Europe ? CRM

Recent figures released from analysts at IDC showed that the Western European CRM market grew by 6.3 percent to reach a value of €2.2 billion (£1.5 billion or $2.96 billion). Sales of CRM on-demand product increased 40 percent in 2006.

As a result of the results, IDC has increased its five-year forecast, with analysts explained it as “showing … confidence that the sector will continue to grow as businesses buy into the market for the first time and companies that already have some CRM applications continue to invest, buoyed by growth in the European economy.” Additionally, IDC now sees on-demand CRM applications as soon to make up almost half of the net market growth of the entire European CRM market.

Bo Lykkegaard, programme manager at European Enterprise Applications, stated upon release of the report that “Early CRM adopters, especially in the financial services and telecommunications sectors, are investing in CRM again, while the low-end segment is seeing a significant impact of software-as-a-service.”