Forrester Wave Customer Exp SMB 2186302

Forrester Research, Inc.
, 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140 USA

Tel: +1 617.613.6000 | Fax: +1 617.613.5000 | www.forrester.com
The Forrester Wave: Customer Service
Solutions For Small And Midsize Teams,
Q2 2014
by Kate Leggett, April 7, 2014
For: Application
Development
& Delivery
Professionals
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Customer Service Is A Cornerstone For Delivering A Great Customer
Experience
However,deliveringgoodserviceisdifcult.Nearly70%ofUSconsumersreportan
unsatisfactoryserviceinteractionduringthepast12months.Organizationsmust
navigaterapidlychangingcustomerexpectationsandlookforvendorsolutionsthat
enablethebusinesscapabilitiesnecessarytodeliverdiferentiatedexperiences.
The Customer Service Vendor Landscape Consolidates
Telandscapeofcustomerservicesolutionshasmaturedandconvergedasaresultof
mergerandacquisitionactivity.Tesevendorsofersolutionsrepletewithfeaturesand
functions,andeveryvendorcanjustabouttickeverybox.Customerserviceleaders
mustunderstandthecorefocusareaofeachvendortomaketherightbuyingchoice.
Keep An Eye On This Space
OracleServiceCloudandsalesforce.combattlefortheleadinthisevaluationdueto
theirbreadthofcapabilitiesandmaturebusinesspractices.Changeinthecustomer
servicevendorspacewillcontinue.Suitevendorswillfllinfunctionalitygapswith
acquisitions.Vendorsinadjacentsofwaresolutioncategorieswillmakeaplayfor
existingcustomerservicevendorstoaugmenttheiroferings.
2014, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available
resources. Opinions refect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester
, Technographics
, Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar,

and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. To
purchase reprints of this document, please email clientsupport@forrester.com. For additional information, go to www.forrester.com.

FOR APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT & DELIVERY PROFESSIONALS APRIL 7, 2014
The Forrester Wave: Customer Service
Solutions For Small And Midsize Teams, Q2 2014
Due Diligence Required: These Vendors Are Great At Supporting
Small And Midsize Teams
by Kate Leggett
with Stephen Powers, Michael Facemire, and Victoria Boutan
WHY READ THIS REPORT
InForresters84-criteriaevaluationofcustomerservicevendorsforenterpriseorganizations,we
identifedthe11mostsignifcantsolutionprovidersAstuteSolutions,eGain,KanaSofware,Microsof,
MoxieSofware,Oracle(OracleServiceCloud),Parature,salesforce.com,SAP(SAPCloudforService),
SugarCRM,andZendeskinthecategoryandresearched,analyzed,andscoredthem.Tisreportdetails
ourfndingsabouthowwelleachvendorfulfllsourcriteriaandwheretheystandinrelationtoeachother
tohelpcustomerserviceprofessionalsselecttherightpartnerfortheircustomerserviceinitiatives.
Table Of Contents
2 Good Customer Service Boosts Revenue,
Poor Service Increases Costs
5 The Customer Service Market Is On The
Cusp Of Signicant Change
7 Customer Service Vendors Focus On Market
Segments For Success
10 The Customer Service Vendor Evaluation
Process Explained
13 The Results: Buyers Have Many Choices To
Sift Through
15 The Results: Vendor Proles
21 Supplemental Material
Notes & Resources
Forrester conducted vendor survey
evaluations in December 2013 to January
2014 and evaluated 11 customer service
solutions worthy of consideration by large
organizations. We also surveyed vendor
customers.
Related Research Documents
Navigate The Future Of Customer Service In
2014
February 6, 2014
TechRadar For AD&D Pros: Contact Center
Solutions For Customer Service, Q2 2013
April 17, 2013
Transform The Contact Center For Customer
Service Excellence
June 22, 2012
FOR APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT & DELIVERY PROFESSIONALS
The Forrester Wave: Customer Service Solutions For Small And Midsize Teams, Q2 2014 2
2014, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited April 7, 2014

GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE BOOSTS REVENUE, POOR SERVICE INCREASES COSTS
Intheageofthecustomer,executivesdontdecidehowcustomer-centrictheircompaniesare
customersdo.Andprovidinggoodcustomerserviceisawin-winforcustomersandcompanies.In
fact,recentForresterdatashowsthataninvestmentincustomerservicetechnologyisthesecond
mostimportantinvestmentthatcompaniesaremakingin2014(seeFigure1).Why?Becausegood
customerservicehasquantifablerevenueimpacts:
Good customer experiences boost long-term loyalty. Customerloyaltyhaseconomicbenefts
asmeasuredoverthreedimensions:willingnesstoconsideranotherpurchase,likelihoodto
switchbusinesstoacompetitor,andlikelihoodtorecommendtoafriendorcolleague.
1
Te
revenueimpactfroma10-percentage-pointimprovementinacompanyscustomerexperience
score,asmeasuredbyForrestersCustomerExperienceIndex(CXi),translatesintomorethan
$1billion.
2
Andcustomerservice,formanycompanies,isacornerstonetotheircustomer
experiencestrategy.
Poor customer service leads to increased costs. Tecostoffailingtomeetcustomer
expectationsishigh:75%ofconsumersmovetoanotherchannelwhenonlinecustomerservice
fails,andForresterestimatesthatunnecessaryservicecoststoonlineretailersduetochannel
escalationare$22millionperyearonaverage.
3
Poor service experiences risk customer defections and revenue losses. Forexample,ifa
companyhas4millioncustomersandeachspends$100peryear,thetotalprojectedrevenuefor
ayearwouldbe$400million.Forrestersurveydatashowsthatapproximately11%ofcompanies
havepoorCXiscores.
4
Tatrepresents440,000customers,andtypicallyonlyabout2%of
themcomplaintothecontactcenter.Tatleaves98%whodontcomplain,oratotalof431,200
customersatrisktodefect.At$100apiece,thisrepresentsover$40,000,000millionpotential
lossinrevenueannually.
113657
Figure 1OrganizationsAreInvestingInCustomerServiceIn2014
As your rm considers its software strategy and investments, which departments
or business groups is it focusing on the most? (select up to three)
Sales 38%
Customer service 32%
Finance 25%
Marketing 25%
Research and development 25%
Field service 22%
Order fulfllment 21%
Manufacturing 18%
Procurement 16%
Supply chain 14%
Human resources 13%
Offce of the CEO and other
executive management
7%
Other 4%
Base: 2,074 IT executives and technology decision-makers
Source: Forrsights Software Survey, Q4 2013
Source: Forrester Research, Inc.
Good Customer Service Is Hard To Deliver
Customerswanttofeelempoweredtogetserviceanywhere,anytime,andtheyexpecttheirservice
interactionstobepain-free.OverhalfofUSonlineconsumersarelikelytoabandontheironline
purchaseiftheycannotfndaquickanswertotheirquestions,andthree-quarterssaythatvaluing
theirtimeisthemostimportantthingacompanycandotoprovidethemwithgoodservice.
5
Itsnosurprisethatcustomersareofenfrustratedwiththeefortthatittakestoreceivecustomer
service.Forresterdatashowsthat67%ofUSonlineconsumerssaythattheyvehadunsatisfactory
serviceinteractionsinthepast12months.
6
TisparallelsrecentdatafromtheAccentureGlobal
ConsumerPulseResearchsurvey,whichsaysthat91%ofrespondentsarefrustratedbyhavingto
contactacompanymultipletimesforthesamereason,90%bybeingputonholdforalongtime,
and89%byhavingtorepeattheirissuetomultiplerepresentatives.
7
Customerserviceleadersofsmallandmidsizeteamsaimtostrikethecorrectbalancebetween
customerneedsandcostofoperations.Specifcchallengesinfndingtherightbalanceincludethe
needto(seeFigure2):
Provide multiple communication channels for customer interaction.Tebreadthof
communicationchannelsthatcustomersuseforcustomerserviceisincreasinglyvaried.Recent
Forresterdatashowedthat73%ofUSonlineconsumersusedthephone,67%usedhelpor
frequentlyaskedquestions(FAQs),58%usedemail,43%usedchat,24%usedSMS,and22%
usedTwitterinthepast12months.
8
Customerserviceagentssupportingthesemediatypes
mustbeabletodeliverchannel-agnosticinformationachallengefor41%oforganizations
that,forexample,areunabletodeliverrelevantcustomerinformationabouttheiraccountand
profleoverarangeofchannels.
Support end-to-end customer journeys.Customerserviceorganizationsmustalsosupport
omnichannelcustomerjourneysjourneysthatstartononecommunicationchannelandmove
toanotherwithaseamlesshandofbetweenchannelssothatcustomersdonothavetorestartthe
conversationsomethingthatonly3%oforganizationsareextremelyefectiveatdoing.
Empower customers and agents with consistent answers.Customerserviceagentsrelyon
knowledgemanagementsolutionstoefectivelyanswercustomerinquiries.Inaddition,67%
ofUSonlineconsumersusewebself-serviceknowledgetofndanswerstotheirquestions.
9
Yet,knowledgemanagementimplementationshavea58%satisfactionratingamongUSonline
adultswhohaveusedthechannelinthepast12months.
10
Tisisbecauseknowledgeisofen
difculttolocate,difculttomaintain,andnotalwaysrelevanttothecustomerscontext.
Monitor customer needs and satisfaction.Itiscriticalforcustomerservicemanagersto
receivedirectcustomerfeedback,preferablyassoonastheinteractionwiththecustomerhas
happened.Itisalsocriticalforthemtounderstandthegeneralimpressionoftheirservice
oferingasexpressedinthesocialsphere.Servicemanagersusethisinformationtobalancethe
costofservicewithoverallcustomersatisfactionsothattheycanmakerealistictradeofs.
The Forrester Wave: Customer Service Solutions For Small And Midsize Teams, Q2 2014

