Software as a Service (SaaS)

By Thomas Cutler

The introduction of software as a service, (SaaS) pioneered by companies like SalesForce.com, NetSuite, and RightNow Technologies has inspired more businesses to move forward with CRM. This new deployment model has proven to reduce the initial cost of hardware and software acquisition and alleviate the lengthy implementation cycles that have plagued the CRM industry for years. Industry reports confirm that businesses both large and small are gravitating to the SaaS model, prompting other mainstream companies such as Oracle and Microsoft to enter the space. But, has SaaS solved the real problem with CRM? Despite the reduced cost and deployment time of SaaS, user adoption continues to be an issue and cancellations among the providers remains a serious concern. What then is the problem with CRM?

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by: John Keigh

Customer relationship management

CRM is the abbreviation that stands for Customer Relationship Management. CRM has gained lot of importance in recent times because it concerns the way an organization or company deals with its customers as well as their personal information. The scope of CRM goes way beyond providing customer service and encompasses building healthy and long-term relationships. The personal information of customers has become more than just something a company owns.

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CRM is a strategy. Technology is the enabler. No technology –no matter

How sophisticated –can be successful without a strategy to guide it. Business strategy and technology must work hand-in-hand to bring a customer-centric plan to fruition.

If you asked 10 business to describe their CRM strategies you would get 10 dramatically different answers. One company, for example, might want to take advantage of customer information sitting disparate databases scattered across the business might, while another want to develop a multi-channel approach to reach new customers. Gartner recently surveyed mid-sized businesses to learn about their CRM goals, and objectives. Not surprisingly, the majority of today’s MSB’s (companies between 100 and 350 users) adopt CRM to provide a 360-degree customer view and to automate and manage sales-related processes.

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SAP Business ByDesign is expected to help midsize businesses reduce their TCO under a per-month pricing structure that starts at $149 per user. The pricing of Business ByDesign is very competitive, noted AMR Research senior analyst Simon Jacobson, but “only over time will we really be able to see what the long-term tangible benefits are.”

SAP has unwrapped a new on-demand business software platform targeted at midsize companies (100 to 500 employees) looking to simplify their I.T. requirements while improving the efficiency and flexibility of their business processes.

According to the Germany-based software giant, there are more than 60,000 such companies in the U.S. and Germany alone. Moreover, the company pegs the worldwide market potential of the new offering at more than $15 billion.

With the rollout of SAP Business ByDesign, formerly codenamed A1S, the software-maker is moving to a new service-oriented architecture (SOA) for building applications out of services that otherwise would be intrinsically unassociated units of functionality.

With SAP Business ByDesign, “the technical advantages of SOA enter the level of business processes and allow customers to exploit the full potential of new business trends without becoming I.T. experts,” said SAP CEO Henning Kagermann.

SAP Business ByDesign is expected to help midsize businesses reduce their total cost of ownership under a per-month pricing structure that starts at $149 per user (with a minimum of 25 workers) and includes software, infrastructure, services, and support. Moreover, customers in need of limited access will be able to realize further cost savings, the company said.

Full Article on CRM Daily

Compared to NetSuite, SAP Business ByDesign is substantially behind the curve. With NetSuite’s longer standing development platform and rates almost half as much, it will be difficult for SAP to gain ground in this industry which is becoming very competitive. The work is just starting for SAP, which faces a long ramp up period and a lengthy process to to refine their product and go-to-market strategies.

This article brought to you by ICON Technology Solutions. Find us at www.icontsi.com. Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas’ 1# Netsuite integrators of on-demand web-based CRM, ERP, and Accounting SaaS solutions.