This IDC study shows that the new competitive landscape for customer relationship management (CRM) in 2005 is in the small and medium-sized business (SMB) segment. Extensive consolidation has driven the development of a new supplier landscape serving this segment. Better-resourced players are taking stronger brands to the SMB customers; conversely SMB-focused solutions are making their way into the premises of enterprises. Software as a service (SaaS) offerings continue to demonstrate compelling ROI justifications and convincing resource-scarce SMBs to trial CRM, at the same time lowering the barriers of entry for smaller suppliers.

"There is an upside left in the mid-markets. Many SMBs are nearing replacement or refresh cycles for their business systems. Set against this is a generally positive economic and IT investment climate, which tends to fuel interest in renewing and enhancing customer relationships to grow revenues," says Chris Chong, market analyst, Software and Services, IDC Australia.