5
113656
Figure 2CustomerServiceOrganizationsStruggleToProvideConsistentCross-ChannelExperiences
How would you rate your companys effectiveness at implementing the
following for your multichannel strategy?
Ability to deliver a channel-agnostic capability
for customers to get relevant information 9% 32% 26% 10% 3%
about their account and profle
Ability to provide a seamless handoff between
channels for customers regardless of whether 15% 29% 24% 9% 3%
offine-to-online or online-to-offine
Ability to provide a consistent
cross-channel experience
1 = not at all effective 5 = extremely effective 2 3 4
12% 26% 19% 18% 5%
Base: 80 eBusiness and channel strategy professionals
(percentages may not total 100 because of rounding)
Source: December 2013 Global eBusiness And Channel Strategy Professional Online Survey
THE CUSTOMER SERVICE MARKET IS ON THE CUSP OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGE
Tecustomerservicevendorspaceisamaturespace.Yettherehavebeenmanychangesinthefve
yearsthathaveacceleratedwithtime,andmorechangeislikelytocontinue.Twodrivingfactorswill
acceleratethesechanges:consolidationandemergingcompetition.
Big Fish Eat The Little Fish, And Each Bite Broadens The Reach Of The Big Fish
Inrecentyears,therehasbeencontinuedconsolidationandturmoilinthecustomerservice
solutionslandscape.Vendorshaveacquireddirectcompetitorstofllingapsintheirofering.
Moreimportantly,vendorshaveacquiredcompaniesinadjacentspacestobroadentheircustomer
engagementmanagementcapabilitiesandoferings.Notableacquisitionsincludethefollowing:
Oracle uses its acquisitions to actualize its customer experience management suite.Oracle
hasmadeaseriesofacquisitionstoroundoutacustomerexperiencesuitethatprovides
consistentexperiencesacrossthebreadthofinteractionsandtransactionsthatcustomers
havewithcompanies.NotableacquisitionsincludeATGforeCommerce(2011);InQuirafor
knowledgemanagement(2011);RightNowTechnologiesformultichannelcustomerservice
(2011);Market2Leadfordemandgenerationandmarketingautomation(2012);Endeca
Technologiesforwebcommerceandbusinessintelligence:Eloquaformarketingautomation
(2012);CollectiveIntellectforsocialintelligence(2012);Involverforsocialmediadevelopment

(2012);Vitrueforsocialmarketing(2012);BigMachinesforconfgure,price,andquote(2013);
Compendiumforcontentmarketing(2013);Responsysformarketingorchestration(2013);and
BlueKaifordatamanagement(2014).
SAP makes a few key strategic moves.SAP,likeOracle,isfocusedonprovidingconsistentend-
to-endcustomerexperiencesviaitsbreadthofproducts.Ithasmadeafew,butkey,acquisitions
toroundoutitscapabilitiesinthisarea:Sybaseforitsmobilityplatform(2010);Aribafor
procurement(2012);Sycloformobileassetmanagementandfeldservice;KXENforpredictive
analytics(2013);andhybrisformultichanneleCommerce(2013).Inaddition,SAPpartnered
withNetBaseforsocialmediaanalysis(2012)andeGain(2010)andMindTouch(2013)for
knowledgemanagement.
Salesforce.com has become an acquisition monster.Salesforce.commadeaseriesofmoves
toquicklyroundoutthecapabilitiesofitsServiceCloud,namely:Instranetforknowledge
management(2007);Informavoresforvisualworkfow(2009);ActivaLiveforchat(2010);
Radian6forsocialmediamonitoringandengagement(2011);Assistlyforsmallandmedium
sizebusiness(SMB)customerservice(2011);GoInstantforcobrowsing(2012);andPrior
Knowledgeforpredictiveanalytics(2013).Ithasusedthissametactictobroadenitscustomer
relationshipmanagement(CRM)footprint,withthenotableacquisitionofBuddyMediafor
socialmediapublishing(2012)andExactTargetforbusiness-to-consumer(B2C)marking
automation(2013).Addingmaturitytoitsend-to-endcustomerrelationshipmanagement
(CRM)solution,theintroductionofsalesforce1in2013,aplatformformobileapplicationand
development,hasallowedsalesforcetoexpanditsreachbeyondthetraditionalCRMcategory
andsetitssightsonbecomingaviablecompetitorintheplatform-as-a-servicespace.
11
Kana Sofware has built its portfolio via acquisitions and in turn has been acquired.Kana
hasmadeanumberofrecentacquisitionstobuildoutitscustomerserviceportfolio,which
includethefollowing:Lagan,agovernment-to-citizen(G2C)CRMsolution(2010);Overtone,
asocialmedialisteningcompany(2011);Trinicom,amidmarket,cloud-basedmultichannel
customerservicevendor(2012);andCiboodle,abusinessprocessmanagement(BPM)-centric
customerservicevendor(2012).Kana,inturn,hasbeenacquiredbyVerintSystems(2014),a
workforceoptimizationcompanylookingtounifycustomerserviceandagentutilizationand
performancecapabilities.Tiscross-categoryacquisitionindicatesapossibleconsolidationof
twomaturesofwarespaces.
OtheracquisitionsofnoteincludeMicrosofsacquisitionofNetbreeze(2013)forsociallistening
andParature(2014),whichhelpsMicrosofDynamicsroundoutitsknowledgemanagementand
chatcapabilities;NuanceCommunicationsacquisitionofVirtuOz(2012),avirtualagentcompany;
NiceSystemsacquisitionofenterprisefeedbackmonitoring(EFM)vendorFizzback(2011);and
VerintsacquisitionofEFMvendorVovici(2011).
Vendors From Adjacent Markets Emerge As Competitors

