Introduction

2015 is a landmark year for Customer Relationship Management. Forrester’s research estimates that for the first time ever purchases of new Cloud based CRM software will account for over 50% of all new CRM systems. Additionally, Gartne, another software industry analyst predict with continuing investment in modernisation of software strategies and digital transformation by 2020, Cloud based solutions will occupy an 80% share of the CRM market.

So why are so many businesses migrating to a Cloud CRM system?

Is this the right time for your business to consider a new solution? T

he purpose of this blog is provide you with a comprehensive overview of opportunities and some of the challenges our trusted consultants have identified with other businesses in the same situation as you.

The questions you need to start to consider if you are on a traditional on-premise solution are:-

1. Should I migrate to the Cloud?

2. When should I move?

3. How difficult is this process and what are the steps I need to take?

4. What are the financial implications of migrating to a Cloud system?

These questions will form a series of blogs that will tackle these issues over the next month. So to avoid missing out on these thought provoking blogs, we invite you to join our online community by signing up to our blog.

Why should I Migrate to a Cloud CRM System?

This depends on your individual circumstances and to some extent your existing CRM solution together with your IT infrastructure and systems, such as MS Office. But what our specialist consultants at CRMC are finding are, there are several common driving forces behind making the move.

The first key driver is that surrounding traditional on-premise CRM solutions, as now many other Sales and Marketing applications (such as email, marketing automation, social media and analytics tools) are Cloud based. Some of the older on-premise software is not compatible, so as a result, as Sales and Marketing teams become more adept at using contemporary solutions, there becomes a frustration and a void between the system and its users.

A second key driver is the ability to access the system via Mobile Devices. Connectivity is key. Data anywhere, anytime on almost any device, something older on-premise systems don’t cope with as well, although many are striving to get their applications hosted on the Cloud and make them web accessible as fast as they can, they are clearly lagging behind.

Other drivers include the move to Cloud office applications such as MS Office 365 or Googleapps together with popular Email Marketing tools such as Constant Contact, Mailchimp being predominately 90+% cloud based, again Office 365 and Gmail are now the main SME preferred Email systems….the momentum now is for most office apps to move to the cloud and Microsoft’s current TV advertising is focused on the Microsoft Cloud theme.

Conclusion

As you can see, technology waits for no man, woman or child. Over recent years there have been vast technological improvements and advancements which have impacted the collective way we use our CRM systems. Traditional on-premise solutions have often struggled to develop key upgrades to keep pace with innovative, integrable Cloud based systems.

So if migrating to a Cloud CRM system is of interest, maybe the time is right to speak with one of our trusted independent consultants to talk you through choosing your next generation best cloud CRM system.

Your first step is to download and complete our CRM Cloud Migration Scorecard before calling the CRMC team.

by Gary Perkins