Report from Scribe Software that surveyed over 900 businesses worldwide, states customer data integration has become a core business issue as organizations struggle to attain the ideal of the connected enterprise and drive business value from IT investments while managing increasingly complex IT environments. “Businesses are struggling to reach the connected enterprise nirvana,” noted Lou Guercia, CEO of Scribe. “With the continued move to cloud and complex hybrid environments, the lack of integration between these systems is becoming clearer and significantly slowing business value.”
Industry Report: The State of Customer Data Integration in 2013
1. Cloud Adoption, System and Data Integration Challenges
and Opportunities for the Connected Enterprise
The State of Customer
Data Integration 2013
2. Table of Contents
Letter from Lou Guercia, CEO Scribe Software ............................................................. 3
Foreword ...................................................................................................................... 4
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... 6
Major Findings .............................................................................................................. 7
General IT Trends and Customer Priorities ..................................................................... 11
The State of Business Systems Integration ................................................................... 18
State of CRM Integration .............................................................................................. 22
State of Integration ........................................................................................................ 27
Survey Participant Demographics ................................................................................. 31
Additional Industry Resources........................................................................................ 34
About Scribe Software.................................................................................................... 35
Core Business Systems in Use ...................................................................................... 33
3. 3
Letter from Lou Guercia
I am thrilled to bring to you The State of Customer Data Integration 2013. We’ve come a long way since 2012! Scribe has collected and analyzed
five times the number of responses and our data is truly global. The findings in this year’s report reflect the collective insights of more than 920
business leaders, partners and systems integrators from 50+ countries spanning all continents. Thank you all for your continued support!
We’re at the intersection of a number of significant technology shifts happening all at the same time: the transition to the cloud, the promise of Big
Data and analytics, a more mobile enterprise, and improved, multi-channel customer experience. Applications and infrastructure are moving online
– it’s no longer a fad. Hybrid environments are the new norm, posing interesting opportunities and challenges for IT and the business. Regardless
of where your applications live today or tomorrow, your top business priorities continue to be growing new sales and keeping your existing
customers happy and loyal. We heard that loud and clear from all respondents regardless of function or seniority.
To increase sales and maintain loyalty, you need customer data and you need it now. We expect to see a shift from talking about the value and
need for Big Data towards actually integrating relevant and actionable data. Customer data is where the recurring value lies and fuels your sales,
loyalty, and satisfaction. Where CRM remains the customer hub for many businesses, that customer has many different data touch points today –
financial, social, support, marketing, and others. The most successful businesses bring together customer data where and when it is needed and
create better business outcomes. Agile customer data integration should be a part of your everyday business process and your data connectivity
should be easy and reliable.
Despite all the talk about the importance of integration and the “Connected Enterprise,” we have yet to see that vision fully realized. Many
business systems still operate in silos or are only partially integrate. Your business needs a practical, sequential approach to data integration
to prepare for the real data marathon – the huge amount of unstructured and structured data, social, mobile, online and offline application data
– where you will need to choose an approach that squarely addresses your specific needs today but allows you to build and change as future
integration needs emerge. This is where Scribe and our growing ecosystem of partners can help. You have our combined commitment to help
tackle your immediate and long-term integration needs so you can get the most out of your data, grow your business and keep your customers
delighted no matter how they engage with you.
Dear Fellow Business and IT Leaders,
Lou Guercia
CEO, Scribe Software
4. 4
For a second year in a row, Scribe Software launched its State of
Customer Data Integration industry survey. The response to our
2013 survey was exceptional. This year we connected with more
than 921 technical professionals and business leaders, as well
as systems integrators, VARs and partners — representing over
a 200% increase in responses compared 2012 (n = 300). This
year our initiative was industry-wide, benchmarking important IT
trends within the enterprise such as cloud adoption by business
system, level of integration between business systems, and major
challenges to connecting today’s enterprise to its critical customer
data. Leading software providers and consultants helped Scribe
field the survey among their communities, including Marketo,
Znode, ON24, Trillium, PowerObjects, Ledgeview, and Slalom
Consulting.
2013 respondents came from a cross-section of industries
and from more than 50 countries, representing all regions of
the world. Various company sizes and levels of core business
systems adoption and usage were represented. Respondents
were comprised of C-level executives as well as business
analysts and IT professionals, who manage and support systems
implementation and data integration function within their
organizations. Additionally we heard from systems integrators and
consultants, who design and implement business systems and
data integration projects for their enterprise clients. The overall
mix of industries, seniority levels of respondents and their function
within the enterprise are similar to our 2012 survey, allowing us to
observe and draw conclusions about our industry over time.
Foreword
65%
10%
9%
7%
3%
2%
2%
1%
1%
United
States
European
Union
Canada
United
Kingdom
Australia
&
New
Zealand
South
America
Worldwide
Asian
Pacific
Middle
East
&
S.
Africa
83%
17%
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
Survey Respondents
Total Respondents by Region
n=921
5. 5
100%
72%
63%
61%
59%
42%
36%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
CRM
Enterprise
Resources
Mgmt
Business
Intelligence
Sales
Force
AutomaDon
Customer
Service
Social
CRM
MarkeDng
AutomaDon
Similar to 2012, CRM continues to be the central hub of enterprises of all sizes. Enterprise Resources Management (ERP) and
Business Intelligence (BI) came in second and third with reported adoption of these systems by 72% and 63% of respondents.
