Headline Feeds
Siebel led a list of top CRM applications ranked according to their size and expertise in eight vertical markets in a recent IDC report. Not surprisingly,
Oracle's (Nasdaq: ORCL) 
other CRM solutions -- thanks to multiple acquisitions over the last several years -- also dominate a majority of the categories.
However, in the communications and auto manufacturing verticals, two specialized, best-of-breed vendors ranked highest.
"That is, in fact, typical for those categories," said Noel Stevens, senior research analyst for IDC's software vertical views programs, who conducted the survey.
Another continuing trend captured by IDC -- and one that has deepened considerably over the last year or so -- is vendor concentration on industry verticals, Stevens added.
Siebel Leads
IDC examined vendors in communications, financial services, government, healthcare , manufacturing, retail/wholesale and utilities, plus a category it called "all others."
The market share positioning of CRM vendors was calculated using vertical segmentation of 2005 revenue in the report.
Siebel, Aspect Software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) , Oracle's non-Siebel applications and Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories were dominant in all categories, IDC found.
Siebel led in five areas: financial services, manufacturing, government, utilities and healthcare. Oracle's non-Siebel CRM placed second in the government and healthcare industry, whereas SAP ranked second in manufacturing.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) and Aspect were well positioned across industries, appearing in all but two verticals each, according to the report.
Salesforce.com maintained first place in the all other industry categories, followed by Aspect. Aspect ranked second in the financial services industry, as well.
Communications and Auto Sectors
Two vendors --
Reynolds and Reynolds and Amdocs (NYSE: DOX) -- appeared in the lead positions in communications and auto manufacturing areas, respectively. In the communications category, in particular, the industry tends to lean toward specialization, explained Stevens.
The healthcare category was not dominated by a best-of-breed vendor, which surprised Stevens. Manufacturing also differed in that several smaller vendors filled the landscape instead of a Siebel-like monolith, he added.
In the financial services sector, which is the largest CRM subcategory in the report, "Siebel really dominates ... holding more than 20 percent, claimed Stevens.
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