Coming off a strong Q4 2010, Pardot today announced that its marketing automation suite has been certified Platform Ready for integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

The certification denotes that Microsoft recognizes a product as tested, approved and compatible with their offerings. Pardot debuted its Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration at the 2010 Microsoft Convergence event in Atlanta. The Pardot team will return to Microsoft Convergence this May to showcase the new and improved Dynamics CRM integration.

Teradata has finalized its acquisition of Aprimo, a leading provider of cloud-based integrated marketing software. Executives promise the marriage of the two companies will enable corporations to optimize marketing performance with more detailed, comprehensive insights from a universe exploding with big data.

“There are two core values that Teradata and Aprimo share: one is a commitment to customer loyalty and success,” said Lisa Arthur, CMO of Aprimo. “We’re extremely customer driven. Teradata happens to be extremely customer-centric as well, so we have a bond at the DNA level of ‘customer first’ and customer centricity. That, coupled with another one of our core values around the integrity and respect of individuals, is about winning in the market the right way…I can’t think of a better marriage for Aprimo than with Teradata. That bond puts real value behind this union.”

The marketing automation momentum continues. ReachForce recently announced the closing of $4.6 million in growth financing. MK Capital, which successfully financed marketing automation vendor Aprimo, and master data management leader, Initiate Systems, led the round with participation from current ReachForce investor, GSA Venture Partners. In conjunction with the financing, Mark Koulogeorge, Managing General Partner of MK Capital, will join the ReachForce Board of Directors.

ReachForce significantly expanded its customer base in 2010, adding over 100 new customers. The company also said its Information-as-a-Service solutions saw 100% annual growth. Major customer wins included Citrix Online, Juniper Networks and Research in Motion (RIM), as well as new channel partners including Televerde, The Pedowitz Group and Ziff Davis Enterprises.

In skyrocketing to more than 700 companies in its first two years in business, Marketo’s customer base has been made up primarily of small to mid-sized organizations. Based on the results of the recently wrapped quarter, Marketo is now making inroads with enterprise customers as well.

Marketo announced its Q4 results, during which the company increased its customer count to more than 850, signing 80 new customers in the month of December alone. In closing out 2010, Marketo reported it had doubled its customer count during the year and saw revenue growth of 315% year over year.

The company also saw its client roster expand within the enterprise sector, with nine new customers at corporations with revenue over $1 billion, the company’s first million dollar deal and its fourth deal at a Fortune 15 company.

Alinean, creator of value-based interactive sales and marketing tools for BtoB vendors, announced record growth in 2010, during which the company added more than 20 new clients and increased its revenue by more than 15%. New client additions include Autodesk, BMC Software, CSC, CiRBA, Informatica, MessageSystems, PGI, Rackspace and ShoreTel.

Alinean expanded its headquarters to the landmark One Eleven building in downtown Orlando. The company also added new management with the appointment of four new vice presidents: Steve Thomas, VP of Finance & Business Operations; Peter Brooks, VP, Professional Services; Johanna Rivard, VP, Demand Center and Sales Operations; and Dan Sixsmith, VP Channel Development. For 2011, Alinean plans to continue expansion plans by adding at least seven new team members.

By Lisa Arthur, CMO, Aprimo

I’m not a fan of “all or nothing” declarations.

For years, BtoB marketers were told that successful marketing automation was simply a matter of lead generation. We heard that if we could just focus our attention on uncovering and scoring leads, then presto! Our problems would be solved. Now, the volume is amping up on a new cure-all: revenue. Simply turn the spotlight on revenue, and you’ll score big. It’s that simple — or, so they say.

By Lisa Arthur, CMO, Aprimo

I’m not a fan of “all or nothing” declarations.

For years, BtoB marketers were told that successful marketing automation was simply a matter of lead generation. We heard that if we could just focus our attention on uncovering and scoring leads, then presto! Our problems would be solved. Now, the volume is amping up on a new cure-all: revenue. Simply turn the spotlight on revenue, and you’ll score big. It’s that simple — or, so they say.

Demandbase, a provider of marketing performance improvement solutions for BtoB marketers, has introduced Account Watch, a new feature of its Real-Time ID Service. Account Watch is designed to enable Real-time ID Service customers to connect their own CRM data to their web site, enabling companies to deliver targeted messages to visitors and trigger sales notifications in real-time.

“The ability for a company to know, in advance, when a target account from its sales and marketing database is about to visit its web site and to take action in a real-time manner to maximize the value of that visit has, until now, been nothing more than a marketer’s pipedream,” said Jeff Zabin, Chief and Research Director, Gleanster, and author of the business bestseller Precision Marketing.

With the financial markets buzzing over recent M&A activity and planned IPOs from high profile brands such as Responsys and LinkedIn, industry watchers are keeping a close eye on the next move for venture-backed players. In an interesting twist, Eloqua CEO Joe Payne revealed the company is already meeting with analysts and taking steps to prepare for a public offering.

“Great companies and great markets have a tendency to go public,” he said in an exclusive interview with DemandGen Report. “We believe that [the marketing automation space] is a viable and important market.” Payne also called the automation space an “inevitable market,” pointing out the direct impact the tools have on revenue generation. “We want to build our business so it’s attractive to investors,” he said. “That’s why we would point towards an IPO.”

BtoB demand-generation agency Bulldog Solutions earned two finalist nominations in the fifth annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Bulldog has been selected as a finalist in the “Marketing Solutions–New” category for its third-party data integration solution, and Bulldog client Motorola Enterprise Mobility Business is a finalist in the “Demand Generation Program of the Year” for the Mobile Advantage 2010: Change the Game virtual tradeshow. More than 800 entries were submitted for this year’s Stevie Awards.