Foreword
Our 2012 survey did not poll businesses on their ERP adoption, usage and integration, as we focused primarily on customer
systems such as Customer Services, Marketing Automation, Sales Force Automation, and Business Intelligence. This is why in
this year’s report we are using Core Business Systems whenever the questions cover all business systems, including ERP, and
Customer Systems whenever ERP was excluded.Note
Deployment of Core Business Systems
Core Business Systems in Use in the Enterprise: 2012
n=159
Business Systems in Use in the Enterprise: 2013
n=765
100%
72%
56%
46%
30%
27%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
CRM
Business
Intelligence
Sales
Force
AutomaBon
Social
CRM
MarkeBng
AutomaBon
Customer
Serivce
6. 6
The State of Customer Data Integration 2013 survey report is based on over 900 responses ranging from independent business and IT leaders
to Scribe’s data integration channel partners. Overall results reveal that today’s businesses are still on the journey to connect their core business
systems and deliver customer data to their users across the business. Customer data should be free-flowing across all business touch points to
enable companies to run faster, do more, and at lower cost.
What’s stopping the data from getting into the hands of those who need it? An increasingly complex IT environment creates barriers and silos.
While CRM is steadily transitioning to cloud, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Business Intelligence (BI) systems continue to predominantly
live behind the firewall. Despite the growing trend towards integrated ecosystems and platforms from leading providers such as Oracle,
Salesforce.com, and Microsoft, companies continue to choose best-of-breed solutions over a single platform or vendor-supplied ecosystem.
Over 30 disparate systems were reported in use in our survey sample, spanning all core business processes including sales, marketing, customer
service, and analytics.
As the IT environment gets more complex, so too does the ownership of application budgets and data. Just a year ago, IT owned the bulk of
systems project budgets and determined how these business systems were implemented and integrated. As businesses are driving to ever more
sales, satisfaction, and loyalty, business leaders in marketing and services now claim close to 50% of project budgets for new systems. As the
lines of business (LOB) continue to drive or significantly influence the technology purchase decision, IT leadership and LOBs need to partner
closely and avoid creating new data and process silos that will hamper the company’s overall ability to improve business results.
It is clear from the survey there needs to be stronger partnership between LOB, IT and outside resources. Collaboration between IT and the rest
of the business is essential to get the right applications connected to the business and maximize the overall value of these projects in measurable
terms relevant to the overall business goals. Most respondents still report a lack of formal process for assessing the value of their applications
and business processes. We found that survey participants who engage systems integrators and outside consultants demonstrate higher levels of
integration and meaningful measurement of business value. Making use of experienced outside resources clearly helps companies focus on and
get to value faster.
In 2013 we predict better progress towards tighter integration between core business systems. There is wide industry consensus amongst
business leaders and systems integrators on the importance of data integration. Even though DIY integration is on the decline from 2012, custom
code still ranks high as the preferred method of connecting customer data. Simple, easy-to-use integration is the missing piece of the puzzle for
tightly integrated systems and data. We expect new integration offerings to evolve from “old school” tools to “new school” intuitive platforms.
Executive Summary
Our 2013 survey includes an expanded response set for some questions based on industry trends and 2012 respondent feedback.
Also chart data throughout the report has been rounded, therefore chart percentage totals may be slightly greater or less than 100%.
Note
7. 7
Major Findings
General IT Trends and Customer Priorities
More Business Systems Moving into the Cloud: 2013 is indeed the year of the hybrid systems environment, as increasing number
of business systems are migrating to the cloud. Cloud has penetrated all core business systems, with CRM leading the way
with 26% of respondents reporting a pure cloud environment for CRM. Enterprise Resource Planning and Business Intelligence
systems are still predominantly on-premise.
Growing Importance of Hybrid Environment Support for CRM Strategy: 47% of business respondents and 73% of third-party
systems integrators point to hybrid environment support as either a top priority or important for their business.
Expansion is the Top Business Priority for 2013: Businesses are clear in their priorities in 2013 – they need to sell more, but not
at the expense of customer satisfaction. 73% of business respondents and 80% of systems integrators report revenue growth
as a top priority, followed by increased customer satisfaction and increased revenue by customer. Business systems, whether
customer-facing or supporting critical customer initiatives, need to enable business value faster while allowing line of business
leaders to take good care of existing customers.
Close to 50% Budget Ownership for Core Business Systems is Now Outside of IT: Although IT continues to own a sizeable
portion of the budget, sales, operations and marketing departments together are responsible for 48% of the planned systems
investments in 2013. Same budget ownership split is reported for businesses represented by third-party systems integrators
and consultants. Today’s savvy businesses care about customer data and are willing to pay for the management, distribution,
and analysis of it.
High, but Cautious, Investment Intent in Business Systems in 2013: 44% of business respondents plan to invest more in their
business systems in 2013, although the majority of them are cautious about their level of investment. Close to 60% plan to
increase their systems investment by no more than 20%, as compared to what they spent in 2012.
CRM is Going Mobile: Mobile CRM is growing in importance. 84% of systems integrators and 71% of end businesses rate
Mobile CRM as either important or top priority for their CRM strategy in 2013.
8. 8
Major Findings
The State of Business Systems Integration
Consensus on the Importance of Systems Integration: There is a cross-industry agreement that tighter integration between core
business systems is critical for the success of the business, with respondents placing the highest importance on CRM and BI
integration (74%), followed by CRM and Customer Support Systems (CSS) (73%), CRM and Marketing Automation (71%), and
CRM and ERP (69%). Customer data drives business performance and while multiple systems all have data sets, they need a
definite home for real-time use.
