The developing social engagement market stands to be one of the first applications to require a direct connection between the interactions on the social Web and organizational systems, putting pressure on customer relationship management (CRM) vendors to keep pace with social media trends. IDC's Canadian Semiannual Customer Relationship Management Applications Tracker® provides subscribers with market statistics, trends, and forecasts to uncover and exploit the continued opportunity for CRM software in the Canadian market. Vendors including SAP, salesforce.com, Oracle, Amdocs, Adobe, Reynolds & Reynolds, Microsoft, Avaya, SAS, and Nuance Communications, among others, will be able to measure their performance in Canada relative to their competition and gain visibility into the major trends shaping the Canadian landscape for CRM software.
Technology Coverage and Data Segmentation
This tracker provides total market size and vendor share for the following technology areas. Measurement for this tracker is in total software revenue, which includes license plus maintenance plus SaaS and other subscription revenue.
Customer relationship management applications:
Sales
Marketing
Customer service
Contact center
Geographic Scope
Canada
Forecast Coverage
Annual five-year market forecasts for this tracker are updated semiannually and include five-year annual market projections for each of the functional markets noted above.
Delivery Schedule and Deliverables
This tracker is delivered on a semiannual basis via an Excel-based tool with an online Web query component. The delivery schedule for this tracker is as follows:
1H12 results: November 2012
2H12 results: April 2013
1H13 results: November 2013
Deliverables:
Half-year vendor shares by functional market updated semiannually (History goes back to the first half of 2010.)
Annual five-year forecasts by functional market updated semiannually (2012–2016)
IDC's Tracker Methodology
IDC's tracker data is developed using a rigorous methodology that includes well-planned and well-coordinated local, regional, and worldwide data cross-checks combined with a proprietary advanced data consolidation and analysis data platform managed by IDC's Worldwide Tracker organization. Data sources used in the process of determining IDC's tracker numbers include, but are not limited to:
In-country local vendor interviews
Distribution data feeds
Worldwide and regional vendor guidance
ODM data
In-country local channel partner discussions
Import records
Feedback from component suppliers
Vendor briefings and public financial reports
Enabling Better Business Decisions Across the Organization
IDC trackers provide the accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecast information you need to identify market and product expansion opportunities, increase revenues, and win market share. IDC's tracker research is a critical input to the planning and monitoring cycles of the business process. Common uses of the tracker data include:
Planning Process
Regional, state or city-level planning — setting regional, country, state or city-level sales targets based on market opportunity
Product marketing — creating a product strategy and road map based on currently available product features and expected growth
Production planning — using customer demand data as an input in the creation of production schedules
Product portfolio planning — accessing accurate and detailed data as an input into the product development process
Monitoring Process
Performance measurement — comparing vendor performance on prior fiscal periods
