Well, we talk about the billions in potential CRM revenues, IDC performs deep market analysis, Gartner and others talk about where the gaps still lie, etc.

But the best way to really understand how huge the TOTAL market for CRM is these days, just go out and talk to people starting and running new businesses. You will see that most of these people are fascinated by the concept of automating processes, centralizing data, and simply being able to take control of some of their business like they couldn’t before.

I had some great conversations before and after presenting on SugarCRM at the Santa Cruz New Tech Alliance Meetup. (It’s a pretty cool concept, catching on in a lot of areas…more info is here.) There were a few tech types there who either knew SugarCRM or CRM in general. But a lot of the attendees were looking for new tools and applications to better their business.

Five years ago, this meetup probably wouldn’t have happened, but did thanks to web 2.0 blah blah blah…But also, five years ago these attendees wouldn’t have come away knowing that there are options when it comes to CRM that are affordable and flexible enough for their businesses. (Imagine 10 years ago?!! How ridiculous would a Siebel pitch be to a 10 person startup?)

It’s good to know that there are a lot of businesses and organizations that are now seeing CRM as a real potential strategy for their fledgling businesses, thanks to SaaS and open source.

So, for now, it’s still pretty much a: