BrandMaker, the software vendor was rated the best in its field by the annual Gartner overview. According to the research firm, however, the field is very difficult to compare with last years quadrant. The vendors providing marketing software are becoming increasingly mature, but the companies that adopt their solutions have grown in the way they employ the technology. Moreover, recent mergers and takeovers have shaken things up in the quadrant.
Two of the major players, Teradata and IBM, entered the quadrant two years ago by taking over Aprimo and Unica respectively. SAS joined only last year with the acquisition of Assetlink. On the other hand, large companies such as Alterian and Oracle have disappeared off the map, while CDC Software, Code Worldwide, and PTI Marketing have entered the field.
Currently, there is a strong polarization in the market , with a strong division between large players on one side, and smaller companies on the other. While the latter still dominate the market, Gartner detects a trend towards larger companies taking over smaller niche players. The smaller companies generated a combined revenue of less than fifteen million dollars, which may lead to difficulties for them for the next year. Another divide, according to Gartner, is the one between North-American and European software vendors the first offering more mature solutions. A statement we dont necessarily agree with.
Gartner expects the MRM market to grow and develop in 2012, and predicts more takeovers for the coming year. An increase in scale is also to be expected, with the possible entry of Xerox, Microsoft and Adobe into the arena. Eloqua, Marketo and Neolane are likely to invest in their current MRM solutions, which may lead to them entering the MRM Quadrant next year. . .
