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ServiceSource gets tighter with Salesforce in Renew OnDemand update

Revenue-management company ServiceSource adds integration with CRM providers to its Renew OnDemand SaaS product, plus more metrics.
Written by Toby Wolpe, Contributor

Software company ServiceSource says the latest version of its Renew OnDemand cloud application offers direct integration with Salesforce for the first time.

"I don't want to end up where I've got 50 different SaaS technologies in my organisation" — ServiceSource CEO Mike Smerklo

The integration is designed to give users a fuller view of renewals as well as new sales and to address the reluctance of many businesses to end up with overly complex software-as-a-service (SaaS) arrangements.

"We've seen a growing concern — and frankly as a CEO of a company I see it as well — which is at some point you say, 'How many point solutions do I need?'," said Mike Smerklo, ServiceSource CEO.

"I don't want to end up where I've got 50 different SaaS technologies in my organisation," he said.

"The bulk of our customers or prospects are working with Salesforce in some capacity. So for us ease of integration and showing how having these two combined can bring a whole host of improvements to your business are critical."

SAP and Oracle integration

Salesforce tools have already been available as part of the revenue-management company's wider, managed services. Renew OnDemand can also integrate with the software of other CRM providers, such as SAP and Oracle, but Salesforce is the first pre-built integration, according to the firm.

ServiceSource last year appeared at number 13 in a Forbes list of the 25 fastest-growing US tech companies.

Smerklo said the integration gives users a number of advantages. "You can have a tab view if you want. You can get a single sign-on — we're using Okta for single sign-on — and you will be able to see various applications, log into Salesforce and be able to see Renew OnDemand components, which is obviously very important for companies that have made significant investments in the likes of Salesforce," he said.

The new release also offers an additional 15 metrics, making a total of 45 recurring revenue measures available to users.

Advanced inline memory and MongoDB

Smerklo said ServiceSource is using advanced inline memory and MongoDB to pull together a tremendous amount of data.

"The challenge is that most of these organisations when they have utilised systems, whether it be various software applications, CRM investments, all the system data analytics are architected to support new customer acquisition. But the ongoing management of that installed base is really where the challenge lies," he said.

A common issue lies with where the customer data resides and its completeness, according to Smerklo.

"You may have the customer contact information in your CRM system but not complete ties to the financial, support and asset terms. So it's both where it sits and the lack of a complete repository to bring that data to life," he said.

The Renew OnDemand application is designed to "extract, scrub, and cleanse that data and put it into renewal-ready format", Smerklo said.

"They don't have to do anything different. We provide an application that sits between current systems and integrates into current systems so there's no change in processing required."

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