Low Levels of Full System Integration: We are only at the beginning of the integration journey. Only 16% of the businesses
surveyed for this year’s report indicate full integration among their various business systems compared to 15% in 2012. Partial
integration is still the norm, with 10% of enterprises reporting complete lack of integration among systems. The explosion of
customer data sources, coming from digital, social and mobile, makes full system integration a challenge for organizations of
all sizes. Rather than chasing the elusive promise of Big Data, businesses need to focus on integrating and making smart data
available; data that leads to actionable business insights to drive solid decisions across the organization. We expect the trend
towards smart data integration to catch fire in 2013.
Financial Data Still Siloed: The lowest levels of reported between-systems integration are between CRM and ERP, and CRM and
Social, at 13% and 10% respectively. CRM-to-ERP data integration challenges are driven primarily by valid concerns for data
security, governance and reporting. CRM-to-Social data integration is hard because no standards exist. Social platforms are still
evolving, and thus there are no standard ways for capturing or addressing data especially unstructured data.
Systems Integrators Drive Higher System Integration: Businesses who use the help of systems integrator see higher levels
of systems integration across all core business systems, including connecting financial data housed in ERP systems with
customer data stored in CRM systems. The critical role of third-party systems integrators and consultants becomes even more
evident when reviewing the levels of non-integration between systems – businesses serviced by systems integrators report that
they have integrated their systems to at least some level.
9. 9
Major Findings
State of CRM Integration
Data Accuracy and Consistency Key to CRM Systems Value: Aside from the being the storage place for all prospect and customer
information, businesses expect their CRM systems to have the ability to share data among key departments. Companies
prioritize the value of CRM data integration in terms of its ability to drive accuracy and consistency of customer information.
Still No Formal Process for Evaluating Integration: Most businesses (64%) still do not have a formal process for evaluating their
CRM data integration progress. Those who engage systems integrator are more likely to have such a process in place (43%).
KPIs for CRM Data Integration: Businesses measure the return of their CRM data integration in terms of CRM satisfaction (45%),
ability to have a complete view of the customer (43%), and CRM systems adoption (41%). The data suggests the critical link
between data integration and overall CRM success. Failure to integrate CRM with other critical business systems is pushing
18% of respondents to switch to a new system in 2013.
10. 10
Major Findings
Integration Trends
Do-It-Yourself Integration Widespread But on the Decline: Custom code continues to be the main way businesses integrate their
systems. 48% still develop their own custom code in 2013, however there is a significant drop from 2012 when 59% reported
doing so. Other integration methods include pre-built integrations by software vendors (41%) — most probably driven by
proliferation of APIs — followed by the use of third-party integration platform vendors (32%). 32% still use manual data entry or
processes.
Ease of Use the Top Selection Criteria for Data Integration Software: Ease of use trumps all other criteria ranked as most important
by 67% of business respondents and 72% of systems integrators.
Internal IT Are Still the Integration Go-Getters: 80% of businesses continue to rely on their IT organization, while 40% tap into
outside systems integrators or consultants. Although IT continues to own the integration process, IT needs to reach across
the isle and work with their business counterparts, who are increasingly influencing systems selection and purchasing. Such
collaboration will reduce the chance of sustaining or even building new organizational, systems and data silos.
Appetite to Integrate With the Newest Enterprise Tools: Businesses want to learn more about integration with collaboration
platforms such as SharePoint, followed by email and marketing analytics solutions, social networking services, and BYOD.
11. 11
General IT Trends and Customer Priorities
Cloud Adoption by Business System
2013 is indeed the year of the hybrid environment, with the cloud permeating all core business systems. Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) is leading the way with 26% of respondents reporting a pure cloud environment for CRM. Marketing Automation
(MA) comes in second at 19% in the cloud. Sales Force Automation (SFA) is at 16%, with Social CRM at 15%, and Customer Service
at 14%. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Business Intelligence (BI) systems are still predominantly on-premise or provisioned
through a hybrid environment. With security concerns still rampant for sensitive financial and business intelligence data, ERP and BI
will remain largely on-premise systems in the immediate future.
Cloud adoption has significantly penetrated business systems, as compared to 2012 when 16% reported that they were operating
some or all of their business systems within a cloud-only environment.
General IT Trends and Customer Priorities
26%
19%
16%
15%
14%
6%
5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
CRM
Marke2ng
Automa2on
Sales
Force
Automa2on
Social
CRM
Customer
Service
Enterprise
Resources
Mgmt
Business
Intelligence
Cloud Penetration Among Business Systems in 2013
n=765
12. 12
Importance of Hybrid Support for CRM Strategy
It is not surprising to see that
45% of business respondents
state that hybrid environment
support is either a top priority
or important for their CRM
strategy is 2013. Such support
is deemed of higher importance
amongst systems integrators
and consultants, who are at the
forefront of implementing new IT
systems for the enterprise. 73%
of systems integrators rate hybrid
support as either important or a
top priority. Expect to see more
businesses waking up to the
importance of both hybrid and
cloud in 2013 and beyond.
