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哪来的"CRM软件形同虚设"?

袁道唯 2003/03/05

　　今天(3/5/03)在网上传播的报道 "Gartner调查：CRM软件形同虚设"(见以下附件一)的标题很张扬, 当然也就吸引眼球. 给读者的感觉是所谓的CRM软件名不符实. 既然是虚设, 当然应该撤掉了. 事实上, 该文英文原文的标题是" CRM: Software or shelfware?" (见附件二), 讲的是有不少公司, 买了CRM软件后并没有开始使用, 完全不牵涉到CRM的软件本身的功能问题. 之所以还没使用, 原作者列举了以下几种原因(我归纳并排列):

1. 用户正在安装, 而这一过程可能要化一年甚至更长时间
2. 厂商推折扣, 企业贪便宜, 结果购买过多
3. 工人对变革, 对新技术的抵抗
4. 企业预算裁减, 没钱请咨询顾问帮助实施
5. 企业裁人, 用户减少.

　　当今众多编译品的作者常常凭着一知半解的专业知识, 勉强使用的英文加上渲染想象将"作品"推到读者面前. 误人子弟的例子不胜枚举. 这篇编译虽没有那么离谱, 但也反映虚浮与文字, 专业知识的欠缺. 比如, 编译者似乎分不清软件使用许可证(license)与软件本身的区别. 又如, 作者翻译道:

　　"但是随着经济低迷，CRM软件的销量开始下降。Gartner公司预测，今年CRM软件的销售仍会保持低弱水平"

　　看一下原文, 其准确表达应该是:

　　" CRM软件主要厂商的销量随着经济不景气而下降, Gartner预测今年这些厂商的销售仍将持平". CRM 软件销售没有那么红火, 但不一定能称为"低弱". 英文flat 没有低弱的意思.

　　对于作者列举的五个原因, 编译者也只翻译了一个: 厂商的折扣. 编译的结果导致读者相信, 是CRM软件不好, CRM厂商欺骗. 而原作者的态度则客观得多.

附一

Gartner调查：CRM软件形同虚设

卫东 编译
2003-3-4 16:12:15

　　据一个新的调查报告，在购买了客户关系管理软件（CRM）的众多公司中，有相当比例的企业在购买之后从未使用过。

　　由Gartner公司完成的对近700家公司的调查显示，购买了CRM软件使 用许可的公司中，42%的公司还没有安装过该软件。Gartner公司打算本周在芝加哥举行的CRM软件会议上公布上述调查。

　　许多分析人士认为，大多数CRM软件在卖出去之后仅仅是躺在购买者的架子上，并未投入实际使用。

　　Gartner的调查是一系列置疑CRM软件有效性的调查中最新的一个。由Siebel、SAP、Oracle、PeopleSoft以及Epiphany等公司唱主角的CRM软件市场价值30亿美元。生产商吹嘘说，CRM是帮助企业节省开支，促进与客户关系的有效工具，因为CRM软件可以使得企业销售，市场策划以及售后服务等一系列环节进行流水化作业。

　　在1990年代末期，CRM是一个增长非常迅速的企业应用软件领域，但是随着经济低迷，CRM软件的销量开始下降。Gartner公司预测，今年CRM软件的销售仍会保持低弱水平。而且真正的损失是，企业花了数百万美元购买CRM软件，但却从来没有真正去用它。

　　造成这种巨大浪费的原因很多，其中之一是，软件供应商提供富有吸引力的打折来鼓励客户购买超出他们实际需要的软件。这样尽管客户没有真正使用该软件，但因为是便宜货，因而也不会觉得太亏。但是，这样的公司往往支付更高的维护费用，可能高达购买使用许可费的四分之一。有些购买协议还规定，客户每年都要为CRM软件支付维护费用，持续几年，而不管实际上是否使用了该软件。

附二：

CRM: Software or shelfware?

By Alorie Gilbert
CNET News.com
March 4, 2003, 4:19 AM PT

When it comes to customer relationship management software, much of what businesses purchase is never put to use, according to a new study.

A survey of nearly 700 companies conducted by research firm Gartner indicates that 42 percent of CRM software licenses purchased have yet to be installed. Gartner intends to publish the results of the survey this week at its CRM software conference in Chicago.

One caveat is that some of the respondents may intend to use more licenses eventually but still are installing the software, a process that can take a year or more. But the results, according to Gartner analyst Esteban Kolsky, reflect a trend many analysts have observed recently: A lot of CRM software that's sold ends up sitting idly on buyers' shelves.

The Gartner survey is the most recent in a string of reports questioning the effectiveness of CRM software, a $3 billion market lead by Siebel Systems, SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft and Epiphany. The software makers tout CRM as a tool to help companies save money and boost customer loyalty, because it's designed to streamline corporate sales, marketing and call center activities.

CRM was a hot growth area in the business applications market in the late 1990s, but sales among the leading providers have declined amid the depressed economy. Gartner predicts that sales will remain flat this year, and its latest findings aren't likely to make the job of selling CRM applications any easier. But the real losers in all of this, Kolsky said, are the companies who sank millions of dollars into technology they never used.

The reasons for the wasted spending are varied, according to Kolsky. One cause is the aggressive discounting practices in the software industry, he said. Software companies often encourage customers to buy more licenses than they may initially need by offering large volume discounts. If some buyers never use all the software they purchased, they may feel that, with the discount, it was still worth it. But those companies often fail to factor in the higher maintenance fees, which can add up to nearly a fourth of the license cost per seat, he said. Under some software contracts, companies are required to continue paying maintenance fees annually for several years whether they use the software or not, he added.

Other reasons CRM software often goes to waste, Kolsky said, include the resistance to change and new technology among workers. Declining technology budgets at many companies also have drained the corporate coffers of funding for the consulting services needed to install the applications. Companies spend one to five times as much on CRM consulting as they do on software licenses, Kolsky said. Another possibility is that companies have cut their work force as a result of the economic recession and simply have less people on staff to use the software.

Not surprisingly, news of the Gartner survey elicited a fresh round of finger-pointing among CRM rivals.

"This is the fallout of old-line CRM vendors, like Siebel, that oversold and under-delivered," said Brad Wilson, vice president of marketing for PeopleSoft's CRM unit.

Siebel representatives were not immediately available to comment.

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