Newcustomerservicepointsolutionvendors(forexamplepredictiveanalytics,mobilecustomer
service,virtualagents)arepoppingupatanunprecedentedrateanddelivermoderninterfacesand
amobile-frststrategy.YoujusthavetolookattheentrylistfortheyearlyCRMIdol(www.crmidol.
com)competitiontogetafeelfortherangeofthesevendoroferings.
However,themostinterestingdisruptortothisspacemaybecomingfromanotherwell-
establishedcategoryofvendorsthecontactcenterprovidersand,inparticular,thecloud-based
contactcenterproviders.Tesevendorsprovideanend-to-endsolutionforcustomerservice:
aunifedcommunicationsinfrastructure,robustrouting,andqueuingenginesforinteractions
ofalltypesvoice,digital,andsocial.Teyhaveintegratedworkforceoptimizationengines
foragentqualitymanagement,scheduling,andforecasting.Today,theytendtohavelighter-
weightcasemanagementandknowledgecapabilities,whichcanbeeasilyhardenedoracquired.
Mostimportantly,thesevendorshaveprovensmall;midsize;andenterprise-ready,large-scale
deployments.Tiscategoryofvendormaywellcontaincandidatesthatwillappearinthenext
updateofthisevaluationastheyaddmoresophisticatedcustomerengagementcapabilitiesto
theirproducts.
CUSTOMER SERVICE VENDORS FOCUS ON MARKET SEGMENTS FOR SUCCESS
Inthismaturecustomerservicemarket,youwillfndthateachoftheleadingvendorsofersa
checklistoffeaturesandfunctions.Customerservicebuyersmustrememberthatmoreisnot
betterthisisespeciallytrueforsmallandmidsizeteams;manytimes,moreisjustmore.Infact,
whenyoudontneedorcantuseextrafeaturesmoreissometimesworse.Customerservice
organizationsofallsizesneedtocarefullyunderstandthecustomerservicemarketsegmentationin
ordertofocusinontherightcategoryofvendorthatistherightsizefortheirneeds.
Start By Asking What Size Of Organization Each Vendor Targets
Evenwithconsolidation,customerservicesolutionsfallintotwoprimarygroupstochoosefrom,
althoughthedistinctionsbetweenthesecategorieshavebecomelesspronouncedoverthepastthree
years(seeFigure3):
Customer service solutions for enterprise organizations.Customerservicevendorsfocusedon
largeorganizationsorganizationswithtypically1,000ormoreagentswhoareprimarilyphone
agentsoferrobustcasemanagementcapabilities.Tesevendorsolutionscanscaletoserve
verylargeagentpopulations,inthetensofthousandsandhigher.Teyofertheirproducts
primarilythroughthetraditionalon-premiseslicensingmodel,butmanynowalsooferhosted
andSaaSdeploymentoptions.Manyvendorsoferdeeplyverticalsolutionsandhavepre-and
post-salecompanyresourcesdedicatedtosupportingtheirverticalproducts.Vendorsinthis

categoryalsotargetmidsizeorganizations,oferingprepackagedversionsoftheirsolutionswith
more-afordablepricetags.Wehavehighlightedtheleadingvendorsinthiscategoryinour
ForresterWaveevaluationofcustomerservicesolutionsforenterpriseorganizations.
12
Customer service solutions for midsize and small organizations.Vendorsprimarilytarget
thesesolutionsatteamswithhundredsofcustomerserviceagentsorfewerwhosupport
inquiriesoverabreadthofvoice,digital,andsocialcommunicationchannels.Othervendors
targettheirsolutionsatdivisionsofcustomerserviceorganizationsthathavededicatedteams
fordigitalandsocialcustomerservicewithinalargercontactcenter.Tesesolutionsarehighly
usable,ofenhaveverygoodmobilecapabilities,andhaveabroadanddeepsetofmultichannel
customerservicecapabilities.TeyarepredominatelySaaSsolutions,oferingarapidtime
tovalue.Somevendorsinthiscategoryhaveupgradedtheirsolutionstobemoresuitableto
enterprise-classbuyersandaregainingacceptanceinthissegment.Teleadingvendorsinthis
categoryarehighlightedinthisreport.
Figure 3CustomerServiceSolutionsFallIntoTwoDistinctCategories
Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 113657#
Not all vendors target the same size of business
Agent
numbers:
Channel
mix:
Deployment:
Small Midsize
organizations
Enterprise
organizations
10s
SaaS
Mixed, but
trending to
SaaS
100s 1,000s 10,000s
Primarily multichannel Primarily voice-based
On-premises
Number of deployments

Drill Into The Customer Service Functions That You Need To Be Successful
Tecustomerserviceneedsforabusiness-to-business(B2B)companyarenotthesameastheneeds
foraB2Ccompany.Likewisetheneedsofaphonecustomerserviceagentarenotthesameasthatof
acustomerserviceagentsupportingdigitalorsocialchannels.Asyourefneyourvendorselection,
carefullyevaluatethecriteriainthisevaluationtopickasolutionthatisrightforyourneeds.
Categoriestoevaluateinclude:
Case management.Somevendorshaveheavyweightcasemanagementfunctionsthatcan
extendtoguidingthroughpredefnedworkfows.Othervendorsprovidelighter-weightcase
managementfunctionsthatsupportsimpleprocessfowsandaresuitableformanyB2C
customerserviceinteractions.
Multichannel management.Customerstodaywanttointeractwithcustomerservice
organizationsoverthebreadthofvoice,digital,andsocialcommunicationchannels.Butitsnot
agoodstrategytodeployallavailablechannelstoyourcustomers.Youmustunderstandwhat
communicationchannelsareimportanttoyourcustomersbasedontheirdemographic,issue
type,andthejourneythattheywanttotakewithyou.Youmustthenchooseavendorsolution
thatisabletosupportyourcustomersend-to-endomnichanneljourney.
Knowledge and content.Customerserviceorganizationsareincreasinglyleveragingcurated
knowledgebasecontentinordertoprovideaccurate,relevant,andcompleteanswerstocustomer
questionsorvirtualagentsinordertosupportautomatednaturallanguageconversationswith
customers.Organizationsarealsoincreasinglyleveragingsocialcontentfromdiscussionforums
tocomplementtheircuratedcontent.Vendorsprovidethebreadthanddepthofknowledgeand
contentcapabilities,whichmustbetherightsizeforyourbusiness.Inthiscaseespecially,having
toomanyknowledgefeaturesisofenoverkillfororganizationswithlightweightneeds.
Business intelligence.Customerserviceisallaboutmetricsandmeasurement.Tese
measurementsareusedtomonitorandmanageinrealtimethesuccessofyouroperationsfor
examplecustomerissuesandexpectations,aswellasagentworkloadandperformance.Customer
serviceorganizationsmustalsoforecastthesuccessoftheirfutureoperationsusingpredictive
modeling,simulations,andstatisticalanalysis.Smallorganizationshavesimplereal-timeand
historicalmeasurementneeds,whilelargerorganizationsmaylookforthesecapabilitiesfrom
avendorsolutionorlooktoextractpertinentdatafromacustomerservicesolutiontobe
processedviaabusinessintelligenceengine.
Usability and cost.Customerserviceorganizations,bothlargeandsmall,needhighlyusable
solutionswithmodernuserinterfacesanduserexperiencesthathelpreducetrainingtimeand
increasejobsatisfactionwiththetoolset.Goodusabilitygoesalongwaytocombattingthe
highturnoverrateinmostorganizations.Similarly,overallcostofownershipisanimportant
evaluationdimensionandparticularlyimportanttosmalltomidsizeteamslookingfor
solutionsthatdontbreaktheirbudgets.