General IT Trends and Customer Priorities
8%
37%
37%
18%
9%
64%
13%
15%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Top
Priority
Important
Not
Important
Don't
Know
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
Importance of Hybrid Environment Support for CRM Strategy in 2013
n=765
n=150
13. 13
73%
59%
47%
42%
68%
55%
45%
39%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Increased
Sales
Increased
Customer
Sa<sfac<on
Increased
Revenue
per
Customer
Increased
Leads
2013
2012
Top Customer Priorities
With economies on a more
stable track globally, the order
of business in 2013 continues
to be to increase total sales, as
reported by 73% of business
respondents and 80% of
systems integrators. Increased
customer satisfaction and
increased revenue by customer
are respectively secondary and
tertiary objectives.
Compared to 2012, the level of
reported importance of these
priorities has increased. It is
clear that businesses need to
find better, more nimble ways
to impact topline revenue
and revenues from existing
customers, while keeping
customer satisfaction in check.
General IT Trends and Customer Priorities
Top Customer Priorities in 2013 Compared to 2012
n=687
n=139
14. 14
Lines of Business Effectiveness
The majority of respondents continue to highly rate
the effectiveness of their colleagues across functions.
Sales continues to earn the highest marks – rated as
highly effective or effective by 76% of respondents
(compared to 74% in 2012). Customer Service teams
follow at 72% (compared to 68% on 2012). Marketing
at 71% (compared to 63% in 2012) and Business
Analytics teams at 58% (compared to 54% in 2012),
report the highest improvement rates. The bumps
in effectiveness from 2012 correlate with the levels
of adoption of systems and automation within those
functions.
Although most functions continue to get high marks
on effectiveness internally, businesses need to look
deeper into how customers and prospects think
those functions are actually doing; especially since
smart, data-dependent growth from the existing
customer base is reported as a high priority. Such
external measurements require new types of data
collection and tracking. One important metric to
consider for tracking the health of the customer
franchise is the Net Promoter Score (NPS). It enables
businesses to benchmark what percentage of their
customers are true advocates, those who are neutral,
and those likely to defect the enterprise. Social and
behavioral data can be used to identify, target and
service customers with low levels of satisfaction.
General IT Trends and Customer Priorities
74%
68%
63%
54%
12%
13%
21%
24%
14%
17%
15%
21%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Sales
Customer
Service
Marke<ng
Business
Analy<cs
Effec<ve
Not
Effec<ve
Don't
Know
Effectiveness of Lines of Business: 2012
n=139
76%
72%
71%
58%
8%
10%
14%
21%
16%
18%
16%
22%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Sales
Customer
Service
Marke;ng
Business
Analy;cs
Effec;ve
Not
Effec;ve
Don't
Know
Effectiveness of Lines of Business: 2013
n=687
15. 15
Budget Ownership for Customer Systems
It is now clear that IT is splitting the budget ownership for customer-facing systems
investment and expansion. This year almost half of businesses report that their
sales, operations and marketing departments combine to hold over 65% of this
budget. This stands true for all companies regardless of revenue size. However, the
scales have already tipped for enterprise-level businesses with 49% of the budget
controlled outside of IT. In those businesses, sales and marketing tend to own the
lion’s share of the systems, budget at 22% and 17% respectively.
Furthermore, we see that systems integrators are also moving beyond corporate IT
and are increasingly collaborating with sales, operations and marketing to select,
implement and customize business IT systems.
A new survey from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, Big Data’s Biggest
Role: Aligning the CMO & CIO, points to how close marketing and IT executives
have come together in their thinking this year bound by a common directive – to
work together on using analytics to make core data available across the organization
for actionable business insights. According to this survey, the majority of marketers
and IT executives state that the relationship between the two departments is critical
to the execution of customer-centric programs. Sadly very few organizations are
achieving such collaboration in practices — only 4 % of marketers and 7 % of
IT executives in the CMO Council survey believed they were indeed prepared to
exploit the proliferation of data and channels, despite their shared conviction that
technology was the underpinning that shaped the entire customer experience.
These findings confirm the trend of IT budgets now moving beyond IT and into
all core lines of business – further supporting the estimates by Gartner and other
analysts that by 2017 the CMO will replace the CTO as the owner of the higher
portions of the IT budget for the enterprise.
General IT Trends and Customer Priorities
33%
35%
15%
15%
0%
20%
40%
60%
IT
Sales
Opera4ons
Marke4ng
45%
21%
15%
13%
0%
20%
40%
60%
IT
Sales
Opera4ons
Marke4ng
Business Respondents
n=460
Third-Party Systems Integrators
n=107
16. 16
44% of business respondents share plans to invest more in their customer systems in 2013, a 10% increase since 2012. There was
also a drop in the number of respondents with no plan for increased customer systems investment – 25% reported in 2013 compared
to 27% in 2012. Systems integrators are much more upbeat about the market, expecting over 71% of their clients to invest in
customer-facing systems in 2013. Respondents from the enterprise segment also report higher likelihood of investments in customer
systems – 49% of businesses with revenues over $100 million plan to invest more in 2013.
When asked about the levels of planned investment, 60% of respondents were cautiously optimistic — expecting moderate
investments in their customer-facing systems of up to 20% — while 10% of the respondents plan to invest 50% or more compared to
their budgets in 2012.
