcompeteinand/orservethedefinedmarket.

CustomerswithliveSFAimplementationsinatleastthreeofthefiveusecasesforSFAcritical

capabilities:

■

Long-cycleB2Bsales■

Short-cycleB2Bsales■

Long-cycleB2Csales■

Short-cycleB2Csales■

Indirectsales■

Madeatleastonemajorreleasewithsignificantfunctionalimprovementsduringthe12months

fromApril2018toMarch2019.Aneworacquiredofferingfromanestablishedvendorinthis

marketwasalsoconsidered,ifGartnerestablishedthatthisofferingwasbeingsoldto

customers.

■

ClosedSFAcontractswithatleastsixnew,namedlogos(notnewcontractssoldtoanexisting

client)duringthe12monthsfromApril2018throughMarch2019.

■

Aptean■

Infor■

Nimble■

TourdeForce■

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VendorsareevaluatedonthequalityoftheirnativeSFAcapabilities,includingboththecritical

capabilitiesaswellasSFAextensions.Vendorsarealsoevaluatedontechnicalconsiderations

suchaseaseofuseandadministrativefunctions.Gartnerassessesinformationprovidedfrom

theMagicQuadrantreferencesurvey,fromtheCriticalCapabilitiesresearchandfrom

observationscollectedfromGartnerinquiries.

OverallViability

Thisisanassessmentoftheorganization’soverallfinancialhealthaswellasthefinancialand

practicalsuccessofthebusinessunit.Weconsiderthelikelihoodoftheorganizationcontinuing

toofferandinvestintheproductaswellastheproductpositioninthecurrentportfolio.

Vendorswillberatedonadditionalfactorssuchascustomerretentionrate,andabilitytogenerate

revenuespecificallyintheSFAmarket.

SalesExecution/Pricing

Thisincludesanorganization’scapabilitiesinallpresalesactivitiesandthestructurethat

supportsthem.Itconsidersdealmanagement,pricingandnegotiation,presalessupport,andthe

overalleffectivenessofthesaleschannel.

Thevendormustprovideglobalsalesanddistributioncoveragethatalignswithitsmarketing

messages.ItmusthavespecificexperienceandsuccesssellingSFAapplicationstosalesbuying

centers(i.e.,theVPofsalesorsalesoperations)andtoapplicationleaders.

Amongthemanyfactorsinthiscategory,Gartnerevaluatesthenumberofnewcustomers

acquired,growthinSFArevenue,averageSFAdealsize,averagecontractdurationandcustomer

retention.Gartneralsoevaluatesclients’satisfactionwithcontactingandnegotiationprocesses.

MarketResponsivenessandTrackRecord

Thisconsidersavendor’sabilitytorespond,changedirection,beflexibleandachievecompetitive

successasopportunitiesdevelop,competitorsact,customerneedsevolveandmarketdynamics

change.Wealsoconsiderthevendor’shistoryofresponsivenesstochangingmarketdemands.

Gartnerevaluatesthequalityanddepthofthevendors’releases,andtheabilitytorelease

functionsrequestedbyclients.

MarketingExecution

Theclarity,quality,creativityandefficacyofprogramsdesignedtodelivertheorganization’s

messageinordertoinfluencethemarket,promotethebrand,increaseawarenessofproductsand

establishapositiveidentificationinthemindsofcustomers.This“mindshare”canbedrivenbya

combinationofpublicity,promotional,thoughtleadership,socialmedia,referralsandsales

activities.

Gartnerwillmeasurethefrequencyandqualityofthevendor’smarketingtechniques,includingbut

notlimitedtoitsuseofpublicitypromotions,andthoughtleadershipinsocialchannelsorprint

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publications.Gartnerwillalsoevaluatethevendor’spresenceontheshortlistsofGartner’sclients

andthescopeofavailablethird-partysolutions.

CustomerExperience

Thisconsidersproductsandservicesand/orprogramsthatenablecustomerstoachieve

anticipatedresultswiththeproductsevaluated—specifically,qualitysupplier/buyerinteractions,

technicalsupportoraccountsupport.Thismayalsoincludeancillarytools,customersupport

programs,availabilityofusergroups,SLAsandsoon.

