Introduction
 
Institutions of higher education are increasingly viewing students as customers they need to serve. CRM technologies targeted at higher education allow institutions to build strong relationships with students and other constituents. Based on a survey of 100 US higher education institutions, this Datamonitor document analyzes the market opportunity for CRM vendors in US higher education.
 

 
Scope
 
100 phone-based interviews with higher education institutions
 
Sample included a cross-section of institutions by type, control, organization and size
 
Respondents were senior IT decision-makers
 
Profiles a selection of CRM vendors and their higher education offerings
 
Highlights
 
Despite growing financial pressure, institutions of higher education are increasing their spending on CRM.
 

 
Institutions overwhelmingly agree that current students are their primary constituents. In order to support current and prospective students, institutions identified admissions & enrolment, student services, and financial aid as the areas driving CRM investment.
 

 
Successful CRM strategies will mimic the student lifecycle by strengthening relationships with candidates, students, and alumni.
 

 
Reasons to Purchase
 
Enhance your messaging with current, in-depth information on the higher education market
 
Tailor your CRM solutions strategy to address specific pain points facing higher education institutions
 
Benchmark your company relative to vendors already supplying CRM to higher education
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
 
Introduction 3
 
Market context 4
 
Competitor dynamics 4
 
The future decoded 5
 
CHAPTER 2 MARKET CONTEXT 9
 
Introduction 9
 
Key findings 9
 
The need for IT in higher education 11
 
Translating CRM for higher education institutions 13
 
Drivers of CRM investment in higher education 17
 
Inhibitors of CRM investment in higher education 20
 
CHAPTER 3 COMPETITIVE DYNAMICS 21
 
Introduction 21
 
Key findings 22
 
Vendor assessment 23
 
Profiles of selected CRM for higher education vendors 23
 
SAP 23
 
Oracle / PeopleSoft 24
 
Talisma 25
 
Jenzabar 25
 
SunGardSCT 26
 
Datatel 26
 
What vendors need to know 27
 
Use hard targets when discussing ROI 27
 
Institutions are wary of outsourcing 27
 
Be prepared for slow decisions 28
 
CHAPTER 4 THE FUTURE DECODED 29
 
Introduction 29
 
Adoption of CRM will mimic the student lifecycle 29
 
CRM investment by higher education will likely grow, but not aggressively 30
 
Conclusions 30
 
CHAPTER 5 APPENDIX 32
 
Supplementary data 32
 
Research methodology 32
 
References 32
 
Future readings 32
 
SPP writing team 33
 
How to contact experts in your industry 34
 

 
LIST OF FIGURES
 
Figure 1: Higher education IT spending in the US ($bn), 2004-2008 13
 
Figure 2: The main functions of CRM in higher education institutions 14
 
Figure 3: Development of CRM should follow the student lifecycle 15
 
Figure 4: Institutions of higher education must manage many relationships 16
 
Figure 5: Vendor assessment 23