Smart Communications Named a CCM ‘Technology Leader’ in SPARK Matrix 2024 Report

By Scott Draeger, SVP of Product Marketing and Vertical Solutions at Smart Communications 

As 2023 drew to a close, the analysts at Quadrant Knowledge Solutions were busy evaluating 18 customer communications management (CCM) technology vendors on the Customer Impact and Technology Excellence of their solutions. Smart Communications’ position in the Technology Leaders category improved significantly and is the highest-placed cloud-native SaaS CCM vendor. The Smart Communications team is eager to share some highlights of the 2024 SPARK Matrix for Customer Communication Management (CCM) Q1, 2024 with you in this article. You can download the entire report here to see these highlights in the full context of a transforming CCM market.  

SPARK Matrix 2024 Report at a Glance

The report stresses the importance of customer communications to the entire customer lifecycle for all types of organizations. “Recently, it has become crucial to enhance the customer experience at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Therefore, organizations are focusing on becoming more customer-centric, hence the need for customer communication management.” The analysts claim that “The key objectives of a CCM platform are to enhance the customer experience, ensure regulatory compliance, and optimize communication processes by providing a unified and automated approach to managing customer communications.” 

The benefits of CCM modernization are clearly articulated, “Implementing a CCM platform offers significant business benefits by optimizing operational workflows and delivering a more tailored customer experience. The platform's integration of communication channels, including print, email, SMS, and web, enhances operational efficiency, reduces manual intervention, and minimizes the risk of errors. Improved resource utilization and streamlined document creation contribute to operational efficiency.” 

We are proud of their findings, “Smart Communications specializes in delivering robust Customer Communications Management (CCM) solutions, providing organizations with a platform to streamline and elevate their communication processes.” They continue to stress how communications are efficiently designed, implemented, and managed, “Smart Communications facilitates seamless communication workflows, spanning content creation to distribution, ensuring a standardized and personalized customer experience with its adaptable and scalable features.” 

SaaS CCM Moves Onward and Upward

The latest SPARK Matrix for Customer Communication Management (CCM) Q1, 2024 recognizes our company’s innovations within the Technology Leaders grouping with significant upward movements on the Customer Impact axis and a major shift to the right on the Technology Excellence axis. Our positioning as the highest placed cloud-native SaaS CCM solution proves that the CCM market is rewarding the pioneering approach to pure-SaaS CCM that we started in 2016. 

Throughout the report, Quadrant’s analysts consider solutions implementations through evaluation, demonstration, and input from live client implementations. They recognize our dedication to elevating customer communications in the age of customer experience by writing, “Smart Communications also helps users turn one-way communications into two-way customer conversations to enhance customer experiences and build a positive brand image.” The analysts also note the flexibility and broad vertical application of our technology, “Smart Communications offers a versatile solution, streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency across different industries.”  

Flexibility and Usability Differentiate Smart Communications

Some of today’s toughest challenges are in managing communications as regulations change language requirements, compliance needs, and business priorities in a rapidly changing market. 

The report understands the efficient approach of our solutions, “Its cloud-native SmartCOMM™ CCM platform features a unique 4-layer model for comprehensive template management. This breaks down structural elements, promoting reuse and sharing, unlike industry norms, which require separate templates for each language, channel, brand, and jurisdiction.” 

SaaS-based CCM deployments reduce implementation times, and innovative user interfaces drive flexibility and efficiency for organizations with complex communication needs. The SPARK Matrix focuses on the time and money saving aspects of our design technology, “The Template Designer, accessible through standard web browsers, empowers business users to edit and maintain templates amid evolving landscapes, reducing IT dependence. The Conversation Cloud platform offers capabilities that enable organizations to design personalized and interactive communications that can be delivered across various channels and engage with customers.” 

The SPARK Matrix report highlights the benefits of one of our differentiating features that drive savings and eliminates the source of design and implementation errors that is common in CCM technology, "The Editions feature in SmartCOMM simplifies segmentation in the CCM industry, it combines application of brand, language, jurisdictions, effective dates, idiom, and channels, making it the most user-friendly solution for multi-line and multi-brand businesses serving diverse cultural markets." 

CCM Technology for Now and the Future

Decisions around CCM technology investments last for years, with the average solution lasting more than 7 years. As you evaluate CCM technology to bring into your organization, or to apply your existing technology to adjacent projects within your organization, it is important to consider your future needs. As the analysts evaluated 18 technology vendors, they pointed out the end-to-end impacts Smart Communications’ portfolio is bringing, “Simultaneously, the roadmap includes enhanced upstream process optimization from SmartIQ, creating end-to-end customer experiences that improve outcomes and reduce overall effort. This positions Smart Communications at the forefront of innovation in the CCM landscape.” 

With an emphasis on improving experiences, reducing cost, accelerating change, and remaining compliant, it’s no wonder the Quadrant analysts wrote, “Organizations are increasingly investing in CCM solutions to streamline communication processes across various channels and offer personalized interactions. The rise of omnichannel communication, coupled with a focus on customer-centric strategies, is steering the market toward solutions that seamlessly integrate with diverse platforms.” Our integrations with Guidewire Software, OneSpan, Pega, Duck Creek Technologies, Salesforce, and other leading technologies are proof that Smart Communications will be a great integration partner for many years. 

We are excited to share these findings with you. We encourage you to download a copy and digest the full report for yourself. Its insights highlight how our approach to CCM offers you a way to elevate your customer communications by transforming them into two-way conversations. 

About the Author 
Scott Draeger is the SVP of Product Marketing and Vertical Solutions at Smart Communications. With a passion for collaboration, he focuses on how communications can be better for the recipient and perform better for the business. He started as a document designer using a collection of hardware and software technologies, before moving to the software side of the industry. His broad experience includes helping organizations improve heavily regulated customer communications all around the world.