SAP announced in September that it further bolstered the analytics software in version 4.0 of mySAP CRM. According to the company's press release, the new capabilities include real-time analytics; marketing optimization; sales, marketing and service business planning; and out-of-the-box analytics scenarios.
Additionally, the company announced that it will launch an online network aimed at fostering collaboration between software developers and customers.Meanwhile, an article from CRMdaily.com presents views on SAP's ability to compete with Siebel or other best-of-breed vendors in the consumer and packaged goods vertical.
Background on mySAP CRM 4.0 release
A high-level 11-page white paper from SAP does a comprehensive job explaining the CRM landscape and how it has evolved, before shifting gears to detail leading-edge CRM solutions, such as mySAP CRM. It concludes with explaining mySAP CRM deployment options and trumpeting the advantages of the company's software. According to Gartner analysts, those that would benefit most from mySAP CRM are organizations already committed to SAP, especially if they fall under the following verticals: aerospace, chemicals, consumer packaged goods, construction, discrete manufacturing, engineering, milling, mining, oil and gas, service providers and utilities. Much debate is placed on whether or not SAP can unseat Siebel as the top CRM provider in this $3 billion software market. A report from AMR Research lists what it considers to be the four most significant industry-specific improvements of mySAP CRM along with several other key "horizontal" attributes.