Market Perspectives

We are happy to share insights about SugarCRM, drawn from our latest research, the Revenue Performance Management Value Index, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.

In all our Value Indexes, we utilize a structured research methodology that includes evaluation categories designed to reflect real-world criteria incorporated in a request for proposal and vendor selection process for analytics and business intelligence. We evaluated SugarCRM and 11 other vendors in seven categories, five relevant to the product (Adaptability, Capability, Manageability, Reliability and Usability) and two related to the vendor (Total Cost of Ownership/Return on Investment and Vendor Validation). To arrive at the Value Index rating for a given vendor, we weighted each category to reflect its relative importance in an RFP process, with the weightings based on our experience and on data derived from our Benchmark Research on Revenue Performance Management.

SugarCRM was categorized as Vendor of Merit, ranking eighth overall in this Value Index assessment. It ranked eighth in Product Experience, where it performed best in Adaptability. It also ranked eighth in Customer Experience, and performed best in Validation. Its overall performance was impacted by its lower rankings in TCO/ROI and Manageability, which represent 25% of the weighting in the overall Value Index.

Our assessment finds that SugarCRM could perform better in Capability by broadening the offerings to support more revenue performance needs in territory and quota planning. In TCO/ROI, the company could better articulate its business case by focusing more on the benefits of the application rather than features and technology. Organizations evaluating SugarCRM should examine the vendor’s approach for sales that support RPM.

SugarCRM did not actively participate in the evaluation process and request for information for this Value Index. This assessment was based on SugarCRM’s products that support RPM and were available in 2021, and through publicly available information. Since this Value Index was published, SugarCRM released Sugar Sell 11.2.0, which added a variety of user interface/user experience enhancements as well as improvements to calendar, SugarPredict and SugarLive.

Prospective customers should look at their organization’s evolution in moving from a sales focus to a revenue focus and better understand whether existing processes and technology are a strong enough foundation for where the organization is today as well as where it is going. The added complexity of adopting multiple selling channels and a broader number of roles directly linked to revenue prompts a reassessment of whether existing processes and technology support the necessary balance of resources, incentives, and performance tracking to align all the teams involved.

This research-based index is the most comprehensive assessment of the value of Revenue Performance Management software in the industry. Technology buyers can learn more about how to use our Value Index by clicking here, and included vendors that wish to learn more can click here. Read the report here.