SugarCRM, a provider of the award-winning intelligence-driven sales automation platform, has announced the acquisition of sales-i, a leading provider of revenue intelligence solutions. This strategic move is aimed at helping businesses maximize their revenue and profitability by leveraging a company’s ERP and CRM data. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition builds on a nearly year-long partnership between SugarCRM and sales-i, aimed at improving B2B sales performance through AI-powered revenue intelligence. This integration harnesses the data from a business’s ERP system and CRM to deliver actionable insights that enhance sales, marketing, service, and support functions, ultimately driving greater revenue and customer retention. “We are bringing together two great companies with complementary products, a shared vision for customer success, and experience and expertise at using machine learning, AI, and generative AI to unlock the value of front-office and back-office data,” said Craig Charlton, CEO of SugarCRM. “This combination delivers actionable, intelligent sales strategies that will improve revenue, maximize profitability, increase customer satisfaction, and produce more efficient salespeople.”
Paul Black, Founder and CEO of sales-i, echoed this sentiment, stating, “The partnership of sales-i and SugarCRM has enabled companies to gain unrivaled insights into their customer buying behavior. Together, we’ll expand our capabilities and accelerate development processes that will benefit customers and create a significant market impact.” The combined efforts of these two companies are set to revolutionize how businesses interpret and act on their data, enhancing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of their sales strategies.
Unlocking the Power of AI and Data for Sales Efficiency
The focus on integrating ERP and CRM data to drive intelligent account management comes at a crucial time when businesses are increasingly adopting subscription and usage-based pricing models. According to Stephen Hurrell, Research Director in the Office of Revenue at ISG’s Ventana Research, “Relying only on CRM data sells account management short. Upselling and cross-selling to the same customers is more profitable than finding and selling to new customers, but it requires a fuller understanding of your customer gained from building and sustaining a long-term relationship. This new announcement from SugarCRM seeks to address this need across many types of industries and enterprises.”
The acquisition is designed to help businesses sift through large volumes of data to find cross-sell or up-sell opportunities and ensure customers meet their buying commitments. By integrating sales-i’s capabilities, SugarCRM can provide businesses with specific insights on trends, product usage, and customer interactions, allowing for more informed and effective sales strategies. Beth Freeman, Executive Vice President of FSIoffice, highlighted the practical benefits: “Integrating sales-i with SugarCRM has been a game-changer for our team, putting valuable sales insights right at our fingertips. I love that we can combine soft data (such as customer interactions) with hard data (such as purchase history) to better serve our customers’ needs. We are also more efficient, targeted, and effective in our outreach since sales-i unlocks insight into buying behavior and, in turn, prompts our sales team in Sugar with specific product placement suggestions. It saves us so much time, especially as we onboard new salespeople.”
A Future of Enhanced Customer Insights and Sales Performance
The combination of SugarCRM and sales-i will significantly expand the capabilities available to their combined customer base. The acquisition will enable the integrated entity to deliver more advanced sales, marketing, and service automation solutions. Sales-i customers will benefit from being part of a global company, allowing them to conduct business worldwide and seamlessly leverage advanced sales tools. Meanwhile, SugarCRM customers will gain access to the rich sales data stored in their ERP systems, enhancing their revenue intelligence capabilities.
The acquisition also underscores a shared commitment to AI and machine learning technologies. The combined investments in AI will allow SugarCRM to deliver innovative solutions more quickly, helping businesses unlock the full potential of their data. The partnership aims to help organizations see, interpret, and act on their customer data more effectively, serving as an intelligent account management system that supports large-scale management requirements and outmaneuvers competitive threats.