웹 서핑하다가  아래 글을 보니,  CRM이 만만한 분야가 아니라는 것이 느껴집니다.

값비싼 솔루션을 도입하면 오히려 ROI에 문제가 될 수 도 있다는 교훈을 배워야겠습니다. 

61 percent of interviewed Siebel reference customers have not achieved ROI

We usually use this editorial spot to provide a 'thought-piece' on CRM developments. This week we make an exception and summarise a recent independent evaluation of some of Siebel's reference customers experiences of trying to deliver ROI from that package. The research was undertaken by Nucleus Research and according to them was not sponsored or commissioned by any company and was independently undertaken by them. You can find more information at their web-site www.NucleusResearch.com, and we understand a free copy of the full report is available there. The report was published in September 2002.

Before going into the findings of the report, let's outline a few limitations of the report. Firstly, the report does not profile a statistically significant sample of Siebel's with responses from only 23 respondents. However, these respondents came from customers Siebel itself chose to profile on its web-site, and it seems likely to us that any results would be skewed towards the positive compared to Siebel's entire client base. Secondly, there seems to be significant discrepancies between the statements made by customers on the Siebel site compared with those made by, in many cases according to Nucleus Research, the same individuals when interviewed by them. It's also worth noting that the customers interviewed had, on average, been using Siebel solutions for more than two years.

So what are the top-level findings of the research?

• 61% of customers interviewed do not believe they achieved a positive ROI from Siebel
• The average Siebel deployment costs a company more than $18,000 per user per year.
• 78% of Siebel customers interviewed cited lack of user-friendliness as a challenge to achieving positive returns from their Siebel deployment. Note that not one customer had a positive comment about the usability of Siebel.
• 65% of Siebel customers interviewed cited difficulty in customisation and performance as a challenge to achieving positive returns from their Siebel deployment. Note again that not one customer had positive views about customizing or adapting Siebel.
• Most customers purchased more than one Siebel component and, in many cases, slowed deployment of one component because of difficulties or changes in another. A better ROI-maximising strategy might be to rapidly deploy the component that delivers the greatest returns and then evaluate and plan the deployment of other components.
• The average cost of a Siebel deployment for the first three years was more than $6.59 million, and average of at least $18,040 per user per year, based on data the customers provided.
• 55% of Siebel customers interviewed said their deployment took longer than planned
• 55% of Siebel customers interviewed said they spent more money deploying Siebel than they had budgeted.
• Nucleus found that the average initial licence price spent for Siebel software was $1,009,696. Customers believe Siebel's licence price is high compared with that for their other software investments.

As well as this quantitative data, the following customer statements may help to put flesh on the skeleton:

• "The complexity of the product is a challenge. It is not as intuitive and as user-friendly as we hoped".
• "It required too much more tr