Enterprise-level companies are more bullish about their levels of planned investment in customer systems; 14% of respondents from
the enterprise segment ($100 million + in revenue) share plans to invest more than 50% in customers systems in 2013:
10% Increase in Companies Planning to Invest in Customer Systems in 2013
General IT Trends and Customer Priorities
44%
25%
32%
71%
4%
25%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Yes
No
Don't
Know
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
32%
24%
22%
9%
14%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0-‐10%
11-‐20%
21-‐30%
31-‐50%
51%+
38%
21%
19%
11%
10%
17%
41%
31%
7%
4%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0-‐10%
11-‐20%
21-‐30%
31-‐50%
51%+
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
n=699
Intentions to Invest in Customer-Facing
Systems in 2013
n=150
Business
Respondents
Third-Party
Systems
Integrators
n=429
If Yes, by How Much as Compared to 2012?
n=100
Business
Respondents
Third-Party
Systems
Integrators
Plans to Invest in Customer Systems in
2013 Enterprise Segment ($100M+)
n=149
17. 17
71%
84%
20%
8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
Top
Priority
Not
Important
CRM is Going Mobile
Mobile CRM is growing in importance — 71% of end businesses and 84% of systems integrators rate Mobile CRM as either
important or top priority for their CRM strategy in 2013. On the opposite side of the spectrum, only 20% of business bespondents
rank it as non-important in 2013 vs. 35% in 2012.
General IT Trends and Customer Priorities
Importance of Mobile CRM for CRM Strategy in 2013
n=765 n=150
18. 18
16%
49%
18%
10%
6%
19%
64%
11%
6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Fully
Integrated
Par:ally
Integrated
Only
Componants
Integrated
Not
Integrated
Don't
Know
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
15%
50%
21%
14%
26%
62%
12%
0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Fully
Integrated
Par9ally
Integrated
Only
Componants
Integrated
Not
Integrated
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
Levels of Integration Between Business Systems
In this new age of Big Data and real-time analytics and decisions, it’s disappointing that most businesses did not make substantial
strides toward getting their systems more closely integrated. In 2013 only 16% of businesses report full levels of integration among
business systems, compared to 15% in 2012. Analyzing the responses from systems integrators, we witness a very similar trend
– only 19% of systems integrators report that their clients’ systems are fully integrated. Partial or components integration is still the
norm across enterprises of all sizes. Although complete lack of integration is on the decline, the enterprise still has a ways to go in
order to shed operational silos and to get its core systems talking to each other across the enterprise.
The State of Business Systems Integration
Levels of Systems Integration: 2012 Levels of Systems Integration: 2013
n=141
n=115
Business
Respondents
Third-Party
Systems
Integrators
n=699
n=136
Business
Respondents
Third-Party
Systems
Integrators
19. 19
66%
68%
60%
59%
52%
60%
34%
13%
10%
16%
20%
21%
17%
37%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
CRM
&
Business
Intelligence
CRM
&
Customer
Service
CRM
&
MarkeCng
AutomaCon
CRM
&
Enterprise
Resources
Mgmt
CRM
&
Mobile
CRM
&
Sales
Force
AutomaCon
CRM
&
Social
The Importance of Business Systems Integration
The majority of
business respondents
rank tighter integration
between core
business systems
as critical. And not
surprising, we see a
new type of system,
Business Intelligence,
as the leader in
the demand for
integration. Integration
between BI and CRM
systems ranked as
either very important
or important by
74% of respondents
compared to 66% in
2012. Consistent with
the stated business
priorities, Customer
Service and Marketing
Automation systems
integration with CRM
continues to be in the
top three.
The State of Business Systems Integration
Importance of Business Systems Integration with CRM: 2012
n=141
Important
Not Important
Importance of Business Systems Integration: 2013
74%
73%
71%
70%
66%
62%
47%
11%
10%
13%
14%
15%
15%
27%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
CRM
&
Business
Intelligence
CRM
&
Customer
Service
CRM
&
MarkeBng
AutomaBon
CRM
&
Enterprise
Resources
Mgmt
CRM
&
Mobile
CRM
&
Sales
Force
AutomaBon
CRM
&
Social
n=699
Important
Not Important
20. 20
24%
22%
21%
16%
14%
13%
10%
30%
32%
33%
21%
21%
21%
16%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
CRM
&
Customer
Service
CRM
&
Marke;ng
Automa;on
CRM
&
Sales
Force
Automa;on
CRM
&
Business
Intelligence
CRM
&
Mobile
CRM
&
Enterprise
Resource
Mgmt
CRM
&
Social
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
Between-Systems Integration
Although there is strong consensus among
business respondents and systems integrators on
the importance of between-systems integration,
enterprises of all sizes still have a ways to go to make
such integration a reality. The highest reported level
of system integration between core business systems
is between CRM and Customer Service (24%), CRM
and MA (22%), and CRM and SFA (21%). Businesses
who use the help of systems integrator see higher
levels of between-systems integration across all core
business systems, including connecting financial data
housed in ERP systems with customer data stored
in CRM systems. These findings are in line with the
results from our 2012 State of Data Integration survey,
pointing to the critical role systems integrators and
consultants play in achieving tighter integration
between systems.
A note on the importance of data integration to BI
success – according to Ventana Research, when
it comes to analytics, 44% of organizations spend
the most time on data-related tasks. With a lack of
resources being the largest issue, Ventana urges IT to
operate more efficiently and look to data integration
solutions to get business leaders the data they need
on a timely basis.
