How to avoid some Common Pitfalls when choosing a Cloud CRM

The value of using Saas (Software as a Service) or cloud-based business applications has many proof of points. The return of investment is fast due to the fact that they offer fast deployment. With just a few hours a business can be smoothly running with basic deployment on SaaS CRM applications. And not only that, with a lower risk cost model of monthly or annual subscription it’s just that light on the budget.

But jumping into just any SaaS vendor for SaaS deployment for housing critical data and critical business applications can prove to be a serious risk.

There are many factors to consider when making that decision to deploy cloud-based business application specially when it comes to CRM systems. You would want to make sure that you are choosing a vendor with enough financial viability to best insure that you will have an issue-free and flawless experience over the long time you will be using their software. Plus, getting the best feature set for your business needs is one thing to consider.

Some assume that a product from “known companies” will mean getting an issue-less experience. However its not always like that. That’s because no matter if it’s a small or big company they can always terminate the support and/or development of their product. Choosing a vendor that can give you solid protection in case of prolonged downtime and problems, with the ability to run it anywhere is the best way to plan for this kind of disruption.

End users of SaaS need to understand that maintenance, software upgrades and outages are the three major areas that can affect your business, that’s because many arguments for deploying cloud-based applications is that it “just works” without necessarily needing the help of IT all the time.

IT is more likely responsible for the upgrades and maintaining the software they deploy, and are taxed with planning for unlikely changes; however the business is what feels the negative effects.

Also one thing to consider is that you should make sure that the provider doesn’t use your customer data for its own purposes, when another vendor hosts your data. For example, some CRM SaaS vendors tend to use customer data to power data services such as contact lists.

Now there are so many factors like usability, cost of operation and usability before you decide on a business application. Choosing the wrong vendor can have bad circumstances that can be unforeseen. Make sure you ask the correct questions to any potential vendor to avoid crippling downtimes and productivity impacts. And make sure to get written business continuity from all your SaaS service providers and either baked into an SLA or as a stand alone document.