Feedbackfromactivecustomersongenerallyavailablereleasesduringthepast12to18months

isanimportantconsideration.Sourcesoffeedbackincludevendor-suppliedreferences,Gartner

clientinquiriesandothercustomer-facinginteractions,suchasatGartnerconferences.Customer

experiencesareevaluatedbasedonthevendor’sabilitytohelpcustomersachievepositive

businessvalueaswellassustaineduseradoption,qualityimplementationandongoingsupport.

Operations

Theabilityoftheorganizationtomeetgoalsandcommitments.

Table1:AbilitytoExecuteEvaluationCriteria

Source:Gartner

CompletenessofVision

Gartnerevaluatesvendorsontheirabilitytoconvincinglyarticulatelogicalstatements.This

includescurrentandfuturemarketdirection,innovation,customerneedsandcompetitiveforces,

aswellashowwellthesestatementsmaptoGartner’sviewofthemarket.

MarketUnderstanding

ProductorService High

OverallViability Medium

SalesExecution/Pricing Medium

MarketResponsiveness/Record High

MarketingExecution Medium

CustomerExperience High

Operations Medium

EvaluationCriteria Weighting

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Thisincludestheabilitytounderstandcustomerneedsandtranslatethemintoproductsand

services.

Vendorsthatshowaclearvisionfortheirmarketlisten,understandcustomerdemands,andcan

shapeorenhancemarketchangeswiththis.

VendorsmustdefinehowtheirSFAsolutionsimproveclients’salesprocessexecutionaswellas

supportsaleseffectivenessobjectives.Vendorsmustalsodefinetheircompetitivedifferentiators,

valuepropositionandtheoutcomesachievedbytheirclients.

Vendorsarealsoevaluatedontheirarticulatedanddemonstratedabilitytoalignwithclients’

customerexperience,digitalbusinessandsalesexecutionoptimizationobjectives.

MarketingStrategy

Inthiscategory,welookforclear,differentiatedmessagingthatisconsistentlycommunicated

internally,andexternalizedthroughsocialmedia,advertising,partnerprograms,system

integrators,customerprogramsandpositioningstatements.

Vendorsareevaluatedontheirsegmentationstrategyandhowtheirsolutionappealstoselling

organizationsinmultipleverticals,aswellasprospectswith50ormoresalessellers.

Ifthevendorgetsasignificantpercentageofrevenuefromrecurringrevenue-basedproducts,it

mustalsohaveacustomerretentionstrategy.

SalesStrategy

Inthiscategory,weprimarilylookforasoundstrategyforsellingthatusestheappropriatedirect

andindirectsalesstrategy,aswellaspartnersthatextendthescopeanddepthofmarketreach,

expertise,technologies,servicesandthecustomerbase.

VendorsareevaluatedontheirabilitytoselltobothbusinessandITstakeholders,aswellasto

thesegmentsdefinedinthemarketingstrategy.

Offering(Product)Strategy

Thiscategoryincludesthevendor’sapproachtoproductdevelopmentanddeliverythat

emphasizesmarketdifferentiation,functionality,methodologyandfeatures,astheymapto

currentandfuturerequirements.

Gartnerassessesthevendor’sproductandpackagingofferings.

ThevendorshoulddemonstrateaproductvisionthataccountsforcoreSFAfunctionality(as

definedbythemarket’scriticalcapabilities),butthatalsooffersnewapplicationfunctionality

acrossthebreadthanddepthofproductcapabilities.Thelatterconsiderationiscriticalfor

meetingtheneedsofamaturingmarket.

Subcapabilitiesinclude,butarenotlimitedto,thevendor’svisionfor:

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BusinessModel

Inthiscategory,welookforhowthedesign,logicandexecutionoftheorganization’sbusiness

propositionhelpitachievecontinuedsuccess.

VendorsneedtohaveclearbusinessplansforhowtheywillbesuccessfulintheSFAmarket.

Thesebusinessplansshouldincludeappropriatelevelsofinvestmenttoachieveprofitabilityand

healthyrevenuegrowthduringathree-tofive-yearperiod.Saleschannelandpartnership

strategiesareimportantcomponents.

