Cloud computing is a well-known phenomenon these days. Simply speaking it is an off-premise computing solution that is basically intended to fulfill categorical organizational needs of a business. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is one of the areas that are best served by cloud based solutions. SalesForce, Sugar CRM, Zoho CRM and Sage CRM are the best examples. These solutions are available for all business sizes. Some organizations are using these solutions very effectively with minimum hassle. However these solutions are not always effective or suitable. Therefore the effectiveness of On-Premise solutions is still intact.

It is highly recommended to correctly analyze the situational requirements before opting for an On-Premise or a cloud based CRM. There are few useful tips that are presented in the text below to highlight the correct scenarios for both the solutions.

Cloud based CRM is best when,

  • The organization needs to avoid the system setup time.
  • Partial customization is needed. (i.e. the organization does not require full application control)
  • An organization lacks in-house IT infrastructure, human resource or skills.
  • An organization wants to get away from hardware/software (server) management stress.
  • An organization can afford additional costs but cannot afford time loss or loss of focus.

When analyzed in terms of cost effectiveness, the On-Premise CRM solutions are proved to be better than their counter parts. However, the merits of cloud based solutions are turned out to be demerits of On-Premise solutions and vice versa. SalesForce is purely designed as a cloud based solution while the Sage Group CRM solutions are available for both the deployment options with a flexibility of migration at any stage.