Businesses choose CRM software because it automates the basic functions of the job that tend to waste the most time. Mundane tasks like call logging, email follow-ups, and contact management all take time out of the day that could be better spent. With a decent CRM solution, you can have all of these processes done for you. With a really good CRM system, you can do more. But what if your industry requires that you complete tasks that most CRM systems don’t bother with or aren’t prepared for? If you can’t find the apps to do what you’re looking for, you can create your own. Most CRM vendors have easy point-and-click software so that you can create an app that does what you want without spending thousands of dollars on software development or taking your IT department away from the project they’re working on to help.
With cloud computing, apps are quick and easy to develop, and can be deployed almost immediately. That’s because cloud computing doesn’t require any lengthy installations, upgrade times, or configuration. Simply create the app and start using it. Contrast this with the use of traditional software, and you can see why it’s so convenient. You don’t need to worry about purchasing expensive servers, paying for their storage, electrical or cooling costs, or for a staff to maintain them, adding on when necessary and navigating through lengthy configuration processes when you update. You also don’t have to worry about buggy software slowing you down. This is because your custom apps are all tested inside the cloud, so you know they work.
If you need a more complex app than is available with the point-and-click tools, most vendors have simple APIs, so you can have a proprietary app created from scratch. This probably won’t be necessary very often, however. Cloud computing vendors serve a number of different companies, all of whom draw from the cloud. Information is stored in the same place – I wrote a post about cloud security earlier today – and apps from hundreds of developers are available to all subscribers, fully scalable and customizable.
Software can be expensive. And when it comes out of a box, it has limits. Custom apps are scalable, so they grow in size as you add information. With the cloud, storage space is constantly added, allowing companies of all sizes to use the same apps. It also means that companies don’t have to continually update their apps depending on the amount of information they’re inputting. Software requires expensive licensing fees based on the number of computers it’s installed on. In the cloud, subscription fees are also charged based on the number of users per app. As you add or subtract users, your fees change. By getting to pick and choose the apps you want to use, you are also giving yourself more freedom than you get from out-of-the-box software. If your needs change, you can change apps. But with software, you pay for what comes in the box, even if you don’t need it all.
