Why SugarCRM Is Buying Node

By Dan Anderson • Aug 25, 2020
  • SugarCRM, an innovator of time-aware customer experience (CX), recently announced the acquisition of Node Inc.

SugarCRM, an innovator of time-aware customer experience (CX), recently announced the acquisition of Node Inc. — which is an AI platform that leverages CRM data and vast external sources to deliver an unparalleled level of predictability across a whole array of different business use cases. This acquisition is going to fuel Sugar’s time-aware CX platform by automatically forecasting expected outcomes and highlighting previously unexpected challenges and opportunities.

Developing actionable insights based on data is a perennial issue for companies. And deep learning models are limited by the quality and quantity of input data — which historically has been inaccurate or incomplete in real-life CRM implementations. Node’s deep learning models identify signals with up to 81% greater accuracy than heuristic-based approaches to deliver the tangible benefits of heightened performance and true predictability.

This acquisition is the latest in a series of innovations supporting Sugar’s vision for the next frontier of high-definition customer experience (HD-CX) — which started last year with the launch of Sugar’s time-based no touch CX solutions for sales, marketing, and service teams.

Through Sugar’s time-aware CX platform, Node’s AI technology adds the most coveted element of time: the future. And the combined solution offers wide-ranging capabilities for sales, marketing, and service teams and include (but not limited to):

1.) Identifying customers most likely to churn, giving precious runway to remediate and engage with customers in the most strategic way possible

2.) Predicting the likelihood to convert from lead scoring models

3.) Insight-driven forecasting and prescriptive guidance for higher quota attainment and sale close monitoring

4.) Seamless recommendations for add-on products during the right phase of the customer journey increasing average sale size

5.) Ascertaining marketing attribution and contribution to closed business

6.) Improving customer engagement models through predictive case routing and contextual data in real time to empower customer service professionals

KEY QUOTES:

“Sugar has been a fantastic platform at its heart. Adding Node has the potential to bring impressive predictive accuracy to Sugar’s platform and products. And now more than ever it is critical to leverage all available data and signals to work towards better outcomes for both customers and the business alike.”

— Paul Greenberg, president of the 56 Group and author of CRM at the Speed of Light

“Obtaining a high definition view of your business and customers, from pipeline to forecasting, is all about replacing a fragmented, dated, and distorted picture with one that is sharply focused and rich in breadth and depth. Sugar is democratizing AI, ushering in a new frontier in CX with its powerful combination of AI, time-aware and data enrichment, to drive business performance and enable predictability for companies of all sizes.”

— Craig Charlton, CEO of SugarCRM