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Competitive Overview
The competitive field within the CRM industry is diverse with a multitude of systems-based solutions available to businesses.
Direct Competitors
Symbiosis’ most direct competitor is Zurmo, the only web-based, stand-alone CRM system that offers gamification features to encourage user participation. Other direct competitors, such as CRM Gamified and WaveAccess, are CRM add-ons that apply gamification features to existing CRM systems. Direct competitors include:
- Zurmo
- WaveAccess
- CRM Gamified
Indirect Competitors
Symbiosis’ indirect competitors consist of web-based CRM systems that offer a wide range of business management services that are not solely focused on traditional CRM applications. Indirect competitors include:
- MindBody Online
- BizAutomation
- Zoho
- Small Business Web
Additional major competitors are web-based CRM systems whose core features include contact databases, contact tagging systems, reporting systems and email/phone integration. Though these companies boast the largest market share in the CRM industry, they do not directly compete with Symbiosis as they do not offer gamification features. Indirect competitors include:
- Salesforce
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Oracle
- SAP CRM
Direct Competitors
The following table provides information on the businesses that the Company has identified as direct competitors:
Owner/CEO |
Bill Johnson, CEO |
Jason Green |
Subsidiary of UruIT DynamiX |
Subsidiary of c360 Solutions |
Headquarters |
San Diego, CA |
Cliffton Park, New York |
Miami, Florida |
Henderson, NV |
Year Founded |
2012 |
2012 |
2011 |
2000 |
Website URL |
SolidSolutions.com |
Zurmo.org |
CRMGamified.com |
Wave-Access.com |
Phone # |
555-555-5555 |
N/A |
N/A |
866-311-2467 |
Type of Entity |
Private |
Private |
Subsidiary |
Subsidiary |
# of Employees |
5 |
25+ |
N/A |
N/A |
Product Overview |
Web-based CRM that encourages user adoption, increased sales frequency and volume, increased customer retention and loyalty and decrease customer service and sales cost |
Open sourced, web-based CRM that is mobile, social and gamified |
Add-on to Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM that applies gamification techniques to encourage CRM adoption by users by rewarding them for their actions and achieved goals |
Add-on to Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM that applies gamification techniques to encourage CRM adoption by users by rewarding them for their actions and achieved goals |
Key Features |
Tarantula gamification platform, contact management, activity management, deal tracking, security, personalize, social media integration, sales funnels, financial analytics and reporting, email/phone integration, mobile application |
Gamification platform, contact management, activity management, deal tracking, security, personalize, social media integration, sales funnels, financial analytics and reporting, email/phone integration, mobile application |
Combines high professionalism with fun and healthy competition between users and teams, oriented to measure results, customizable actions and rewards, social integration |
Assign points for customizable desired user actions which are tracked via a leader board |
Pricing |
$15, $30, $40, and $60/month depending on # of users |
Free while in beta/testing |
N/A |
Free download |
Strengths |
Unique, customizable, applicable to multiple industries, easy to learn/use, effective |
Unique, first gamified CRM to market, customizable, applicable to multiple industries |
Customizable, applicable to multiple industries, sold on Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace (PinPoint) |
Customizable, sold on Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace (PinPoint) |
Weaknesses |
New to the industry |
New to the industry, still in beta/testing, no proof of concept |
Tied to Microsoft Dynamics CRM and not a standalone CRM |
Tied to Microsoft Dynamics CRM and not a standalone CRM, limited features |
Inirect Competitors
The following table provides information on the businesses that the Company has identified as indirect competitors:
Owner/CEO |
Rick Stollmeyer Founder and CEO |
N/A |
Carl Zaldivar, CEO |
Pamela O’Hara, CEO |
Headquarters |
San Luis Obispo, CA |
Pleasanton, CA |
Redondo Beach, CA |
N/A |
Year Founded |
1998 |
2005 |
2001 |
N/A |
Website URL |
MindBodyOnline.com |
Zoho.com |
BizAutomation.com |
TheSmallBusinessWeb.com |
Phone # |
877.755.4279 |
888.900.9646 |
888.224.3227 |
N/A |
Type of Entity |
Private |
Private |
Corporation |
Corporation |
# of Employees |
N/A |
1,500 |
N/A |
N/A |
Product Overview |
Software company that offers different management solution options based on the industry |
Offers a variety of online business, productivity and collaboration applications |