THE CUSTOMER SERVICE VENDOR EVALUATION PROCESS EXPLAINED
Aferexaminingpastresearchandthroughconversationsandinquirieswithcustomerservice
professionalsandvendors,wedevelopedacomprehensivesetof84evaluationcriteria.Combined,
thesecriteriaprovideadetailedlookatbreadthofcapability,strategy,andmarketpresenceof11
smallandmidsizecustomerservicesolutions.Wegroupedthecriteriaintothreehigh-levelbuckets.
Current ofering.EachvendorspositionontheverticalaxisoftheForresterWavegraphic
indicatesthestrengthofitscurrentproductofering.Welookedatthestrengthofeach
vendorsproductsacrossawidespectrumofcustomerservicecapabilities.Teseincludedcase
multichannelsupport,knowledgeandcontent,businessintelligence,architectureandplatform,
mobility,usability,andcost.
Strategy.Avendorspositiononthehorizontalaxisindicatesourassessmentofitsstrategy.We
assessedthestrengthofeachvendorsproductstrategyandvision.Weassessedtheapplication
ownershipexperienceandcorporatestrategyofeachvendor.Weusedacombinationofvendor
evaluationresponses,documentation,andcustomerfeedbackandvendorstrategybriefngsto
completethissection.
Market presence.Tesizeofeachvendorsbubbleonthechartindicatesitsmarketpresence.
Wegaugedthesizeofeachvendorscustomerbaseandevaluatedthedepthofhumanand
fnancialresourcesavailabletoenhanceitsproductsandservecustomers.
Eleven Vendors Offer A Diverse Range Of Capabilities
Weincluded11solutionsinourassessmentofenterprisecustomerservicesolutions,including:
AstuteSolutions,eGain,KanaExpress,Microsof,MoxieSofware,OracleServiceCloud,Parature,
salesforce,SAPCloudforService,SugarCRM,andZendesk.
Wedidnotincludeintheassessmentsolutionsthatspecializeinoneoranarrowsetofcustomer
servicefunctionalitiessuchas,forexample,knowledgemanagementvendors,chatvendors,or
socialengagementvendors.Wedidnotincludevendorsfocusedonasingleindustry.Wealsodid
notincludeinourassessmentcustomerservicevendorsthataresuitedforenterprise-sizecustomer
serviceorganizations.Leadingvendorsinthiscategoryarecoveredinourcustomerservice
evaluationforenterpriseorganizations.
13
Eachvendorincludedintheevaluation(seeFigure4):
Ofers a multifunctional customer service application.Eachvendorincludedhas
functionalityinthefollowingcustomerservicesubdisciplines:casemanagement,knowledge
management,multichannelmanagement,andbusinessintelligence.

Provides multichannel self-service and agent-assisted customer service capabilities:Te
vendorsandproductsinthisevaluationcansupportaminimumoffourofthefollowing
customerinteractionchannels:phone,webself-service,email,chat,cobrowse,customerservice
viasocialchannels(e.g.,Facebook,Twitter),andvirtualagents.
Has a strong presence in the customer service solutions market.Eachoftheevaluated
vendorshashundreds,ifnotthousands,ofcustomersandover$15millioninrevenuefrom
customerservicelicensesandusersin2012.
Has a product now in general release and in use by customers.Tesolutionsweincluded
haveaspecifcreleasethatwasgenerallyavailableatthetimeofdatacollectionforthis
evaluationwithreferencesavailableforcontact.

12
Figure 4EvaluatedVendors:ProductInformationAndSelectionCriteria
Product version Version
Vendor Product evaluated evaluated release date
Astute Solutions
eGain
Kana Software, a
Verint Company
Microsoft
Moxie Software
Oracle
Parature
salesforce.com
SAP
SugarCRM
Zendesk
ePowerCenter
eGain 11
Kana Express
Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Spaces by Moxie
Oracle Service Cloud
Parature Customer Service Software
Service Cloud
SAP Cloud for Service
Sugar 7
Zendesk
8.7
11
Version 13
2013
9
Nov-13
13.1
Winter 14
1311
7
Nov-13
September 2013
September 2013
June 2013
October 2013
Summer 2013
November 2013
N/A
October 2013
November 2013
November 2013
November 2013
Vendor selection criteria
Offers a multifunctional customer service application. Each vendor included has functionality in the
following customer service subdisciplines: case management, knowledge management, multichannel
management, and business intelligence. Products promoted primarily as best-of-breed solutions for a
single functional area were not included.
Provides multichannel self-service and agent-assisted customer service capabilities: The
vendors and products in the evaluation can support a minimum of four of the following customer
interaction channels: phone, web self-service, email, chat, cobrowse, customer service via social
channels (e.g., Facebook, Twitter), and virtual agents.
Has a strong presence in the customer service solutions market. Each of the evaluated vendors
has hundreds, if not thousands, of customers and over $15 million in revenue from customer service
licenses and users in 2012.
Has a product now in general release and in use by customers. The solutions we included have a
specifc release that was generally available at the time of data collection for this evaluation with
references available for contact.

THE RESULTS: BUYERS HAVE MANY CHOICES TO SIFT THROUGH
Teevaluationuncoveredamarketinwhich(seeFigure5):
Oracle Service Cloud and salesforce battle for dominance.Oracleandsalesforcehavedistinct
andcompellingvisionsforcustomerservice.Oraclefocusesonend-to-endcross-channel
customerexperiences,supportedbyitssolutions.Salesforcefocusesonconnectedcustomers,who
controlstherelationshipthattheyhavewithcompanies.Tedepthandbreadthofbothcompanies
deploymentsinthemarketplacefromverysmalltoverylargerefectthematurityofthe
customerservicecapabilitiesandcompanyresourcestosupporttheircustomerbases.
eGain, Moxie Sofware, and Oracle Service Cloud enable high-volume multichannel service.
eGain,MoxieSofware,andOracleServiceCloudsupportrobustmultichannelcustomer
service,witheachvendorhavingexamplesofsmallandlargedeployments.SAPCloudfor
Serviceisanewentryinthisspace,withasubsetofoverallmultichannelfunctions.Tese
solutionsappealtocustomerserviceorganizationsthathandleverylargevolumesofdigitaland
socialinquiries.Teseorganizationsofenhavededicatedagentteamsforthesechannels,with
separateteamsdedicatedtothevoicechannel.Inmanycases,theseteamsareofenpartofan
eBusinessordigitaloperationsorganizationinsteadofacorecustomerserviceorganization.
Afoundationallayerofrobustknowledgemanagementdeliverschannel-specifcanswersto
customerinquiries.
Astute Solutions, Kana Express, Parature, and Zendesk power small teams.Tesevendors
oferabreadth,althoughnotdepth,ofcustomerservicecapabilities.Teyhaveabroad
rangeofpackagingoptions,whichareattractivetosmallerteamsnotrequiringthefullsetof
functionality.Tesesolutionsaretargetedatsmallteams,butduetotheirsoundarchitecture,
theyarefndinghomesinsmallerdivisionsoflargeenterprises.
Microsof and SugarCRM focus on supporting phone agents.Withtheirstrongcase
managementcapabilities,computertelephonyintegration(CTI),andreporting,Microsofand
SugarCRMofercustomerservicecapabilitiesforphoneagents,buttheylackthemultichannel
andknowledgemanagementcapabilitiesthatothervendorsofer.Microsofhasrecently
addressedthisdefciencybyacquiringParatureandwillintegratethissolutionintoDynamics
CRM.SugarCRMreliesonpartnerstofllthesegaps,and,withitscommercialopensource
developmentapproach,itisincreasinglycatchingtheinterestoflargerorganizations.
Tecustomerservicemarketisamaturemarket.Tefrstproductswereintroducedinthe1990s,
andleadingvendorshavehadsolutionsinthemarketforwelloveradecade.Tisevaluationofthe
customerservicemarketforsmallandmidsizeorganizationsisintendedtobeastartingpointonly.
Weencourageclientstoviewdetailedproductevaluationsandadaptcriteriaweightingstofttheir
individualneedsthroughtheForresterWaveExcel-basedvendorcomparisontool.