Innovation

Thisconcernsdirect,related,complementaryandsynergisticlayoutsofresources,expertiseor

capitalforinvestment,consolidation,defensiveorpreemptivepurposes.

Vendorsareevaluatedonthequalityoftheirenhancementsandproductreleases.

VendorsmustshowcontinuedinvestmentinimprovingcoreSFAcapabilities.Theymustalso

showgrowthintonewareas,suchasimprovingsalesexecution,analytics,socialcollaboration

andSaaS;ornewdevices,suchasthetabletsandsmartphones;ornewtechnologydirections,

suchasdigitalbusiness.

GeographicStrategy

Welookatthevendor’sstrategytodirectresources,skillsandofferingstomeetthespecificneeds

ofgeographiesoutsidethe“home”ornativegeography,eitherdirectlyorthroughpartners,

channelsandsubsidiaries,asappropriateforthatgeographyandmarket.

Vendorswillbeevaluatedonpercentageofemployeesallocatedtotheregionsaswellasthe

depthandscopeofpartnersavailableinthoseregions.

Table2:CompletenessofVisionEvaluationCriteria

Salesenablementcapabilities,suchascontentmanagementandsalestraining■

Leadmanagement■

Saleseffectivenesscapabilities,suchasCPQorordermanagement■

Integrationwiththird-partysalesapplications■

MarketUnderstanding High

MarketingStrategy Medium

EvaluationCriteria Weighting

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Source:Gartner

QuadrantDescriptions

Leaders

Leadershavetheabilitytoexecutetheirvisionthroughproducts,servicesanddemonstrablysolid

businessresults,intheformofrevenueandearnings.Leadershavesignificantsuccessful

customerdeploymentsinNorthAmerica,EMEAandAPACinawidevarietyofindustries,andwith

multipleproofpointsfordeploymentsabove500users.Theydemonstrateconsistentlyabove-

averagecustomerexperiencelevels,productexecutionscoresandsalesexecutionscores.They

demonstrateproductleadership,deliveringnewenhancementsandinnovationsonaconsistent

schedule.Theyalsoprovidethoughtleadership,showingcustomersandprospectshowtheirSFA

solutionsimprovesalesexecutionandsalesprocesses.

Leadersarethevendorsagainstwhichotherprovidersinthemarketmeasurethemselves.

Challengers

Challengersareoftenlargerthanmost(butnotall)NichePlayers,anddemonstrateahigher

volumeofnewbusinessforSFA.Theyhavethesizetocompeteworldwide,butinsomecases

maynotbeabletoexecuteequallywellinallgeographies.Theyoftenreturnstrongcustomer

experiencesatisfactionscores.Theyunderstandtheevolvingneedsofasalesorganization,yet

maynotleadcustomersintonewfunctionalareaswithastrongfunctionalvision.

ChallengerstendtohaveagoodtechnologyvisionforarchitectureandotherITorganizational

considerations,buthavenotwonoverthetopsalesexecutivesand/orapplicationleadersintheIT

organization.

Visionaries

Visionariesareaheadofmostpotentialcompetitorsindeliveringinnovativeproductsand/or

deliverymodels.Theyanticipateemergingandchangingsalesneedsandmovethemarketinto

SalesStrategy Medium

Offering(Product)Strategy High

BusinessModel Low

Vertical/IndustryStrategy NotRated

Innovation High

GeographicStrategy Medium

EvaluationCriteria Weighting

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freshareaswithsolutionsthatimprovesalesexecution.

VisionarieshavestrongpotentialtoinfluencethedirectionoftheSFAmarket,butarelimitedin

termsofexecutionand/ortrackrecord.

NichePlayers

NichePlayersofferproductsforSFAfunctionality,butmaylacksomefunctionalcomponents.

Theymaynotshowtheabilitytoconsistentlyhandledeploymentsofmorethan500usersacross

multiplegeographies,ortheymaylackstrongbusinessexecutionintheSFAmarket.These

vendorsmayoffercompleteportfoliosforaspecificindustry,butfacechallengesinoneormore

areasnecessarytosupportcross-industryrequirements,suchascomplexforecastingandsales

effectiveness.Theymayhaveaninconsistentimplementationtrackrecord,ortheymaylackthe

abilitytosupporttherequirementsoflargeenterprises.

