ANALYSIS 2 The pump is primed for CRM in the higher education market 2 A gathering storm will drive the more pervasive institutional adoption of CRM 2 Powerful factors may impede the more substantive adoption of CRM 2 Higher education institutions have unique requirements of CRM solutions 3 The institutional IT infrastructure poses unique challenges for CRM solutions 3 Integration and interoperability are central to an effective CRM solution 3 CRM depends on analytics which in turn depends on integration and interoperability 4 Outside in or inside out - institutions have two options when adding a CRM solution 5 The most effective solutions support the entire student lifecycle 6 CRM solutions must support a diverse array of institutional stakeholders 6 An internal institutional audience requires specific functionality 7 Configurability offers institutions the flexibility to create a customized look and feel 8 Usability increases the likelihood of widespread adoption 8 Role-based views of the solution enable end users to use it more effectively 8 Automated workflows help end users to be more productive 9 Professional services aide in the creation of a robust CRM strategy 9 Millennial and non-traditional students are pushing the envelop for CRM functionality 9 Students are drawn to a customized institutional experience 10 Self-service functionality is core to an appealing CRM solution 10 Multi-channel capabilities enable institutions to communicate with students more effectively 11 A note on communications resistance 11 The competitive landscape for CRM is comprised of a broad set of vendors 11 Niche vendors support discrete departmental processes 12 Nimble horizontal vendors bring robust functionality to higher education 13 Large software vendors bring the stack together into a complete solution 13 ACTIONS 14 Institutions will increasingly adopt more sophisticated CRM functionality 14 The boundaries will blur between CRM and other mission-critical applications 14 Growing market maturity will tighten the CRM competitive landscape 14
APPENDIX 15 Abbreviations 15 Definitions 15 Methodology 15 Further reading 16 Ask the analyst 16 Our consulting 16 Disclaimer 16
List of Figures Figure 1: Using student data from multiple sources is the cornerstone to effective CRM 4 Figure 2: The most value is realized from adopting CRM solutions that support the entire student lifecycle 6 Figure 3: Institutional end users have unique requirements of CRM solutions 7 Figure 4: The emerging CRM market supports a diverse set of vendors 12