14
Figure 5ForresterWave:CustomerServiceSolutionsForSmallAndMidsizeTeams,Q214
Risky Strong
Bets Contenders Performers Leaders
Strong
Current
offering
Weak
Weak Strategy
Go to Forrester.com to
download the Forrester
Wave tool for more
detailed product
evaluations, feature
comparisons, and
customizable rankings.
Market presence
Oracle Service
Cloud
salesforce.com
Microsoft
eGain
SAP Cloud
for Service
Moxie Software
Zendesk
SugarCRM
Kana Express
Parature
Astute Solutions
Strong

Figure 5ForresterWave:CustomerServiceSolutionsForSmallAndMidsizeTeams,Q214(Cont.)
F
o
r
r
e
s
t
e
r
s
W
e
i
g
h
t
i
n
g

A
s
t
u
t
e

S
o
l
u
t
i
o
n
s

e
G
a
i
n
K
a
n
a

E
x
p
r
e
s
s
M
i
c
r
o
s
o
f
t
M
o
x
i
e

S
o
f
t
w
a
r
e
O
r
a
c
l
e

S
e
r
v
i
c
e

C
l
o
u
d
P
a
r
a
t
u
r
e
s
a
l
e
s
f
o
r
c
e
.
c
o
m
S
A
P

C
l
o
u
d

f
o
r

S
e
r
v
i
c
e

S
A
P

C
R
M
Z
e
n
d
e
s
k

CURRENT OFFERING 50% 3.13 4.05 3.28 3.15 3.93 4.27 2.97 4.04 3.10 3.28 3.69
Case management 15% 2.98 4.26 3.42 4.16 3.78 3.88 2.82 4.80 3.74 4.16 3.02
Multichannel capabilities 25% 3.06 4.51 3.67 2.19 4.61 4.16 2.76 3.54 2.98 2.55 3.20
Knowledge and content 15% 3.26 4.58 3.00 0.72 3.82 4.44 2.34 3.88 0.90 1.18 2.88
Business intelligence (BI) 5% 1.00 4.40 3.70 3.60 4.10 4.10 3.10 2.95 3.70 2.00 4.70
Architecture and platform 5% 2.86 4.32 2.67 4.77 3.67 4.53 3.05 4.50 3.47 3.79 3.19
Mobility 5% 4.00 4.00 1.00 3.00 3.00 5.00 2.00 5.00 4.00 5.00 5.00
Usability 10% 1.66 2.32 4.34 5.00 3.66 5.00 3.66 5.00 3.66 5.00 5.00
Cost 20% 4.34 3.66 2.98 4.00 3.66 3.98 3.64 3.64 3.66 4.00 4.32
STRATEGY 50% 2.06 3.06 2.79 4.02 3.13 4.48 2.81 4.46 3.97 2.95 3.23
Product strategy and vision 40% 1.80 2.20 2.80 3.60 3.20 4.60 2.80 4.60 3.40 3.20 3.20
Application ownership 20% 2.00 4.25 3.00 4.25 3.25 4.50 3.75 3.75 3.75 3.00 3.75
experience management
methodologies
Corporate strategy 40% 2.34 3.33 2.67 4.32 3.00 4.34 2.34 4.67 4.66 2.67 3.00
MARKET PRESENCE 0% 1.50 2.30 1.50 3.67 2.10 2.56 1.53 3.32 1.60 1.87 2.63
Customer base 80% 1.00 2.00 1.00 3.40 2.00 2.20 1.60 3.40 1.00 1.40 2.60
Total number of employees 10% 2.00 3.00 3.00 5.00 2.00 5.00 1.00 4.00 5.00 3.00 3.00
Financial performance 10% 5.00 4.00 4.00 4.50 3.00 3.00 1.50 2.00 3.00 4.50 2.50
All scores are based on a scale of 0 (weak) to 5 (strong).
THE RESULTS: VENDOR PROFILES
Leaders
Oracle Service Cloud delivers strong support for B2C companies.OracleServiceCloudis
akeyassetinOraclescustomerexperiencemanagementportfolio.Itprovidesafexible,easily
confgurablecustomerservicesolutionandisparticularlystrongindeliveringconsistentcross-
channelcustomerserviceexperiences.Ithasstrongmultichannelcapabilities:verystrong
cobrowseandforumcapabilities;strongchat,emailresponsemanagement,socialcustomer
service,andknowledgemanagement;andsoundsociallistening,backedbyverystrong
reporting.Itgetshighmarksforusabilityandprovidessoundcasemanagementcapabilities.
Tesolutionofersquicktime-to-valueduetoitsSaaSdeploymentmodel.Ithasanaverage

deploymentsizeoffewerthan250agents,andcustomerserviceorganizationsuseitasa
companywidecustomerservicesolution,asastandalonesolutiontosupportitsdigitaland
socialchannels,orinahybriddeploymenttoextendthedigitalcapabilitiesofanon-premises
customerservicesolution.
TisproductcametoOracleviaits2012acquisitionofRightNowTechnologies.Sincethe
acquisition,theproductteamhascontinuedtoexecuteonarobustroadmapofenhancements,
manyofwhichfocusontighterintegrationstoothersolutionsinOraclescustomerexperience
productportfolio.ItbeneftsfromOraclesmaturepracticesforimplementation,useradoption,
andsupport.However,Forresterclientstellusfrequentlythattheyhavelostsomeoftheir
personalizedtouchthatprecededitsacquisition.OracleServiceCloudisbestsuitedformidsize
B2Cteamsthatoferrobustwebself-serviceandmultichannelcustomerservicetotheir
customersandthatemphasizethevalueofcustomerexperiences.
Salesforce extends its reach into customer service with clear vision and sound execution.
Tesalesforcevisionisoneofaconnectedcustomer,wherecustomerscontroltheinteractions
thattheyhavewithenterprises.Tosupportthisvision,salesforceprovidespervasivesocialand
collaborationcapabilitiesinServiceCloud.Inaddition,salesforceprovidesverystrongcase
managementcapabilities,socialcustomerservice,andsociallistening.Ithasasoundknowledge
base,overallsoundmultichannelcapabilities,strongreporting,butveryweakbusinessanalysis
toolsrelyingonitsAppExchangepartnerstocomplementitsproductofering.Allcapabilities
aredeliveredviaintuitiveinterfacesatasoundcoststructure.Ithasastrongarchitectureand
platform,and,withanaveragedeploymentsizeof200agentsandarangeofpackagingand
pricingoptions,itissuitableformidsizeteams.
Salesforceisadoptinganincreasinglyverticalstrategy.Itcurrentlyfocusesonahandfulof
keyverticals(fnancialservices,media,government,healthcare,retail,andautomotive),andit
reliesonstrategicpartnershipsfordeeperverticaloferings.Ithasalsosegmenteditssalesand
supportfunctionsintotwobusinessunitsonededicatedtoenterpriseaccountsandoneto
midsizeaccounts,whichhelpsbettersupporteachtypeofaccount.Salesforcesdiferentiated
visionandaggressiveproductroadmaphasallowedittorapidlyincreaseitsfootprintof
customerservicedeploymentsbothlargeandsmall.Salesforcebestsuitsorganizations
lookingforaSaaS-based,easy-to-use,rapidlydeployablecustomerserviceapplicationwith
strongsocialcapabilities.
Microsof ofers a fexible, cost-efective customer service solution. Teprimarybuyersof
MicrosofDynamicsCRMareuppermidmarketandenterprisecustomersthatrequireeasy-to-
use,fexiblecustomerservicesolutionsthatyieldproductivitygainsfortheircustomerservice
organizations.Asaresult,Microsofsstrategyfocusesondeliveringtheseresultsacrossachoiceof
deploymentoptions(on-premises,cloud,partner-managed,orhybrid),paymentoptions(license,
subscription,orfnancing),andaccesspoints(mobile,Outlookclient,browser,orSharePoint
site).MicrosofDynamicsCRMprovidesstrongcustomerservicecapabilitiesdeliveredviaa
robust,scalableplatformandarchitectureandgetshighmarksforusability(basedonthefamiliar
Ofceuserinterface[UI]lookandfeel).Itofersverystrongsupportfornativebusinessprocess
managementandprovidesstrongsupportforcasemanagementforphoneagents.
However,MicrosofDynamicsCRMreliesonitsrecentacquisitionofParaturetoprovide
supportformultichannelcustomerservice,knowledgemanagement,andsocialcustomer
service.MicrosofDynamicsCRMreliesonitsNetbreezeacquisitiontoprovidesociallistening
capabilities.Ithasabroadrangeofindustrytemplatesforverticalsolutions,whichcomplement
thoseavailablefromanextensivepartnernetwork.Microsofofersanattractivelypricedsolution
comparedwithothervendors,especiallywhenthesolutionisbundledwiththeMicrosofOfce
suiteandwithitsrecentParatureacquisition.Tecompanyalsohasasolidproductroadmap
andvisionforfutureenhancements.MicrosofDynamicsCRMisbestsuitedforB2Bcompanies
thathavemadeacommitmenttotheMicrosoftechnologystackandthatrequireintegration
withotherMicrosofsolutionssuchasMicrosofOfce,SharePoint,andLync.
Strong Performers
eGain excels at knowledge-powered digital customer engagement.eGainsolutionshavebeena
mainstayinthemultichannelcustomerservicespaceforoveradecade.eGainprovidesacustomer
engagementhub:multichannelcapabilitiesthataccessacommonknowledgebaseandacommon
casemanagementframework,backedbysolidreporting.TisenableseGaintodeliverconsistent
serviceexperiencesacrossdigitalchannelsandtosupportcustomersintheircross-channel
journeys.eGainhasoverallstrongmultichannelcapabilities,buthasadatedUI.Ithasverystrong
emailresponsemanagement,pagepush,andcobrowse;strongchat,includingverystrongvideo
chat;andsoundsocialcustomerserviceandsociallistening.eGainhasverystrongknowledge
managementandvirtualagentcapabilitiesthatincludetheabilitytoguidetheusertothebest
answer.CompaniesdeployeGainasasuiteorforasubsetofchannels(forexample,email,chat,
andknowledge)orasasingularchannel(forexample,email,chat,knowledge).eGainhaslarge
suitedeploymentsrangingupwardof20,000agents,aswellassingle-channeldeployments.With
anaverageagentseatsizeofover500agents,eGainmaybetooheavyweightforsmallerteams.
eGainhasasoundcoststructure,oferingfexibleinvestmentoptionsbasedonagentseats,
volumeofself-servicesessions,orvolumeofsalesofers,aswellastieredcloudandon-premises
investmentoptions.Italsohaspackagedpricingforjumpstartoptions.eGainhasalong-
standingrelationshipwithCiscoSystems,whichistheoriginalequipmentmanufacturer(OEM)
foreGainsemailandchatproductsforitsUnifedContactCenterEnterpriseproduct.Cisco
alsoresellstheentireeGainsolution.AlthougheGainssolutioniscomprehensivefromafeature
perspective,thecompanyreliesoncustomerandpartnerfeedbackandorganicgrowthtoevolve
itsproductsasopposedtoastrongvision.eGainisbestsuitedforB2Cbuyersthatneedrobust
engagementsolutionswithadvancedknowledgecapabilitiestosupportabreadthofchannelsor
asingledigitalchannel.

