There is a growing trend in the CRM space towards alternative delivery and design methods, versus traditional on-premises applications written to proprietary software. These Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and open source models have several advantages, including flexibility, avoiding vendor lock-in, shorter lead times, and cost savings.
Alternative CRM solutions are also becoming more feature rich and robust. Here are two recent examples:
* Salesforce.com, recognizing that many workers are using Apple’s 3G iPhone for business purposes, has updated Salesforce CRM Mobile to take full advantage of the new iPhone 3.0 OS software. Customers can easily cut, copy, and paste text from e-mails and text messages directly into Salesforce CRM. They can also create identical records to save typing, easily manage events with ease with a new date-indexed view, quickly find information with custom filters on any list of data and convert a lead as soon as the user hangs up the phone. The iPhone now offers lead conversion on a single form.
* SugarCRM has added a new web services framework, platform improvements, and enhanced mobile features for its open-source CRM solution. Customers can now easily create unique themes suited to the needs of companies or the preferences of individual developers without coding. There is also advanced password management that enables users to set password strength requirements, create system-generated passwords, and allows them to reset their own passwords.
That’s the theory, anyway. What has been the experience of companies who have gone the alternative route? Here are several case studies:
Saveology and Salesforce
Saveology.com is a comparison and shopping site for consumer services such as, communications (broadband, cable, satellite, and wireless), moving, and financial services. It has 52 Web sites and four contact centers: two in the U.S. with over 450 agents, and one each in India and the Philippines with 30 agents apiece.
Being a consumer-intensive online business,…