ones to watch
Capgemini reprises its role as a One to Watch this year. The French firm, whose customers include many large multinational companies, scored near the top of the pack in customer satisfaction, with a score of 3.8. Working with MIT, this February Capgemini also created a new global service line dedicated to digital customer experiences. Analysts will be keeping their eyes on Cloud Sherpas, which greatly expanded its CRM business with the acquisition of Innoveer Solutions last year. This, Wettemann adds, makes Cloud Sherpas “arguably the largest cloud systems integrator to date.” —L.K.
The Market
Gartner states in its most recent “Magic Quadrant for Worldwide CRM Service Providers” that CRM implementation services continue to be in high demand. The firm late last year estimated CRM services to be a $34 billion market, with a 7 percent compound annual growth rate expected through the year 2015.
As is the case with all CRM applications and services, social media, big data, mobility, and cloud computing have been disruptive forces in the CRM consulting industry, compelling firms to change their focus somewhat. Current market demand has also forced many firms to implement skill sets associated with business analytics, according to Ali Zaidi, a senior analyst at IDC.
And while in the past, the majority of CRM consultancies chose to tie themselves to one software vendor or a small handful of them, industry forces have led most consulting firms to align with many vendors to maintain market share.
The Leaders
Appirio, a newcomer to the leaderboard, led all competitors in its ability to execute (4.1), company direction (4.3), and tied for first place in customer satisfaction (4.1). The company is strongly linked to Salesforce.com, which can both help and hurt it. “As Salesforce.com continues to expand the Salesforce1 platform and messaging, Appirio will have to continue to differentiate their business strategy and other services,” warns Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of Nucleus Research. Wettemann expects the market for Salesforce implementation services to become “more and more crowded and competitive.”
Cognizant, last year’s category winner, this year slipped just slightly, but still managed to position itself among the industry leaders with scores of 3.9 in its ability to execute and customer satisfaction and 3.8 in cost and company direction. The Teaneck, NJ–based firm also has a strong overseas presence, works with a wide range of CRM products from Oracle, Microsoft, Amdocs, Salesforce.com, and Cegedim, among others, and is particularly well positioned within the financial services and life sciences industries, where it’s considered among the best by analysts.
Deloitte, a leader last year as well, was kept from the top spot primarily because analysts dinged the company for its slightly high costs. Nonetheless, its other scores, particularly for its ability to execute, kept it firmly in contention this year. “Deloitte’s comprehensive approach to customer management consulting encompasses all customer touchpoints of engagement, operational business process redesign, as well as integration with new or existing legacy systems,” says Leslie Ament, senior vice president and principal analyst at Hypatia Research Group.
Despite a lack of CRM solutions in its portfolio, IBM Global Business Services continues to demonstrate a strong presence in the consulting arena. Its score of 3.9 in customer satisfaction placed it just slightly behind the category winner; IBM also finished high in its ability to execute and company direction (3.8 in both). And, while it lacks CRM expertise, it excels in information management, digital marketing, and big data analytics services, according to analysts.
The Winner
Hitachi Consulting, an industry leader last year, surged ahead of the competition this year on its reputation for customer satisfaction, where it scored a 4.1, and near-the-top scores in the other criteria. The company was also buoyed by its recent acquisition of IMGROUP, a specialist provider of information management and business intelligence solutions. The acquisition increases Hitachi’s European presence and its capability to deliver results for clients in the areas of asset optimization, risk management, and customer experience. “While many of the traditional consultancies have struggled to compete in an increasingly cloud and iterative world, Hitachi has embraced it and continues to differentiate its abilities in the CRM space and in embracing cutting-edge CRM products that drive down the cost and risk of overall projects,” Wettemann says. —Leonard Klie