SAP Cloud for Service complements and extends the SAP CRM solutions.Inrecent
years,SAPhasreleasedanend-to-endcloudcustomerengagementsolutionportfolio,which
includescloudoferingsforCRM,fnance,enterpriseresourceplanning(ERP),humancapital
management(HCM),procurement,andsocialcollaboration.SAPCloudforServiceisanew
addition(releasedin2013)toSAPscloudoferingforCRM(SAPCloudforCustomersolution,
whichincludessales,marketing,service,andcollaborationproducts).SAPbuiltallthesecloud
solutionsonacommonarchitectureusingSAPHanaasitsplatform,anditleveragescommon
applicationservicessuchasreportingandanalytics,security,integration,andcollaboration.
SAPCloudforServiceispositionedasaseparateproduct,butitcanalsobedeployedina
hybridmodetocomplementandextendthenativecapabilitiesofSAPCRM.
SAPCloudforServicehasasoundarchitectureandplatform,strongintegration,sound
customizationandconfguration,andverystrongsecuritycapabilities.Italsohasasolidsetof
predefnedkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs),reports,anddashboardsforcustomerservice.
Itsmultichannelandknowledgecapabilitiesarevariedinmaturity.Ithassoundemailand
socialcustomerservicecapabilities.Itdoesnothavenativechat,sociallistening,orknowledge
managementcapabilities;instead,itleveragesSAPBusinessCommunicationManagement
forcustomer-to-agentchat,SAPSocialMediaAnalyticsbyNetBaseforsociallistening,and
MindTouchforknowledgemanagement.Ithasfewdeploymentstodate,withanaverage
deploymentsizeoffewerthan100agents.However,theproductisstrengthenedbySAPsstrong
visionforcustomerservice,itssoundapplicationownershipexperience,andSAPsverystrong
corporatestrategy.SAPCloudforServiceisbestsuitedforcompaniesthatarecommittedto
SAP,thatneedtorapidlydeploycustomerservicesolutionstoitscustomerbaseorthatare
lookingtoaugmentthecapabilitiesofSAPCRM.
Moxie Sofware allows customers and employees to connect for service.Moxieoferstwo
interconnectedsolutionsuites:CustomerEngagementSpaces,adigitalcustomerinteraction
hub,whichprovidesmultichannelcustomerservice,andCommunitySpaces,whichallows
collaborationwithinandoutsideoftheenterprise.Tesesolutionsbringcustomerand
employeeengagementtogethermakingiteasiertocaptureandshareknowledgeandservice
customers.MoxiesCustomerEngagementSpacesofersverystrongmultichannelcapabilities:
verystrongemailresponsemanagement,sociallistening,pagepush,andcobrowseand
strongchat,includingverystrongvideochatandsocialcustomerservice.Moxiehasastrong
knowledgebaseandsoundforumsupport.Italsohasverystrongreportingforcustomer
service.CompaniesofendeployMoxiesofwareasasuite,forasubsetofchannels(forexample,
email,chatandknowledge)orforasinglechannel(forexample,email,chat,knowledge).
Moxiehasastrongarchitectureandplatformandanaveragedeploymentsizeof500agents.
However,ithasweakbusinessprocessandworkfowtools.Moxiehasasoundcoststructureand
attractivepricingforverysmallteamsstartingat20agentsor100knowledgearticles.Moxiehas

asoundcoststructure,visionforsolvingcustomerfacingproblems,andapplicationownership
experience.Moxieisbestsuitedforcustomerserviceorsalesbuyersneedingsupportforhigh-
volumedigitalinteractions.
Zendesks mobile-frst mindset delivers highly usable customer service solutions.Zendesk
targetsitsmobile-frstcustomerservicesolutiontocustomerserviceteamswithbetween10
and250agents.Itssimplicity,usability,andapplicationownershiphasgarnereditover40,000
customerssinceitsinceptionin2007.Zendeskofersastraightforwardsolutionwithsound,
simplecasemanagementandmultichannelmanagementandknowledgebasecapabilities.Ithas
verystrongreportinganddashboarding,enablingteamstotrackcorrelationsbetweenrelated
keyperformanceindicators.Inaddition,ZendeskallowsuserstocomparetheirKPIstotheir
peers.KPIsareavailablebyindustry,audience,andcompanysizeandhelpusersunderstandthe
levelofservicethattheydeliver.Ithasasoundarchitectureandplatformthatisrobustenough
tosupportlargeimplementationsofover5,000agents.
ZendeskisaSaaSsolutionthattypicallyrequiresnoimplementation.Smallteamscansign
upfortheserviceandconfgurethesofwarethemselves.Forlargerdeployments,Zendesk
usesanetworkofpartnerswhocanassistwithmorecompleximplementations,including
customizations,design,anddatamigrations.Itofersverystrongsupport,withbootcamps
forbestpracticetrainingincustomerservice.Zendeskhasanaggressiveproductroadmap,
solidbusinessvision,aclearfocusonitstargetmarket,andstrongrevenuegrowth.Zendeskis
bestsuitedforsmallcustomerserviceteamslookingforamodern,mobile-frstmultichannel
solutionandacompanytohelpthemunderstandbestpracticesforservice.
SugarCRM ofers the customization fexibility of an open source platform.SugarCRM
ofersafexibleplatformbuiltonopensourcecomponentsandopenstandards,whichallows
organizationstotakeabasicCRMplatformapplicationandbuilduponitusingtheirown
technologymanagementresourcesoradd-onmodulesthatareavailablethroughSugarCRMs
partneranddevelopercommunities.SugarCRMprovidesasoundarchitectureandplatform
withverystrongintegrationsupportandsecurityandstrongsupportforcustomizationand
confguration.Ithasverystrongusability.Italsoofersstrongcasemanagementcapabilities
andsociallisteningcapabilities,butithasweaksupportforbusinessprocessandworkfow
tools.However,SugarCRMprovidesweaksupportformostothercustomerservicecapabilities,
includingmultichannelcapabilities,knowledgebase,andsocialcustomerservice.
SugarCRMhasasoundproductstrategyandvisionandasoundapplicationownership
experience.Teproductisavailableasanon-premisesorSaaSdeploymentviaprivatecloud,
publiccloud,andpartnerclouddeployments.Itsaveragedeploymentsizeis20agents,however,
customer-service-leddealsaremuchlarger,resultinginSugarCRMemergingontheradarasa
viableoptionforbothsmallandlargeorganizations.SugarCRMbestsuitsorganizationsneeding
phone-basedcustomersupportandseekingfexiblepricingoptionswithdeepcustomization
fexibilityinapackagedCRMapplication.