NichePlayersoftenofferthebestsolutionsfortheneedsofparticularsalesorganizations,

consideringtheprice/valueratiooftheirsolutions.

ContextGiventhattherearemorethan75SFAvendorsworldwide,thevendorspresentedinthisMagic

QuadrantareonlyasmallpartoftheoverallSFAvendormarket.Therearehundredsmorevendors

thatprovidebasiccontactmanagementsoftware,whichisasubsetofSFA(fordetailsand

examples,seeCapterra,G2CrowdandGetApp).Andtherearemanydozensofvendorsthathave

builtvertical-specificSFAsolutions.

BecauseitisnotpossibletorevieweverySFAprovider,thisMagicQuadrantreviewsSFAsolutions

thatarebroadlyapplicabletomanydifferentlysizedsalesorganizationsandverticals.

ThisMagicQuadrantplacesparticularemphasisonvendors’coreSFAcapabilities,asdescribedin

theMarketDefinition/Descriptionsection.However,forthepurposeofbuildingascompletea

pictureaspossible,wealsoevaluatetheirnoncoreSFAcapabilities,suchascontentmanagement

andleadmanagement.

SalesOrganizationTypes

SFAmeansdifferentthingstodifferenttypesofsalesorganizations:

Product-driven,transactionalsalesorganizations,suchasthoseengagedinshort-cycleB2B

sales,willvaluebasicleadandopportunitymanagementcapabilitiestoreducesalescyclesand

improvesalesmanagementvisibility.

■

Productandserviceorganizationssellingenterprisewidedeals,suchaslong-cycleB2Bsales

organizations,willvalueaccountmanagementandforecastingcapabilities.These

organizationsoftenalsovalueleadmanagement,CPQandsalescontentmanagement

systems.Theyoftentietogetherproposals,bids,configurationsandquoteswithauthorizations

andorder-capturesystems.Organizationsoperatinginthisspacerequiregranularforecasting

andpipelinemanagementfeatures.

■

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SalesOrganizationSizing

InthisMagicQuadrant,Gartnerreferstosalesorganizationcustomersizesorvendortarget

segments.Wedefinethesesegmentsasfollows:

AboutGartnerMagicQuadrants

MagicQuadrantsaresnapshotsintime.Tobeimpartialandtocompleteouranalysis,westopour

datacollectioneffortsataconsistenttimeacrosstheboard.Inthiscase,thecutoffdatewas1

March2019.Althoughthismeansthatsomeproducts’capabilitiesmayhavechangedsincethen,

thesameistrueforallvendorsevaluated.

CriticalCapabilitiesforB2BandB2CSalesOrganizationUseCases

Tohelpclientsmaketherightchoiceofvendorandproduct,Gartneralsopublishes“Critical

CapabilitiesforSalesForceAutomation.”Init,Gartnerscoreseachvendor’scoreSFAcapabilities

againstfivecommonsalesusecases:

MarketOverviewIn2018,thesalestechnologysalesforceautomation(SFA)marketgrewbyanestimated12.8%to

$6.9billion,withalmostallthegrowthrelatingtocloud-basedofferings.TheSFAmarketisgrowing

OrganizationsengagedinrelationshipsellingrequireSFAtoolstomanagetheircustomerand

prospectdata,buttheyalsorequiresalesenablementtoolsforcontentdistributionandsales

activitycapture.

■

OrganizationsthatsellviaindirectsaleschannelsrequirePRMcapabilities.■

Smallbusiness:fewerthan50salesusers■

Midsizebusiness:50to500salesusers■

Largebusiness:500to1,000salesusers■

Enterprise-size:morethan1,000salesusers■

Long-cycleB2Bsales■

Short-cycleB2Bsales■

Short-cycleB2Csales■

Long-cycleB2Csales■

Indirect/relationshipsales■

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ataslightlyslowerpacethantheoverallsalestechnologymarket,whichgrewbyanestimated

14.2%in2018.

SFAisthelargestcomponentofthelargersalestechnologymarket.GartnerestimatesthatSFA

technologycomprisesapproximately55%oftheoverallsalestechnologymarket.

