The global CRM market recorded growth of 12.5% in 2008 despite economic downturn owing to high expenditure by businesses in both developed and developing countries.
 
Gartner, an information technology research and advisory firm, has reported that the global customer relationship management (CRM) market grew 12.5% in 2008 to $9.15 Billion from $8.13 Billion in 2007, as reported by Siliconindia.

CRM includes the process of a company by which it organizes and tracks contacts of its current and prospective customers. CRM software makes this process simpler and easily manageable for a company.

Demand for Software as a Service (SaaS) had a critical role in infusing growth in the customer relationship management market during 2008 as it accounted for nearly 28% of the total software revenue from over 15% recorded in 2007. SAP maintained its dominance on the CRM market by representing 22.5% of total software revenue worldwide followed by Oracle (16.1%) and Salesforce (10.6%). Microsoft secured the top position among five leading vendors as its revenue surged by 75% in 2008.

With rising take up of on-demand applications and the need to maintain customer base, expenditure on customer relationship management applications has been continuously soaring. It also highlights the significance of utilizing CRM applications for tracking consumer participation in social networking websites and online forums.

According to the research of Gartner, although the global financial crisis has almost hit every industry, the CRM market recorded double digit growth rate last year, fifth in a row. High expenditure by businesses to integrate new solutions contributed to this growth.

However, actual market growth moderated due to stronger dollar but contributions from emerging markets kept it moving. While the CRM market is mainly confined to western economies, emerging markets' share is gradually growing with collective contribution of around 16% to the global market.

Gartner has observed positive response from vendors who strongly believe that the market will continue to move upward in coming years. While the overall CRM growth prospects look positive for 2009, some industry experts anticipate that growth will decline to single digit owing to economic slowdown.

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, "Technological investments, which enhance productivity, improve product or service visibility and gives insight into customer behavior, sales and marketing activities in the CRM market are expected to grow in coming year. Hence, these factors will keep the market rolling."

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