The State of Business Systems Integration
Business Respondents
Third-Party
Systems Integrators
Levels of Between-Systems Integration: 2013
n=699
21. 21
The Critical Role of the Partner
The critical role of third-party systems integrators and consultants becomes even more evident when looking at the levels of non-
integration between systems. In line with the findings in the 2012 edition of this report, businesses report between 38%-66% of non-
integration depending on the type of system. This percentage drops dramatically for businesses serviced by systems integrators or
consultants, from 9-26% as shown in the graph below:
The State of Business Systems Integration
Levels of Non-Integrated Core Business Systems: 2012 Levels of Non-Integrated Core Business Systems: 2013
n=141
n=115
Business Respondents
Third-Party
Systems Integrators
39%
41%
44%
43%
62%
40%
62%
8%
8%
13%
9%
12%
4%
21%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Customer
Service
Marke:ng
Automa:on
Sales
Force
Automa:on
Business
Intelligence
Mobile
Enterprise
Resources
Mgmt
Social
38%
39%
47%
42%
56%
44%
66%
11%
12%
19%
13%
20%
9%
26%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Customer
Service
Marke<ng
Automa<on
Sales
Force
Automa<on
Business
Intelligence
Mobile
Enterprise
Resources
Mgmt
Social
n=699
n=147
Business Respondents
Third-Party
Systems Integrators
22. 22
CRM Systems Value
This year we asked respondents
to share the criteria they use to
evaluate the business value of
their CRM system(s). Aside from
being central hub for prospect
and customer information,
businesses look to their CRM
systems to have the ability
to share data amongst key
departments including sales,
marketing, finance and customer
service. Businesses also look to
their CRM systems to provide
reporting on the health of their
sales and marketing pipelines
and activities. It is clear that
businesses are looking to big and
small data to help them do their
jobs better and to help inform
decisions across all lines of
business.
The State of CRM Integration
Top Criteria for Evaluating Value of CRM Systems
n=687
74%
73%
58%
51%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Ability
to
store
all
prospect
or
customer
informa>on
in
one
place
Ability
to
share
data
among
sales,
marke>ng,
finance
&
customer
service
Ability
to
run
reports
on
the
health
of
your
sales
pipeline
Ability
to
run
marke>ng
reports
(number
of
leads,
number
of
qualified
leads)
23. 23
Importance of CRM Data Integration
The State of CRM Integration
Given the importance of sharing prospect and customer data among departments, it’s not surprising to see that businesses rank the
value of CRM data integration in terms of its ability to allow more accuracy and consistency of customer information (rated as 66%
and 51% in 2013 compared to 63% and 60% in 2012). Corollary to accuracy and consistency, businesses rate holistic view and
timelines of customer information as the other two important drivers of CRM integration value. This is because having a holistic view
of the customer is becoming more challenging by the day. A recent Altimeter report, The Converged Media Imperative, states that the
average person sees over 3,000 brand messages a day and points out that some consumer journeys could have 75 digital variance
per touch point across content sources, channels, and screens. Capturing these touch points and their variances is becoming more
important to all business leaders looking to understand their customers, offering content and communications that are of unique and
immediate value to them.
66%
51%
40%
40%
29%
29%
7%
63%
60%
41%
33%
32%
20%
5%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Accuracy
of
Informa8on
Consistency
of
Informa8on
Master
Record
Management
/
Holis8c
View
Timeliness
of
Informa8on
Consolidated
Repor8ng
Cost
Reduc8on
Staff
Reduc8on
2013
2012
n=634
n=131
The Importance of CRM Data Integration
24. 24
No Formal Process for Evaluating Integration
The State of CRM Integration
Similar to the findings from 2012, most businesses (64%) still do not have a formal process for evaluating their CRM data integration
process. Businesses that employ the services of systems integrators or consultants tend to benefit from a more formal project
management process leading to their better ability to articulate both the operational benefits and the returns on CRM integration
initiatives. This can be attributed to a higher level of discipline when outsourcing, as businesses usually require vendors to provide
clear ROI to justify the costs and benefits of their services. The encouraging news is that this disciplined approach is making its
way into internally managed projects as well. More businesses have embraced a formal evaluation philosophy for assessing data
integration projects driven by internal teams – 22% of business respondents in 2013 report having such a process compared to 17%
in 2012. This percentage is higher for enterprise-level businesses ($100M+ in revenue), among whom 30% report having a formal
process for evaluating CRM data integration.
22%
64%
15%
43%
44%
13%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Yes
No
Don't
know
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
17%
70%
13%
51%
37%
12%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Yes
No
Don't
know
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
n=106
Formal Process for Evaluating CRM Data Integration: 2012 Formal Process for Evaluating CRM Data Integration: 2013
n=602n=131
n=120
25. 25
Rising Importance of the Three Core Benefits of CRM Integration
The State of CRM Integration
Businesses measure the return on their CRM data integration first, in terms of user satisfaction — with satisfaction closely tied to the
ability to achieve a complete view of the customer and CRM system adoption.
The importance of these benefits of CRM data integration has risen since 2012. CRM system satisfaction is rated at the top by 45%
of respondents in 2013 compared to 28% in 2012. It is clear that organizations understand that without ease of use and actual CRM
system usage, they will not impact business results in a meaningful way.
45%
43%
41%
38%
38%
25%
21%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
CRM
system
sa4fac4on
Complete
view
of
customer
CRM
system
adop4on
Ease
of
repor4ng
Ability
to
view
all
customer
informa4on
Faster
issue
resolu4on
Reduc4on
in
customer
service
issues
Measuring Return on CRM Data Integration: 2012 Measuring Return on CRM Data Integration: 2013
n=131 n=634
In this instance, the 2012 chart reflects a single-selction answer set, whereas the 2013 chart reflects a multi-selection answer set.
