CRM on demand: A host of problems?
Published: 08 Dec 2003 12:05 GMT
In late 2001, Hillary's rolled out SAP's customer management module, integrating the new software into an existing SAP R/3 system. Given the investment the company had already made in SAP infrastructure and skills, Lewis felt it would be more cost-effective to keep the software in-house. "We're using an older version of R/3 and the integration isn't the easiest process. It just seemed easier to do it ourselves," he says.
In other cases, companies have kept CRM in-house for security reasons. The Eaga Partnership manages the development and deployment of government schemes such as the Warm Front programme to help provide vulnerable people with adequately heated homes. The organisation opted to keep its Oracle CRM software in-house because government clients demanded Eaga had exceptional disaster recovery and security procedures, explains business change director Chris Williams. "It's far easier for us to do that ourselves than try and manage a service provider," he says. In addition, Oracle's CRM hosting centre is based in America, which would have breached some of the data handling regulations Eaga is bound by.
The bottom line is that hosted CRM makes this technology affordable for more businesses than ever before. The choice between hosted and in-house software should be made once you have balanced up all the costs, risks and integration issues -- but don't assume that your business can do without CRM. "This software is about doing the small things well," says Kwiatkowski. "It's about understanding what customers want and addressing those issues and applying the lessons to the future. And that applies to all companies, no matter what size."
Previous
Did you find this article useful?
118 out of 261 people found this useful
Digg
Slashdot
Del.ici.ous
Stumble
Reddit
