Keane, Webridge Team For PRM Push

Integrators are beginning to seize the opportunities promised by partner relationship management software.

Last week, Boston-based IT consulting firm Keane Inc. partnered with Portland, Ore.-based PRM vendor Webridge Inc. to deliver PRM software to a variety of vertical markets,including manufacturing, financial services and health care.

The agreement calls for Keane to develop expertise in Webridge's Partner Express, Portal Express and Commerce Express products, which the vendor said are designed to provide enterprise commerce in as little as 90 days. In turn, Webridge will provide software and help train Keane's developers.

PRM adds to the integrator's portfolio of customer relationship management (CRM) software and services, said Kevin Ashworth, director of product strategy for E-Solutions at Keane. "[PRM] is another part of understanding who are your best customers," he said.

PRM is an emerging breed of enterprise software expected to help integrators penetrate the maturing enterprise resource planning and CRM markets, analysts said.

PRM software will appeal particularly to companies that rely on indirect channels as key sources of revenue, according to a white paper from Aberdeen Group Inc., a Boston-based research firm.

"The CRM marketplace has been so hot and is doing so well, but only about one-third of the players have had an impact," said Karen Smith, senior research analyst at Aberdeen's CRM practice. "Those left over are looking for new niches, and PRM is one area that hasn't been addressed."

PRM software is ideal for any industry that relies on a distribution channel, but until about two years ago, it would have been nearly impossible to implement, Smith said.

"With the Internet and Web-architected applications, it is easier to do now," Smith said. "I also think the customers have higher expectations these days as new technologies emerge, and they want a better way of managing their channels."

The high-tech industry has taken the lead so far in PRM deployment, said Gary Whitney, vice president of marketing at Webridge. "But now we're starting to see financial, insurance and manufacturing companies who don't call their channels resellers, but [instead, call them] agents and brokers and a variety of other things," he said.

Nevertheless, traditional CRM players, such as Siebel Systems Inc., San Mateo, Calif., have said PRM is not necessary as a solution separate from CRM, said Aberdeen's Smith. "They're adding on capabilities in CRM to address the channel, but it's an add-on feature of CRM," Smith said. "Meanwhile, PRM vendors would point out the complexities and inefficiencies in the channel that merit a separate solution."

Another vendor gaining recognition in the PRM space is San Francisco-based Allegis Corp.

Channel partners may not be on the same network as an in-house sales force, and incentives that drive in-house sales mean very little to the indirect channel, said Ken Rosen, vice president of marketing at Allegis.

"The most important singular business need to keep in mind is the schism between a captive sales force and peer companies that come together to do business," Rosen said. "This leads to a break between sales-force automation."

While Allegis distributes its PRM software mainly through ASPs, Webridge uses Web integrators to tie its solution into existing enterprise systems.CRN

For more on enterprise software, go to: www.crn.com/thisweek

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