Abstract

This IDC study examines the CRM applications market for 2016–2018 and the revenue and market shares of the leading vendors for 2018. It includes tables and charts mapping the market shares of Western European vendors in six functional categories: marketing, sales, customer service, call centers, digital commerce, and advertising applications.

"The CRM applications market in Europe continues to grow strongly and offers excellent revenue growth opportunities for vendors. Five of the six functional markets are substantial with revenues over $1.5 billion — the exception being digital commerce — and all but one market, contact centers, are growing at a double-digit CAGR to 2023," said Gerry Brown, CX research director, IDC European Software Group.

"Although larger CRM/CX platform vendors dominate, there is plenty of room for start-ups, especially those with innovative AI software applications, to thrive," he said. "Embedded AI is fast becoming a 'must-have' for CRM applications that need to offer 'the next level up' in functionality to entice new purchases from enterprise buyers. Salesforce exerts a strong grip on the marketplace and continues to grow its market share. However, its excellent growth rates are being shadowed by those of Microsoft, Adobe, and Google. These are powerful and well-resourced rivals that are ramping up their CRM marketplace investments. Salesforce will need to continue to execute with its customary excellence to fend off their challenge."

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