Run your entire business on one system |
Integration tools for small businesses |
Features |
Management software, mobile applications, merchant account processing, hardware and ID solutions |
Organizers, CRM, billing solutions, online database, document management, and more |
CRM, marketing email campaigns, project management, online customer surveys |
CRM, marketing email campaigns, project management, invoicing, sms, website, accounting, appt scheduling |
Pricing |
Varies depending on service |
$12/month/user |
Min 2 users: $49/month/user
Min 25 users: $795/month/user
|
Varies based on service |
Strengths |
Various types of management solutions tailored to specific industries |
Large pool of applications that businesses can take advantage of, relatively inexpensive |
On-demand all-in-one super-suite, easy to direct webpage |
Incorporates other companies well |
Weaknesses |
Only focused on Health and Wellness |
Lack of differentiation |
No invoicing, storefront, accounting |
No actual company information available |
Additional indirect competitors include:
Owner/CEO |
Marc Benioff |
Lawrence Ellison |
Steve Ballmer Microsoft
|
William McDermott & Jim Hagemann Snabe |
Headquarters |
San Fransisco, CA |
Redwood City, CA |
Fargo, ND |
Waldorf, Germany |
Year Founded |
1999 |
1977 |
2008 |
1972 |
Website URL |
SalesForce.com |
Oracle.com |
CRM.Dynamics.com |
SAP.com |
Phone # |
800-667-6389 |
800-392-2999 |
888-477-7989 |
800-872-1727 |
Type of Entity |
Public |
Public |
Subsidiary |
Public |
Total Revenue |
$2.5B |
$31.7B |
$19.95B |
$18.4B |
# of Employees |
7,785 |
108,000 |
Not Provided |
54,346 |
# of Customers |
100K+ |
275K+ |
33K |
100K+ |
Product Overview |
Users can create, deploy & integrate applications into the system. |
Offer multiple CRM software solutions for different industries. |
Unified platform, single interface and various functions at a low cost. |
CRM software to aid in the integration of back-end office functions. |
Features |
Contact management, activity management, deal tracking, security, personalize, social media integration, sales funnels, financial analytics and reporting, email/phone integration, mobile application |
Contact management, activity management, deal tracking, security, personalize, social media integration, sales funnels, financial analytics and reporting, email/phone integration, mobile application |
Contact management, activity management, deal tracking, security, personalize, social media integration, sales funnels, financial analytics and reporting, email/phone integration, mobile application |
Contact management, activity management, deal tracking, security, personalize, social media integration, sales funnels, financial analytics and reporting, email/phone integration, mobile application |
Pricing |
$65/month/user |
$75/month/user |
$44/month/user |
N/A |
Strengths |
Reps can connect with customers through social enterprise in order to close deals faster. |
Widely used; easily integrated with other systems; multiple CRM options. |
Instant access anywhere & pay-as-you go pricing; Flexibility with software for ease of use. |
Offers back-end support as well as standard CRM resources; Offers isolated tendency. |
Weaknesses |
Company employees are criticized for being rude to customers; Software is not easily to customize. |
Most expensive CRM per seat; Features provided are being matched by competitors for a smaller price. |
Reports of poor cross platform integration; Disappearing functions; Missing info when account changes made. |
Very basic software; Rumors that software is only offered as a vehicle to acquire hosting customers. |
Client Examples |
NBC; Symantec; Avon; Kimberly-Clark; GE; Tommy Bahama; Burberry; Comcast; Pandora; Wells Fargo. |
Banorte; Essar; Citrix; Hyatt Hotels; Trinity Maxwell; Grameenphone. |
Vodafone; 1-888-Trash-It; Icebreaker; Scott’s Professional; Integrated DNA Technologies. |
3M; B&G Manufacturing; D. Swarovski; & Co.; IBM; Pacific Drilling. |
Additional indirect competitors include: Batchbook, Leopard CRM, Sugar CRM, Free CRM, and Tactical CRM.
Competitive Advantages
Symbiosis’ main competitive advantage compared to the numerous CRM alternatives available on the market lies within the Company’s Tarantula gamification platform. This platform integrates with the Company’s more traditional features (contact management, activity management, deal tracking, security, personalization, social media integration, sales funnels, financial analytics and reporting, email/phone integration and mobile application) while adding gaming techniques that drive user adoption. Furthermore, this gamification platform performs as a customer loyalty program by engaging customers as users in order to further increase sales frequency and volume while decreasing customer service and sales costs.