Kana Express balances cost of operations with customer experience.KanaExpressisa
SaaS-productthatKanaSofwareacquiredin2012fromTrinicom.Itisastraightforward
multichannelproductwithstrongusabilityandarapidtimetovalue.Ithassoundcase
managementcapabilitiesandasoundknowledgebaseandvirtualagent.Italsohassound
multichannelcapabilities:soundchat,emailresponsemanagement,andsocialcustomer
servicecapabilities.Ithasweaksociallisteningcapabilitiesandveryweakforumcapabilities.
Kanatargetsthisproducttosmallcustomerserviceteamswithanonlinefocuswithinmidsize
businessesanddivisionsandsubsidiariesoflargerenterprises,andithasanaveragedeployment
sizeofbetween20and50agents.Fullimplementation,includingtypicalintegrationswith
telephonyandback-ofcesystems,usuallytakesafewweeks.
KanaExpresshasasmallglobalfootprintof250customers,withaverysmallpresenceoutside
oftheBeneluxregionandinNorthAmerica.AlthoughKanahasasoundbusinessvisionforthe
solution,andtheproducthasasoundapplicationownershipexperience,Kanasrecentacquisition
byVerint,acompanyfocusedonenterprisebuyers,putsthelong-termemphasisofthisproductin
question.KanaExpressbestsuitssmallorganizationsfocusedondeliveringmultichannelservice
withsoundknowledgemanagementtotheircustomersusingarapidlydeployedsolution.
Parature balances agent productivity with customer experience.Withanaveragedeployment
sizeof45agents,Paratureofersabreadth,butnotdepth,ofmultichannelcapabilitiesto
over3,000customerserviceteams.Ithassoundchat,emailresponsemanagement,andsocial
customerservicecapabilitiesaswellasusability.Itofersasimpleknowledgebasewithstrong
knowledgeretrievalcapabilitiesandsolidknowledgeauthoringandpublishingworkfows.Ithas
veryweakforumcapabilitiesandlackssocialsentimentanalysisandvirtualagentcapabilities.
Itofersafexibleportalstructuretoallowsingleteamsofcustomerserviceagentstosupport
separatebrands.Italsoofersstrongreportingcapabilities,withabreadthofcustomerservice
reportstoalloworganizationstomonitortheiroperations.
MicrosofacquiredParatureinJanuary2014.MicrosofwillcontinuetooferParatureasa
standaloneproduct.MicrosofwillalsoleverageParatureschatandknowledgecapabilitiestofll
inthegapsinitsproductofering.ItcurrentlyofersprepackagedconnectorsfromDynamics
CRMtoParature,whichwillbestrengthenedin2014aswellasattractivebundledpricingto
enhancetheParaturefootprintwithintheDynamicsCRMinstalledbase.Paratureisbestsuited
forsmallteamslookingtodeployamultichannelsolutionwithanemphasisonwebself-service.
Contenders
Astute Solutions delivers agent productivity with a focus on select industries.Withan
averagedeploymentsizeoffewerthan100agents,AstuteSolutionsfocusesonmidsizeteams
morethanonsmallteamsintheconsumerpackagedgoods,retail,restaurant,andairline
industries.ItsePCproductoferssolid,across-the-boardcapabilities,whichareenhancedby
otherproductsintheAstuteportfolio.ePCoferssoundincidentmanagementcapabilities,with

solidscriptingandstrongworkfow.Ithassoundmultichannelcapabilities:soundcustomer-to-
agentchat,butweakchatsupervisortools;strongemailresponsemanagement;andsoundsocial
customerservice.Tecoreproducthasveryweaknativesociallisteningcapabilities,instead
leveragingthestrongcapabilitiesoftheAstutesocialrelationshipmanagement(SRM)product.
Ithassoundknowledgebaseandverystrongvirtualagentcapabilities,whichareintegratedinto
itscoreknowledgemanagementsolution.AstuteePChasveryweakreporting.Fullreporting
capabilitiesincludingdashboarding,advanceddatavisualization,andadvancedareprovided
bytheAstuteInsightssolution.Ithassoundintegration,customization,andconfguration,but
weaksecurityandusability.
Astutehasasmallcustomerbase,whichitsupportswithbasicuseradoptionandsupport
methodologies.Astutecontinuallyassessesandoptimizestheeconomicvaluethatcustomers
realize,buildingstrongloyaltywithinitscustomerbase.Tecompanyhasaweakbusiness
visionfortheproduct,whichiscenteredonsimplifyingtheagentexperiencebybuildingsimple,
integratedtoolsetsinordertodeliverbettercustomerservice.However,Astutehasasound
visionforsolvingcustomer-facingproblems.Itsfocusonahandfulofindustrieshasallowedit
tobeproftableandexperiencestrongrevenuegrowthyearoveryear.Astutebestsuitsmidsize
teamsinconsumer-focusedcompanieswithknowledgemanagementneeds,whichcanutilize
thebreadthoftheAstuteportfoliotocomplementcorecapabilitiesofitsePCsolution.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
Online Resource
TeonlineversionofFigure5isanExcel-basedvendorcomparisontoolthatprovidesdetailed
productevaluationsandcustomizablerankings.
Data Sources Used In This Forrester Wave Evaluation
Forresterusedacombinationofseveraldatasourcestoassessthestrengthsandweaknessesofeach
solution:
Vendor surveys. Forrestersurveyedvendorsontheircapabilitiesastheyrelatetotheevaluation
criteria.Onceweanalyzedthecompletedvendorsurveys,weconductedvendorcallsand
briefngswherenecessarytogatherdetailsofvendorqualifcations.
Customer reference survey. Tovalidateproductandvendorqualifcations,Forresteralso
conductedasurveyofsomevendorscurrentcustomers.
The Forrester Wave Methodology

