I've been preoccupied on a development project, so haven't had the time to read RTB's "CEO Observations on the Quarter and Year Ending December 31, 2002".
I just now skimmed it. Will read it for analysis later on when I have more time.
While skimming, I found an interesting paragraph regarding Microsoft CRM.
Impact of Microsoft's Entry into the CRM Market
This event is one of the most important events in the CRM market's history. For some companies, it may be viewed as a nightmare. For others, it is a dream come true. The impact on Firstwave is definitely viewed as a positive influence, for these reasons:
1. Relatively small market overlap. In their product launch activities, Microsoft described their target market and their focus. We understand that Microsoft announced that they would focus on the first two segments of the CRM market as the market is often defined:
a) SMB CRM with 1 - 25 employees: 5,100,000 Businesses
b) Mid-Market CRM with 25 - 500 employees: 640,000 Businesses
c) Mid-Enterprise CRM with 500 - 5,000 employees: 15,000 Businesses
d) Enterprise CRM with greater than 5,000 employees: 1,700 Businesses
Source: Aberdeen Group and U.S. Bureau of the Census, October 2001
Firstwave has not focused on the first sector (the Small Businesses).
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Oh, really? Then they better tell the Gartner Group CRM sector analysts about that.
"Firstwave is pleased to be back on Gartner's radar screen as a vendor specializing in the SMB market," commented Richard Brock, Firstwave's President and CEO. "Most CRM vendors offer either one-size-fits-all solutions or high-end systems that are essentially re-built for each customer in order to meet the company's need. This is costly and time consuming. Firstwave is one of the only vendors who provides the best of both worlds to SMB's," explained Brock.
firstwave.net
Sounds like more of the famous salesman's "tell 'em what they want to hear" hyperbole. He tells Gartner that FSTW focuses on SMB when Gartner is doing research on CRM for SMB, then tells investors they don't focus on SMB when Microsoft threatens that market.
Aaaarrrggghhhh !!
No wonder they're not getting any analyst coverage. The story changes too frequently.
TED |
