The origin of Online CRM
Online CRM is the fastest growing area of CRM applications. It promises to render on-site CRM services obsolete in a few years to come. But it all began a few years ago when competition amongst small to medium sized businesses increased to an all time high. These businesses were competing against each other for a larger share of the pie and there was a need for improvised business practices, strategies and applications.

Software automation was the need of the hour but the lack of a single comprehensive platform that integrates all departments of software was apparent. Onsite CRM was a distant and far too expensive proposition for small companies to venture into.

CRM vendors were the first to notice this and they immediately went back to the drawing board and created a much more cost effective version of the CRM tool. This was called hosted CRM, onsite CRM, online CRM and software as a service or Saas.

The Pros

• CRM tools are hosted by a third party web host, typically the software vendor. These services are then delivered over the internet.



• Cost effectiveness: The cost of entry and installation is reduced by a huge margin as there is no infrastructure needed. All that is required is a high speed internet connection and you are all set.



• Data sharing and collaboration: You can share and collaborate data across the entire organization at multiple levels.



• Scalability and flexibility: Unlike an on-site CRM, online CRM is far more scalable and flexible. You can customize it and add unlimited number of users to it.



• Features: Online CRM for small businesses has some of the best features that are required for small and medium sized businesses to succeed.

The cons

It isn’t really easy to choose the best CRM vendor. There are hundreds of such vendors and you have to ensure that you make the right choice.

CRM on demand: Software as a Service

Suddenly, the whole small to medium sized business market seems to be infatuated with ‘On demand CRM’ also known as ‘Software-as-a-Service’ (SaaS). Why this sudden surge in the number of companies opting for on demand CRM over traditional on-site models?

With the advancement in technology and the internet making huge inroads into the lives of people, customers have become more product savvy. They only expect the best from any business and even a small amount of complacency on the part of any business can lead to the loss of a customer. Hence, small businesses relied on software automation and data analysis to improve customer loyalty.

However, they had to rely on a patchwork of applications as CRM was only available for large scale enterprises. So CRM vendors started working on a far cheaper and flexible version of CRM that is best suited for SMBs. The result is on demand CRM.

On demand CRM has been carefully marketed as the perfect integration point for SMBs. The favorable cost factors, the convenience in setting it up and the hardware-free maintenance are some of the reasons why SaaS has really taken over.

But, as a SMB, you should be slightly more careful while choosing any CRM on demand. I will explain the reasons behind this.

Most CRM on demand software comes with a three to four year contract attached to it. This means, that you are stuck with it for that period. So you better be careful about what you choose.
Not all on demand CRM software is flexible enough to be integrated with existing software applications. If it cannot be done, then it will end up costing more in the long run.

If you are new to the concept of on demand CRM, then seek advice from a CRM consultant who can give you the right advice and help you choose the best hosted CRM.