- On-premise CRM packages were costly, protracted and complicated
- Software as a service is cheaper, quicker and easier
- Customers choose how much CRM functionality they need
- By 2012, 30% of investments in CRM will be via SaaS
- SaaS CRM can damage customer management efforts
Back in the day, on-premise packaged CRM offerings such as those from Oracle, Siebel and SAP were purchased with upfront licences, taken back to a data centre and then deployed (perhaps!) by busloads of Accenture consultants. This was costly, protracted, complicated and often resulted in systems that did not meet the requirements of the organisations anyway. When this happened, the end-users would submit a revised set of requirements, the IT department would go off and try again and the whole process would start all over again. Activity without conclusion was the order of the day.
With the SaaS model. customers choose how much CRM functionality they need, pay for its on a 'per drink' subscription basis, have it hosted for them by a third party and access the systems using a commodity web browser from the comfort of their own desktops. When a new version of the software is available, it just appears on a Monday morning without the need for complicated upgrade programmes. It is, in short, cheaper, quicker and easier.