But while the move gives SAP visibility in the CRM market, it affords the company no real position of power, according to industry insiders. Forrester, in fact, warned its clients that they should not alter their CRM plans based on this alliance. Larsen, however, admits that development of SAP's own CRM product, announced nearly two years ago, has gone slowly, with only five of 12 planned modules making it to market so far.
Analysts say the five modules have received a lukewarm reception in the marketplace.
This alliance creates a higher level of credibility for us in the sense that up until now, when people thought of CRM, they thought of Siebel and Clarify. Oracle was mentioned, but SAP was not mentioned. Larsen says SAP will continue its development efforts on CRM products not related to call centers. We spent a lot of time talking with them, and that's not what I understood. SAP's Larsen says the three-year contract with Clarify is nonexclusive.