TopSFAExpectationsofApplicationLeaders

Inthepastyear,GartneranalystshavespokenwithhundredsofapplicationleadersabouttheSFA

market.Threetrendsemergedfromthoseconversations:

1.Digitaloptimizationobjectivesnowdrivemanysalestechnologypurchasedecisions.

Digitaloptimizationistheprocessofusingdigitaltechnologytomaximizeexistingoperating

processesand/orbusinessmodels.Digitaloptimizationofsalesprocesses,whichisoftenalso

termed“digitaltransformation,”isthemostsignificanttrendthatGartnerhasencounteredin

theSFAmarketinthepasttwoyears.Gartnerclientinterestindigitaloptimizationforsales,

basedonrecentinquiries,grewapproximately100%from2017to2018.Thisinterestisdriven

bytheneedtobuildadata-drivensalesorganization.

(Formoreinformationonthistopic,see“DigitalOptimizationObjectivesElevateB2BSales

TechnologyPrograms.”)

2.ApplicationleadersthinkofSFAasatleastafive-yearcommitment.

SFAimplementationsarelong-lived.BasedonsurveydatainthisMagicQuadrant’sreference

customersurvey,42%ofallimplementationsareolderthanthreeyearsintenure.Gartner’s

inquirieswithapplicationleadersalsobearthisout.TheyviewSFAimplementationsaslong-

terminvestments.Gartnerclientswithlargeandenterprise-sizesalesteams,inparticular,

inquireaboutSFA’strackrecordforinnovation.Theyseekassurancesof“futureproof”

technologythatwillalwaysexhibitstrongSFAcapabilities.

3.Integrationwiththird-partyapplicationsisanessentialrequirement.

BecausenoSFAvendorprovidesallofthesalestechnologiesthatsellingorganizationsrequire,

application-to-applicationintegrationisanessentialrequirement.Tothatend,Gartnerclients

frequentlyaskaboutSFAvendormarketplacesofthird-partyapplications.Theyalsoinquire

aboutthetypesoffirst-partyintegrationsvendorsprovidetoERPandmarketingautomation

solutions.

FunctionalityTrends

Inthepastyear,thetopmarketdevelopmenthasbeenthematuringofAIcapabilitiesinSFA

productsuites.ThemajorityofvendorsinthisMagicQuadrantnowofferpredictiveanalyticsfor

atleastoneoftheseusecases:opportunityscoring,leadscoring,accounthealthscoringor

naturallanguageprocessing(NLP).

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Prescriptiveanalytics—guidingsellerswithrecommendednext-bestactions—isnotyetmature.

Mostvendorsoffersalesplaybooks—functionsthatrecommendnextstepstotakeonaspecific

deal.WiththeexceptionofsomeinnovativeofferingsfromPegasystemsandbpm’online,sales

playbooksarenotyetlinkedwithpredictiveanalyticsmodels.Regardlessofthisgap,Gartner

thinksthatprescriptivenext-bestactionswillbecomeanessentialpartofSFAproductsinthenear

future.

(FormoreinformationonAIforguidedselling,see“OptimizeSalesExecutionWithArtificial

IntelligenceforGuidedSelling.”)

GartneralsobelievesthattwootherformsofAI—virtualdigitalsalesassistantsandvoice-driven

dataentry—willbecomeimportantfunctionsinthismarket.(Formoreinformationonthese

capabilities,see“HypeCycleforCRMSales,2018.”)

Salesenablement—particularlyfordigitalcontentmanagementforsales—continuestobeagap

inmostSFAproductofferings(see“MarketGuideforDigitalContentManagementforSales”).

Somevendors—SAP,SugarCRM,Oracleandothers—havestrucklimitedstrategicpartnerships

tofillthisgap.MicrosoftandSalesforcearepartner-agnostic,allowingmultiplevendorstosellto

theirclientbases.Theremainingvendorstendtohaveverylimitednativesalesenablement

capabilities,andhavenotyetbuiltproductpartnershipswithothervendors.