Note
31%
28%
18%
10%
5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Ability
to
view
all
customer
informa=on
CRM
system
sa=fac=on
CRM
system
adop=on
Faster
issue
resolu=on
Reduc=on
in
customer
service
issues
26. 26
Rising Importance of the Three Core Benefits of CRM Integration (cont).
The State of CRM Integration
Given the heightened importance of CRM systems adoption and satisfaction, we asked businesses to share their current levels of
satisfaction with their CRM systems. Most report they are either very or somewhat satisfied with their CRM system, although 14%
indicate low levels of satisfaction.
Combining the responses of the neutral, somewhat unsatisfied and unsatisfied, with those who share that they are looking to switch
within the next 12 months, we see that between 14% and 25% of business respondents are looking to either switch or are in the
process of switching their CRM system this year. This points to the heightened need for CRM systems vendor to continuously improve
the business value and user experience of their solutions. Tighter integration of CRM systems with other core business systems is
one critical way to equip business users with accurate and timely information to serve their prospects and customers better; therefore
increasing overall CRM system satisfaction while driving more business value.
34%
41%
11%
10%
4%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Very
Sa0sfied
Somewhat
Sa0sfied
Neither
Sa0sfied
nor
Unsa0sfied
Somewhat
Unsa0sfied
Unsa0sfied
Likelihood to Switch CRM Systems in 2013
n=76
Satisfaction with CRM Systems
n=699
14%
4%
8%
74%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Yes,
in
the
next
1-‐12
months
Yes,
in
12+
months
Unsure
No
plans
to
change
27. 27
Do-It-Yourself Integration is Widespread but on the Decline
The State of Integration
Custom code continues to be the way businesses are integrating their business systems in 2013. Although we see a significant drop
in its use from 2012, (48% now vs. 59% in 2012), custom coding is still rampant despite being costly and rarely scalable for the
enterprise. Custom code coupled with manual data entry costs businesses millions of dollars annually, although such costs may not
be immediately visible to IT and business leaders.
These hidden costs of custom and manual data integration impact the enterprise in multiple ways. The loss of real time data and
analytics is a tremendous opportunity-cost for businesses and affects their ability to drive revenue and customer satisfaction. Custom
code also increases the total cost of enterprise IT systems ownership by adding resources for training, development time from IT,
along with ongoing maintenance costs. Custom code may not always anticipate new and diverse use cases and all the possible
hiccups in data conversion resulting in loss of data or added time to de-duplicate or reconcile data. For example, Ventata Research
found that combining spreadsheets is time-consuming in more than half (56%) of organizations, mostly due to getting the data into the
right shape.
59%
38%
45%
35%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Custom
code
wri7en
internally
Manual
data
entry
or
process
(loading
via
Excel
or
other
batch
files)
3rd
party
soGware
product(s)
Custom
code
wri7en
by
a
consultant
48%
41%
32%
32%
31%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Custom
code
wri6en
internally
Pre-‐built
integra?on
provided
by
vendor
Manual
data
entry
or
process
(loading
via
Excel
or
other
batch
files)
3rd
party
soIware
product(s)
Custom
code
wri6en
by
a
consultant
Methods of Systems Integration: 2013
n=634
Methods of Systems Integration: 2012
n=129
28. 28
Do-It-Yourself Integration is Widespread but on the Decline (cont).
The State of Integration
The most quoted reason for the use of custom code is the perceived need for customization for company specific needs and the
ability of integration software options to address these needs. They also believe that custom code is both easier to customize and a
cheaper option than other available alternatives despite the proven experience that standardization drives costs down. With the rise
of hybrid environments, the existence of multiple business systems within the enterprise, coupled with the rate of change of software
vendors’ APIs, custom code now more than ever is becoming an obsolete way to deal with connectivity issues. We feel it is incumbent
upon us at Scribe and other data integration platform providers to continue to educate the market on the benefits of platform
integration, leading to substantial savings in time, resources and cost, which may currently be hidden.
32%
32%
18%
7%
7%
6%
3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Integra3on
so6ware
doesn't
handle
my
needs
Easier
to
code
things
exactly
the
way
we
want
them
Less
expensive
than
purchasing
a
so6ware
product
Always
used
custom
code;
didn't
consider
a
so6ware
product
Don't
have
the
3me
or
resources
to
learn
another
so6ware
product
Too
risky
to
rip
out
&
replace
with
something
else
Unaware
of
the
benefits
of
integra3on
solou3on
Reasons for Using Custom Code for Systems Integration
n=634
29. 29
Top Selection Criteria for Data Integration Software
The State of Integration
The top considerations for both businesses and systems integrators when choosing data integration software continue to be ease
of use and cost, although ease of use has surpassed cost considerations. As the demands of the new data world force businesses
to recognize the value of data integration as a utility and as it becomes much more accessible and easier to use, we predict that the
adoption of innovative third-party integration platforms will continue to rise in 2013.
62%
62%
58%
57%
68%
75%
64%
56%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Ease
of
use
Cost
Built
for
the
biz
app
we
want
to
integrate
with
Scalability
&
performance
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
67%
66%
51%
49%
72%
71%
54%
64%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Ease
of
use
Cost
Built
for
the
biz
app
we
want
to
integrate
with
Scalability
&
performance
Business
Respondents
Third-‐Party
System
Integrators
Top Selection Criteria: 2012 Top Selection Criteria: 2013
n=634 n=120n=131 n=106
30. 30
Who Implements Integration?