Weconductprimaryresearchtodevelopalistofvendorsthatmeetourcriteriatobeevaluated
inthismarket.Fromthatinitialpoolofvendors,wethennarrowourfnallist.Wechoosethese
vendorsbasedon:1)productft;2)customersuccess;and3)Forresterclientdemand.Weeliminate
vendorsthathavelimitedcustomerreferencesandproductsthatdontftthescopeofourevaluation.
Aferexaminingpastresearch,userneedassessments,andvendorandexpertinterviews,wedevelop
theinitialevaluationcriteria.Toevaluatethevendorsandtheirproductsagainstoursetofcriteria,
wegatherdetailsofproductqualifcationsthroughacombinationoflabevaluations,questionnaires,
demos,and/ordiscussionswithclientreferences.Wesendevaluationstothevendorsfortheirreview,
andweadjusttheevaluationstoprovidethemostaccurateviewofvendoroferingsandstrategies.
Wesetdefaultweightingstorefectouranalysisoftheneedsoflargeusercompaniesand/or
otherscenariosasoutlinedintheForresterWavedocumentandthenscorethevendorsbased
onaclearlydefnedscale.Tesedefaultweightingsareintendedonlyasastartingpoint,andwe
encouragereaderstoadapttheweightingstofttheirindividualneedsthroughtheExcel-based
tool.Tefnalscoresgeneratethegraphicaldepictionofthemarketbasedoncurrentofering,
strategy,andmarketpresence.Forresterintendstoupdatevendorevaluationsregularlyasproduct
capabilitiesandvendorstrategiesevolve.Formoreinformationonthemethodologythatevery
ForresterWaveevaluationfollows,gotohttp://www.forrester.com/marketing/policies/forrester-
wave-methodology.html.
Integrity Policy
AllofForrestersresearch,includingForresterWaveevaluations,isconductedaccordingtoour
integritypolicy.Formoreinformation,gotohttp://www.forrester.com/marketing/policies/integrity-
policy.html.
ENDNOTES
1
Forresterdataconfrmsthestrongrelationshipbetweenthequalityofafrmscustomerexperience(as
measuredbyForrestersCustomerExperienceIndex)andloyaltymeasuressuchaswillingnesstoconsider
thecompanyforanotherpurchase,likelihoodtoswitchbusiness,andlikelihoodtorecommend.Seethe
July7,2011,TheBusinessImpactOfCustomerExperience,2011report.
2
Tohelpcustomerexperienceprofessionalsprovethebusinessvalueofabetterenterprisecustomer
experience,webuiltsimplemodelsthatshowhowrevenueincreaseswhenacompanysCustomer
ExperienceIndex(CxPi)scoregoesup.Ourmodelsshowthatthebeneftsaresignifcantacrossall11
industrieswelookedat.Wirelesscarriersandairlineshavethelargestpotentialupside:morethan$2billion.
Customerexperienceprofessionalsshouldusetheinteractivemodelsinthisreporttoestimatetherange
ofbeneftstheirfrmmightsee.Tatdatacombinedwithcustomersverbatimcommentsandcustomer
experiencestorieswillhelpcustomerexperienceleadersmakeapowerfulcaseforchange.SeetheJune
10,2013,TheBusinessImpactOfCustomerExperience,2013report.
3
WhenconsumersswitchfromtheWebtothephone,email,orchat,acompanyscosttoservethemgoesup
dramatically.Forresterbuiltmodelstoadduptheunnecessarycostthataretailermightincurasaresultof
missedself-serviceopportunities.Calculationsshowedanextra$22,567,967insalesandservicecoststhat
couldhavebeenavoidedifthewebsitehadenableduserstocompletetheirgoals.SeetheJanuary13,2011,
2011WillChallengeTheStatusQuoOfeBusinessOnlineCustomerServicereport.
4
Fortheseventhconsecutiveyear,Forresteraskedmorethan7,500consumerstoratetheexperiencesthey
hadwith175brandsacross14industries.One-tenthofthebrandsweaskedaboutearnedscoresinthe
poororverypoorcategories.SeetheJanuary21,2014,TheCustomerExperienceIndex,2014report.
5
OverhalfofUSonlineconsumersarelikelytoabandontheironlinepurchaseiftheycannotfndaquick
answertotheirquestions,andthree-quarterssaythatvaluingtheirtimeisthemostimportantthinga
companycandotoprovidethemwithgoodserviceSource:NorthAmericanTechnographicsCustomer
ExperienceSurvey,2013.
Formoredataontheefectsofcustomerexperience,seetheMarch11,2013,UnderstandCommunication
ChannelNeedsToCraftYourCustomerServiceStrategyreport.
6
Source:NorthAmericanTechnographicsCustomerExperienceOnlineSurvey,2013.
7
AccentureGlobalConsumerPulseSurveymeasuredtheexperiencesof12,867customersin32countries
andacross10industriestogaininsightintothechangingdynamicsoftodaysnonstopcustomersand
assessconsumerattitudestowardmarketing,sales,andcustomerservicepractices.Tesurveyincluded
1,256UScustomers.Source:GlobalConsumerPulseResearch,Accenture(http://www.accenture.com/
microsites/global-consumer-pulse-research/Pages/home.aspx).
8
TisdatawasderivedfromtheNorthAmericanTechnographicsCustomerExperienceOnlineSurvey,Q4
2012(US),whichaskedUScustomerswhatcommunicationchannelstheyhadusedtoreceivecustomer
serviceinthepast12months.
9
Forresterasked7,506USonlineconsumerswhatcommunicationchannelstheyhadusedtoreceive
customerserviceinthepast12months.Source:NorthAmericanTechnographicsCustomerExperience
OnlineSurvey,Q42012(US).
10
Witha67%overallaverageadoptionrateacrossgenerations,helpandFAQsectionsarethemost
commonlyaccessedonlinecustomerservicechannel,andusageofthiscommunicationchannelhas
increasedby10percentagepointsinthepastthreeyears.Butwitha58%satisfactionrate,thischannelhas
oneofthelowest-reportedsatisfactionratings.Tisistheresultoffewcompanieshavingsolidknowledge
managementprogramsinplacetooptimizecontentbasedoncontentusagedata,searchtermanalysis,and
customersatisfactionratings.SeetheMarch11,2013,UnderstandCommunicationChannelNeedsTo
CraftYourCustomerServiceStrategyreport.
11
SalesforcesambitionsaretohelpclientscreateInternetsofcustomersthroughanytime,anywhere,
intelligentinteractionsandservices.Salesforce1helpsunifytheweakintegrationbetweenitsvarious
platformsandtools.SeetheNovember26,2013,QuickTake:WithSalesforce1,Finally,AnIntegrated
CloudPlatformreport.
12
Foradetailedevaluationofthesesolutionsforenterpriseorganizations,seetheApril,7,2014,The
ForresterWave:CustomerServiceSolutionsForEnterpriseOrganizations,Q22014report.
13
Elevenvendorsolutionssuitableforenterprisecustomerserviceorganizationsareevaluatedinour
evaluationofcustomerservicesolutionsforenterpriseorganizations.SeetheApril7,2014,TheForrester
Wave:CustomerServiceSolutionsForEnterpriseOrganizations,Q22014report.
Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR) is a global research and advisory frm serving professionals in 13 key roles across three distinct client
segments. Our clients face progressively complex business and technology decisions every day. To help them understand, strategize, and act
upon opportunities brought by change, Forrester provides proprietary research, consumer and business data, custom consulting, events and
online communities, and peer-to-peer executive programs. We guide leaders in business technology, marketing and strategy, and the technology
industry through independent fact-based insight, ensuring their business success today and tomorrow. 113657

About Forrester
A global research and advisory frm, Forrester inspires leaders,
informs better decisions, and helps the worlds top companies turn
the complexity of change into business advantage. Our research-
based insight and objective advice enable IT professionals to
lead more successfully within IT and extend their impact beyond
the traditional IT organization. Tailored to your individual role, our
resources allow you to focus on important business issues
margin, speed, growth frst, technology second.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
TofndouthowForresterResearchcanhelpyoubesuccessfuleveryday,please
contacttheofcenearestyou,orvisitusatwww.forrester.com.Foracompletelist
ofworldwidelocations,visitwww.forrester.com/about.
CLIENT SUPPORT
Forinformationonhard-copyorelectronicreprints,pleasecontactClientSupport
at+1866.367.7378,+1617.613.5730,orclientsupport@forrester.com.Weofer
quantitydiscountsandspecialpricingforacademicandnonproftinstitutions.
Forrester Focuses On
Application Development & Delivery Professionals
Responsible for leading the development and delivery of applications
that support your companys business strategies, you also choose
technology and architecture while managing people, skills, practices,
and organization to maximize value. Forresters subject-matter expertise
and deep understanding of your role will help you create forward-thinking
strategies; weigh opportunity against risk; justify decisions; and optimize
your individual, team, and corporate performance.
ANDREA DAVIES, client persona representing Application Development & Delivery Professionals

Forrester Wave Customer Exp SMB 2186302

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Forrester Wave Customer Exp SMB 2186302

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Forrester Research, Inc.

, 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140 USA

, Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar,

Vendors From Adjacent Markets Emerge As Competitors

The Forrester Wave Methodology

You might also like