Next Tech Gold Rush? GenAI Investments to Reach $222B

This week on Funnel Frontier: Discover how GenAI drives major tech investment surge; plus GiveButter shows how a free CRM can turn a big profit.

This week:

• GenAI gen-erates lots of digital infrastructure spending

• A nonprofit CRM makes a profit—it's called GiveButter

• Making marketing and sales sync (via SugarCRM)

• Freshdesk vs Zendesk

• CRM for growing green (via Pipedrive

Stat of the Week 

65% of companies end up using a CRM within their first five years. (WebFX)

GenAI generates a whole lotta spending

It's true and not even ironic. GenAI—it's giving growth. 

According to a new report from analysts at ING, growth in genAI investments in digital infrastructure from big tech organizations will hit 15 to 22%. 

Quietly and separately, a report from SNS Insider said the market for AI infrastructure will grow at a crazy CAGR of 25.5% up to 2030 (where the market cap will be $222.42 billion USD).

And you better believe CRM Land came up. The ING report nodded at everyone's favorite mega-vendor, Salesforce. 

Specifically, it tipped Salesforce's rollout of its new Zero Copy Partner Network, which uses genAI to connect unstructured data.

Benioff and co. are teaming with heavyweights like Amazon Web Services, Databricks, Google Cloud, Snowflake, and shockingly even Microsoft. 

The idea is to create a floating fortress where customer data—structured or not—is seamlessly integrated into Salesforce's Data Cloud. 

Brian Millham, Salesforce's COO, pitches it as the end of the data diaspora. This network enables smarter, quicker, and cheaper ways to personalize customer experiences and anchor trust in AI. 

But if you need a pinch of salt, not everyone is biting on the transcendent quality of zero-copy. Some think it's mostly hype and a source of confusion for the customer data platform (CDP) market. 

In any case, it's clear there's a lot of economic potential on the table for genAI, and companies are paying to play. Talkin' bout my "generation" indeed.

The Week @ CRM.org

Best Pharma CRM. Wondering if your sales data is compliant, or if the aliens at Area 51 have a healthcare plan? A pharma CRM covers you in at least one of these scenarios. 

HubSpot vs Salesforce. In the CRM space race, they're both big players. One of them owns a skyscraper in SF, but more importantly, which one will own your heart?

CRM for Small Business. Only 25% of small businesses use a CRM. Think of that sweet, sweet edge if you implemented one of our top 10 picks (freshly updated).

Weekly Bloom

5 Benefits of Silence. Ever buy noise-canceling headphones just to drown out your coworker's keyboard? That's not just survival, it's also wisdom.

GiveButter nonprofit CRM makes profit

Okay, maybe this headline's a bit ironic. 

In a Ballardian twist that hits like something from a writer's all-nighter, Givebutter is churning the nonprofit tech world into a frothy excitement.

Starting in the humble confines of a George Washington University dorm, CRM has buttered up the nonprofit scene by squashing multiple software solutions into one slick spread. Eight years and a cool $50 million in fundraising later, CEO Max Friedman and his crew of "Butter Slices" have apparently crafted a platform that's as transparent as grandma's kitchen window and just as nurturing. 

With tech tools that cover everything from donor stalking to cash hoovering, Givebutter is proving that nonprofits, often seen as the thrift shops of the tech world, can sport some shiny, high-tech swag too. 

GiveButter has processed over a billion in donations, yet Friedman plays it cool, noting they've barely skimmed the surface of this behemoth of an industry.

As more tech savants wake up to the smell of nonprofit potential, Givebutter remains the toast of the town. It proves that even in a niche market like nonprofit CRM, you can still make a splash—or should we say, a spread?

Stellar Strategies: Tips & Tricks for Sales, Marketing & Service

Making marketing and sales sync (via SugarCRM)

In a world where Marketing and Sales can feel like galaxies spinning at different speeds, CRM emerges as cosmic glue.

From aligning strategies like twin stars in a binary system to managing leads on autopilot, CRM systems foster collaboration. And trust us, collaboration's the name of staying in the game. 

Marketing creates the map, Sales uses it to find new clients. So let's get them together and feel alright.

Check out SugarCRM's free "Sales + Marketing: Better Together" guide here.

Freshdesk vs Zendesk

Yes, they both have "desk" in the title. But one brings to mind the green smoothie lifestyle, while the other favors a meditation-core aesthetic.

Freshdesk entices with its free plan and bang-for-buck, waltzing in like a budget-conscious Buzz Aldrin. Zendesk parades an astral arsenal of features, tailored for bigger spenders craving customer-connection supremacy. 

What's clear is that in order to help customers, one must first help themselves sort out this software spiel. Fortunately, our detailed blow-by-blow comparison is here.

Growing green with CRM (via Pipedrive)

Small businesses are the earth's economic backbone. In the US, nearly half the American workforce is in small biz, generating 43.5% of the GDP.

This force faces no shortage of challenges. Surviving is tricky, and thriving doubly so. 

Thankfully, these days CRM tools offer a lifeline by optimizing operations. They also help spark sustainable practices that are no longer "nice to have," but rather crucial for longevity.

Smart segmentation and targeted comms help you zap just right, so you don't waste resources broadcasting to the void.

And let's not forget the supply chain—CRM can help ensure every link in the chain is as green as ye olde Orion Nebula.

As consumer preferences veer decisively to "sustainable," small businesses equipped with effective CRM tools can push the right big green button.

More on that sweet green-ness here.

Galactic Gourmet

CRM blips from around the web

HubSpot reports results for Q1 2024. They weren't too shabby—the vendor's revenue was up 23% compared to the same quarter last year, reaching $617.4 million. 

Salesforce will announce first fiscal quarter 2025 results on Wednesday, May 29. They'll be posted at close of market that day, and a conference call will follow at 5 PM EST. 

CRM, PLM, and PIM vendor Surefront releases retail sustainability guide. Free to download, the guide's topics include maintaining supply chain transparency and building a sustainable pipeline.

Astronomical Assets

Significant Stock Moves from Last Week

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