ThisfunctionalitygapisimportantbecauseitindicatesthatSFAvendorshavenotaddressedan

importantaspectofselling:engagement.Salesenablementtechnologieshaveproventobe

effectiveformeasuringengagement,forbothspecificprospectsandsalesreps.Sales

enablementtoolswithcontentmanagementcapabilitiesmeasurefrequencyandlevelof

engagementwiththesalescontent.Customerengagementmetricscanbecorrelatedwithseller

executionmetrics,wheresellersaremeasuredontheirabilitytomovedealsforwardusingsales

content.Andwiththosemetrics,salesmanagerscanhavebettercoachingmeetingswiththeir

sellers.

(Formoreinformationontrendsinsalesenablement,see“TechGo-to-Market:3Waysto

ReimagineSalesEnablementStrategiestoWinMoreDealsandShortenSalesCycles.”)

CustomerInsights

AspartoftheMagicQuadrantanalysisprocess,Gartnercollectedsurveyinputfrom218vendor

referencecustomerswhousetheSFAsolutionsreviewedinthisMagicQuadrant.Basedonthe

followingquestionsposed,insightswegainedfromthissurveyincludethefollowing:

“Whydidyoupurchasethesoftwareorservice?”(multipleresponsesallowed).Thetopfive

reasonsselectedwere:

■

1. Tocreateoperationalefficiencies(71%ofallreferencecustomers)■

2. Toimprovebusinessprocessoutcomes(70%)■

3. Toimprovebusinessprocessagility(68%)■

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AcronymKeyandGlossaryTerms

AI artificialintelligence

PRM partnerrelationshipmanagement

SAML SecurityAssertionMarkupLanguage

SSO singlesign-on

UI userinterface

Evidence

4. Toimprovecustomerrelations/service(60%)■

5. Todriverevenuegrowth(58%)■

“Whatwerethekeyfactorsthatdroveyourdecisiontochoosethisvendor?”(multipleresponses

allowed).Thetopfivefactorswere:

■

1. Productfunctionalityandperformance(60%ofallreferencecustomers)■

2. Competitivecosts(59%)■

3. Productroadmapandfuturevision(50%)■

4. Architecturalscalability(48%)■

5. Strongcustomerfocus(45%)■

Intermsofoverallexperiencewiththeirvendor,90%ofreferencecustomersselectedeither4or

5(“verysatisfied”or“completelysatisfied”),ona5-pointratingscale(where1iscompletely

dissatisfiedand5iscompletelysatisfied).

■

Intermsofsatisfactionwiththeirvendor’svisionforimprovingsalesexecution,90%of

referencecustomersselectedoneeither4or5(“verysatisfied”or“completelysatisfied”),ona

5-pointratingscale(where1iscompletelydissatisfiedand5iscompletelysatisfied).

■

Intermsofproductadoption,24%ofreferencecustomersstatedthattheirSFAimplementation

wasoptimized.OptimizationistheconditionwheretheSFAdrivessalesexecutiontosucha

highdegreethatorganizationscancorrelatetheuseoftheSFAsystemwithbetterrevenue

results.Only4%ofreferencesstatedthattheyhadlowordecliningapplicationadoption.

■

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TheMagicQuadrantreferencecheckispartofthedatagatheringefforttohelpGartnerbuildon

itsexistingknowledgeofvendorsinaparticularmarket.DuringthekickoffofthisMagicQuadrant

process,allinvitedvendorswereaskedtosubmitreferencesthatgenerallyrepresentedthe

inclusioncriteria.Thereferenceswereinvitedtocompletea20-to30-minuteonlinesurvey.Atotal

of218referencesfrom19vendorscompletedthesurvey.

Pleasenotethatvendorreferencedataisdifferentfromprimaryresearchandisnota

representativeknowledgebaseofSFA.Thereferencesdonotrepresentcustomersintheoverall

SFAmarket,butratherjusttheselectcustomersthevendorschosetosharewithGartnerthat

ultimatelyelectedtoparticipateasareferencecheck.

GartnerusedquantitativemetricsfromtheGartnerproductreviewforum PeerInsightsSales

ForceAutomation(https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/sales-force-automation).

GartneralsocollectedinformationfromseveralhundredinquirieswithGartnerclientsevaluating

thevendors’products,aswellasindependentcustomerconversationsatconferencesandevents.

VendorswerealsointerviewedandGartnerattendedin-depthproductdemonstrations.

