IBM Creates New Software Company To Develop and Deploy Comprehensive Customer Relationship Management Solutions
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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (August 11, 1998) – -IBM Corporation today announced the creation of an independent software company that will focus on the high-growth customer relationship management (CRM) market. This company will operate as an independent business headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with sales, development, and support locations worldwide.
W. Scott Webber, former Chief Executive Officer of Software Artistry, will serve as CEO of the new company, which will report to its own Board of Directors.
”CRM is the concept whereby an organization takes a comprehensive view of its customer to maximize the customer’s relationship with an organization and the customer’s profitability for the company,” said Carter J. Lusher, vice president, customer service and support strategies (CS3), Gartner Group. ”Gartner Group’s Dataquest estimates that less than 20 percent of this market has been penetrated in the United States, with the European and Asia/Pacific markets virtually untapped, demonstrating our belief that there is no clear cut market leader to date.”
The Gartner Group estimates the CRM market space will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 44 percent by the year 2002, and this growth rate could increase with the certain market stimulants such as the accelerated adoption of e-commerce.
To help organizations create profitable, enduring customer relationships, the new company will offer sophisticated software products that address all aspects of front-office enterprise-level needs. These business applications will include the areas of marketing, sales, customer service, and support. The company will also provide the enabling technologies that facilitate enterprise-wide legacy system integration, decision support solutions, and advanced customer access, including computer telephony.
”Companies in all industries are fundamentally challenged to rethink the nature of customer relationships as the forces of deregulation, globalization and e-business dramatically alter the competitive landscape,” said Mr. Webber. ”Given this reality, a company’s ability to maintain and manage customer relationships will dramatically impact its long-term financial success, and helping companies succeed through advanced CRM strategies is our mission.”
This new company will bring together a range of IBM applications and resources including: the Software Artistry software suite for managing the entire customer relationship lifecycle; the call center technologies and products from Early, Cloud & Co.; and the software development teams for computer telephony products such as Callpath and DirectTalk. By integrating these assets into one business and centralizing efforts, the new company is poised to offer customers the broadest and most robust set of CRM solutions available in the market today.
The new software business will be backed by the strength and global reach of IBM, including its massive, industry-specific sales channel, and its market-leading services capabilities.
”Customers are telling us that CRM is the most significant business issue as they transition to a networked, or e-business, environment,” said Linda S. Sanford, General Manager, IBM Global Industries, who will serve as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. ”With this new independent company we are committing the necessary resources and skills to lead in what we expect to be a very high-growth market.”
Source: IBM