While Symbiosis will directly compete with Zurmo, the only gamified CRM on the market, as well as with gamified add-on applications, Symbiosis’ gamification platform boasts far more robust features and applications. The primary areas of differentiation lie with the platform’s ability to enroll customers as users as well as with the firm’s strong social media, email, phone and app integration. Lastly, Symbiosis outperforms the competition with free technical support, extremely affordable, low prices and ease of use and setup time.
Market Share Analysis
The CRM industry is highly saturated and competitive, yet highly fragmented. Salesforce’s market share was 16.7% in 2011, second only to SAP, and is expected to be the leading CRM vendor worldwide by 2013. SAP continues to be the worldwide leader in CRM software sales, with Salesforce ascending to second place. Oracle was displaced by Salesforce in 2011, a trend that is projected to accelerate through 2013. The market share (in millions of dollars) for the top 10 CRM software vendors from 2009-2011 is shown below:
1 |
1 |
SAP |
1,862.3 |
2,006.5 |
2,324.8 |
18.9 |
19.3 |
7.7 |
16.3 |
2 |
3 |
SalesForce |
1,522.8 |
1,749.4 |
2,006.5 |
16.5 |
16.7 |
14.9 |
35.9 |
3 |
2 |
Oracle |
1,166.5 |
1,476.3 |
1,918.2 |
13.9 |
16.0 |
26.6 |
9.7 |
4 |
4 |
Microsoft |
690.8 |
793.3 |
901.0 |
7.5 |
7.5 |
14.8 |
13.6 |
5 |
5 |
Amdocs |
389.8 |
408.5 |
434.1 |
3.9 |
3.6 |
4.8 |
6.3 |
6 |
6 |
Adobe |
26.3 |
310.4 |
425.9 |
2.9 |
3.5 |
1,080.6 |
37.2 |
7 |
7 |
IBM |
284.2 |
223.1 |
358.4 |
2.9 |
3.0 |
8.1 |
60.6 |
8 |
8 |
SAS Institute |
43.3 |
223.1 |
344.8 |
2.1 |
2.9 |
414.9 |
12.2 |
9 |
9 |
Cegedim |
222.6 |
218.7 |
232.3 |
2.1 |
1.9 |
-1.8 |
6.2 |
11 |
10 |
RightNow Technologies |
115.4 |
147.4 |
187.4 |
1.7 |
1.6 |
14.6 |
27.1 |
|
|
Other Vendors |
2,958.5 |
3,026.7 |
2,883.3 |
27.7 |
24.0 |
2.3 |
-4.7 |
|
|
Total CRM Market |
9,285.6 |
10,583.2 |
12,016.4 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
14.2 |
13.5 |
The companies holding the majority of the market offer tools, add-ons and other resources for users to customize their CRM software. While the industry is highly competitive, Symbioses benefits from several competitive advantages, as outlined above, allowing the Company to differentiate itself from the current field and capture a decent percentage of the overall market.
Barriers to Entry
The following is an analysis of the barriers to entry that businesses within the software industry face:
Market Saturation
The most significant barrier to entry is market saturation in both the CRM and ASP industries. Unless a new entrant to the market can significantly differentiate itself from its competitors, there are many applications that offer the same or similar features. Furthermore, the differentiating features must be proprietary or not easily replicated; otherwise, competition can implement these features before the new entrant can capture a significant enough share to establish itself as a leading player in the market. While Symbiosis recognizes this barrier as one of the major barriers to entry into the market, the Company’s Tarantula gamification platform, loyalty program and social media integration will be essential in differentiating the Company from other major players already on the market.
Beta and Usability Testing
Although not a strict barrier to entry, the beta and usability test period for software applications is critical. The functionality and stability of Symbiosis will be important to “get right” the first time given how quickly technology changes and how discerning CRM users are. It will be important to establish the reputation for a quality product starting from the beta and usability test period. As current CRM customers are concerned with their user experience, providing a top-tier program will set a standard for the Company as a leading CRM provider
Patents & Copyrights
Patents and copyright infringement can be a large barrier for small or start-up businesses within the software industry. While there are ongoing debates over the need for software patents, large companies who own large shares of the market may threaten smaller businesses with patent litigation. In such cases, smaller businesses are generally forced to settle due to the high costs of defending the suit in court. Symbiosis has and will continue to avoid any current patent and copyright infringements while ensuring to patent and copyright any proprietary features and intellectual property that belongs to the Company.
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