Industry-Tuned CRM Suites Save TimeIndustry-Tuned CRM Suites Save Time

Customer-relationship management vendors are launching industry-specific suites that let companies deploy the software faster than generic packages--and without as much costly customization work.

Pivotal Corp. and PeopleSoft Inc. are readying their first vertical CRM packages, due next month, for retail banking and financial services, respectively. Oracle last week shipped a CRM application for aerospace and defense on the heels of one for the consumer packaged-goods industry. And Siebel Systems Inc. last month added six vertical industries to the 12 it's already targeted.

Customers of generic CRM suites typically spend at least four months customizing 25% to 30% of the functionality; those who buy vertical suites spend about two months customizing 10% to 15% of the applications, Pivotal CEO Bo Manning says.

"A package that's vertically attuned to one's industry will deliver greater benefit quicker, assuming best practices from that industry have been built into the vertical offering," says Barton Goldenberg, president of CRM consulting firm Information Systems Marketing. With vertical integration already in the suites, companies should save on customization costs, which account for about 70% of a CRM rollout, analysts say.

Pivotal designed its retail banking suite by incorporating customizations made by its customers. North Shore Credit Union in North Vancouver, British Columbia, had customized its generic Pivotal package and subsequently helped the vendor incorporate the changes into the retail suite.

The generic package didn't adequately deal with North Shore's customer base, says Chris Catliff, president and CEO of the credit union. For example, the software didn't incorporate the workflows associated with life events, such as births and marriages, or even family members' ages. North Shore wanted the software to alert a bank associate to encourage a newly married couple to create a living will or start investing, or to market car insurance to a customer whose teen-ager just reached the legal driving age.

But sometimes, even the vertical suites are too broad. Thomson Financial, which uses PeopleSoft's generic CRM package, recently evaluated its forthcoming financial-services suite. "Even though we're in the financial-services space, the package wasn't geared toward our business model," division CIO Craig Berkson says. It's aimed at financial companies that serve consumers; Thomson serves other financial institutions.