Analyst Profile Detailed
 |
Mary Wardley
Vice President, Enterprise Applications and CRM Software
Team:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Enterprise Workplace
Mobile and Wireless
Unified Communications
|
Mary Wardley Joined IDC in 1988 and currently manages IDC's CRM and Enterprise Applications programs. As vice president of the CRM Applications Software program her primary responsibility is delivering leading qualitative and quantitative market sizing and analysis of the CRM software segments. This research in connection with IDC’s Software Research group provides the most comprehensive look at the evolving CRM and enterprise applications market available.
In conjunction with research services Ms. Wardley also contributes to primary technology research projects under contract with software publishers. The result of this work has appeared in the form of white papers and case studies, and has been used for product positioning and planning.
Ms. Wardley is frequently asked to speak at domestic and international industry events such as trade, vendor, user, and development groups, on topics ranging from global market trends to specific market segments. As an industry expert, Ms. Wardley is frequently quoted in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe, as well as the leading software and computer industry trade publications.
Ms. Wardley’s in-depth involvement with IT groups provides a valuable real-world perspective to traditional market analysis. Prior to the joining the Software Research group she was Senior Analyst with the Strategies for Microcomputers and Office Systems program at IDC. In this capacity she provided a continuous consulting service to a client base of Fortune 1000 companies, focusing on end-user computing issues such as software migration, training, implementation, integration, and distributed environments.
|
Frequently Asked Questions
What priorities are companies placing on CRM technology spending plans?
|
The important word in CRM today is integration. Many organizations have installed their enterprise solution and in the last several years have built out their Web site offering to include CRM elements. Now the goal is to tie these two pieces together. Further, connecting the CRM application to the ERP function for a complete end-to-end transaction is the utopian solution for many companies.
| | How does the size of an enterprise affect its CRM strategies? |
Small, mid-sized and enterprise class organizations all see the benefit of CRM. The differences in implementation among these groups comes in both scale and time table. Larger organizations will accept more comprehensive solutions that are more costly and might require customization. For smaller organizations staged implementations and point solutions are more the norm. While smaller organizations may shy away from buying a suite offering up front they do like the suite concept and will purchase it one piece at a time.
| | Much has been made of ‘failed’ CRM implementations. Why are they failing? |
A significant and often overlooked issue in the implementation process is the total impact the employee base can have. The employees need to use the CRM and need to accept the changed business processes that such implementations often require. The employees must see the benefit to themselves and their job. Therefore, marketing the solution to employees is key as is ongoing training and communication of successful milestones.
|
|
|
"
CRM is far more than an application issue. Companies that do not address their internal CRM business strategy before purchasing a technology to automate it are wasting their money. It is akin to paving a cow path, with a lower probability of success.
"
|
|