The State of Integration
The top considerations for both businesses and systems integrators when choosing data integration software continue to be ease
of use and cost, although ease of use has surpassed cost considerations. As the demands of the new data world force businesses
to recognize the value of data integration as a utility and as it becomes much more accessible and easier to use, we predict that the
adoption of innovative third-party integration platforms will continue to rise in 2013.
Interest in Other Integration Trends in 2013
The new types of systems implemented by businesses
and the related new data types, increase businesses’
appetite for new data connectors. Businesses continue
to show strong interests in learning about integrating
with social collaboration platforms, such as Microsoft
SharePoint. Next in line are email and marketing
analytics solutions integration and integration of social
data, cloud and hybrid data and BYOD.
86%
35%
15%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Our
IT
Organiza5on
Outside
Systems
Integrator
or
Consultant
Integra5on
Vendor
Professional
Services
80%
40%
16%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Our
IT
Organiza3on
Outside
Systems
Integrator
or
Consultant
Integra3on
Vendor
Professional
Services
51%
44%
35%
33%
30%
25%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
SharePoint
or
other
collabora8on
tools
Email
&
marke8ng
analy8cs
solou8ons
Social
networking
services
Saas
or
Cloud-‐
based
services
Hybrid
environments
Growth
of
bring
your
own
device
n=131 n=630
Who Implements Integration: 2012
n=634
Who Implements Integration: 2013
31. 31
22%
15%
22%
13%
29%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
<
$5M
$5
-‐
$10M
$11
-‐
$50M
$51
-‐
$100M
$101M+
Business Respondents
Survey Participant Demographics
2%
2%
3%
4%
6%
7%
7%
8%
8%
14%
14%
21%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Entertainment
Energy
Insurance
Telecommunica<ons
Retail
Government
/
Public
Sector
Technology
(hardware)
Finance
Healthcare
Manufacturing
Professional
Services
Technology
(soMware)
Company Revenue
n=612
Industry
n=612
32. 32
Location
Survey Participant Demographics
Organization Role
Seniority Level Core Business System in Use
65%
10%
9%
7%
3%
2%
2%
1%
1%
United
States
European
Union
Canada
United
Kingdom
Australia
&
New
Zealand
South
America
Worldwide
Asian
Pacific
Middle
East
&
S.
Africa
63%
11%
9%
7%
3%
6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
IT
Marke4ng
Opera4ons
Sales
Finance
Other
29%
32%
18%
14%
8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Analyst
Mid-‐Level
Mgmt
Senior
Mgmt
ExecuDve
Other
n=606
n=612-154
n=612 n=765
100%
72%
63%
61%
59%
42%
36%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
CRM
Enterprise
Resource
Mgmt
Business
Intelligence
Salesforce
AutomaDon
Customer
Service
Social
CRM
MarkeDng
AutomaDon
33. 33
Core Business Systems in Use
Top CRM Systems in Use
Similar to 2012, all businesses surveyed use a CRM system or a combination of CRM systems. Top CRM Systems in use include
Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Salesfore.com, Siebel/Oracle, NetSuite, SAP and Sugar CRM.
Top Sales Force Automation (SFA) Systems
61% of respondents reported using a specific SFA system for their business. Top SFA systems include Microsoft, NetSuite,
Salesforce.com, SalesLogix, SAP, Oracle Siebel, and SugarCRM.
Top Marketing Automation (MA) Systems
36% of respondents indicate they are currently using a dedicated MA system such as ClickDimensions, Marketo, ExactTarget,
CoreMotives, Eloqua, HubSpot and Silverpop.
Top Customer Service Support (CSS) Systems
59% of respondents indicate they are using a dedicated CSS system such as Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, Salesforce.com, Sage
CRM, Get Satisfaction and NetSuite.
Top Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems
72% of respondents reported using a dedicated ERP system such as Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains,
Microsoft Dynamics NAV, NetSuite, PeopleSoft, Oracle, Epicor, Lawson, SAP, Intact and Sage ERP.
Top Business Intelligence (BI) Systems
72% of respondents indicate they are currently using a BI system such as Microsoft, Cognos, GoodData, Information Builders,
MicroStrategy, Oracle, SAP and SAS.
Social CRM Systems in Use
41% of respondents report that they are already using a Social CRM system. Top Social CRM systems in use include Microsoft,
Salesforce.com, NetSuite, SAP, Sage and Jive.
34. 34
Additional Industry Resources
Scribe Software Industry Report:
State of Customer Data Integration 2012: The What, Why and How of CRM Integration
Scribe Software Industry Report:
SMB CRM Integration 2012: IT Pain Points and Investments 2013
Scribe Software Convergence Session:
The CMO Imperative – Data-Driven Results
Ventana Research, Mark Smoth:
Businesses Can Turn to Scribe for Data Integration In the Cloud Times
Forbes, Louis Columbus:
Personas Are The Future of Enterprise Apps: Lessons Learned From Scribe Software
35. 35
About Scribe Software
Scribe Software is an established global provider of solutions that easily bring customer data anywhere it’s needed – regardless
of IT infrastructure. Scribe’s award-winning products help 12,000 customers and 1,000 partners use customer data – cloud-
based, on-premise or a mix – to increase revenue, provide superior service, and create business value faster. Its easy-to-use,
enterprise-ready solutions are backed by extensive support options and training, and service customers across a wide array of
industries including financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, and media and entertainment companies.
For more information, please visit www.scribesoft.com, follow Scribe on Twitter, or subscribe to the Scribe Blog.
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