EvaluationCriteriaDefinitions

AbilitytoExecute

Product/Service:Coregoodsandservicesofferedbythevendorforthedefinedmarket.This

includescurrentproduct/servicecapabilities,quality,featuresets,skillsandsoon,whether

offerednativelyorthroughOEMagreements/partnershipsasdefinedinthemarketdefinitionand

detailedinthesubcriteria.

OverallViability:Viabilityincludesanassessmentoftheoverallorganization'sfinancialhealth,the

financialandpracticalsuccessofthebusinessunit,andthelikelihoodthattheindividualbusiness

unitwillcontinueinvestingintheproduct,willcontinueofferingtheproductandwilladvancethe

stateoftheartwithintheorganization'sportfolioofproducts.

SalesExecution/Pricing:Thevendor'scapabilitiesinallpresalesactivitiesandthestructurethat

supportsthem.Thisincludesdealmanagement,pricingandnegotiation,presalessupport,andthe

overalleffectivenessofthesaleschannel.

MarketResponsiveness/Record:Abilitytorespond,changedirection,beflexibleandachieve

competitivesuccessasopportunitiesdevelop,competitorsact,customerneedsevolveand

marketdynamicschange.Thiscriterionalsoconsidersthevendor'shistoryofresponsiveness.

MarketingExecution:Theclarity,quality,creativityandefficacyofprogramsdesignedtodeliver

theorganization'smessagetoinfluencethemarket,promotethebrandandbusiness,increase

awarenessoftheproducts,andestablishapositiveidentificationwiththeproduct/brandand

organizationinthemindsofbuyers.This"mindshare"canbedrivenbyacombinationofpublicity,

promotionalinitiatives,thoughtleadership,wordofmouthandsalesactivities.

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CustomerExperience:Relationships,productsandservices/programsthatenableclientstobe

successfulwiththeproductsevaluated.Specifically,thisincludesthewayscustomersreceive

technicalsupportoraccountsupport.Thiscanalsoincludeancillarytools,customersupport

programs(andthequalitythereof),availabilityofusergroups,service-levelagreementsandsoon.

Operations:Theabilityoftheorganizationtomeetitsgoalsandcommitments.Factorsinclude

thequalityoftheorganizationalstructure,includingskills,experiences,programs,systemsand

othervehiclesthatenabletheorganizationtooperateeffectivelyandefficientlyonanongoing

basis.

CompletenessofVision

MarketUnderstanding:Abilityofthevendortounderstandbuyers'wantsandneedsandto

translatethoseintoproductsandservices.Vendorsthatshowthehighestdegreeofvisionlisten

toandunderstandbuyers'wantsandneeds,andcanshapeorenhancethosewiththeiradded

vision.

MarketingStrategy:Aclear,differentiatedsetofmessagesconsistentlycommunicated

throughouttheorganizationandexternalizedthroughthewebsite,advertising,customerprograms

andpositioningstatements.

SalesStrategy:Thestrategyforsellingproductsthatusestheappropriatenetworkofdirectand

indirectsales,marketing,service,andcommunicationaffiliatesthatextendthescopeanddepth

ofmarketreach,skills,expertise,technologies,servicesandthecustomerbase.

Offering(Product)Strategy:Thevendor'sapproachtoproductdevelopmentanddeliverythat

emphasizesdifferentiation,functionality,methodologyandfeaturesetsastheymaptocurrent

andfuturerequirements.

BusinessModel:Thesoundnessandlogicofthevendor'sunderlyingbusinessproposition.

Vertical/IndustryStrategy:Thevendor'sstrategytodirectresources,skillsandofferingstomeet

thespecificneedsofindividualmarketsegments,includingverticalmarkets.

Innovation:Direct,related,complementaryandsynergisticlayoutsofresources,expertiseor

capitalforinvestment,consolidation,defensiveorpre-emptivepurposes.

GeographicStrategy:Thevendor'sstrategytodirectresources,skillsandofferingstomeetthe

specificneedsofgeographiesoutsidethe"home"ornativegeography,eitherdirectlyorthrough

partners,channelsandsubsidiariesasappropriateforthatgeographyandmarket.

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