It's interesting to note that CRM as a process has been around for quite some time. Although debate exists over who actually coined the term, it is generally held that technology research firm Gartner first used the term back in the mid to late 1990s. Back then, many users were tracking customers in Excel spreadsheets-but of course, there were limits to how much data could be supported, how to share those files, and how to keep a handle on different versions of the same spreadsheet from cropping up on the network.
That's why dedicated CRM solutions were a welcome technology. Businesses finally had a dedicated way to centrally manage customer information. Since then, CRM technology has flourished and is easier than ever to deploy and manage, and more feature-packed than ever.
CRM Everywhere
CRM has shifted from an on-premise-only solution to one that is increasingly cloud-based. CRM is well suited to move to the cloud because business people want ubiquitous access to customer and sales data.
Salesforce.com, the leading CRM provider, is strictly cloud-based. Other noteworthy CRM vendors with cloud-based solutions include SugarCRM and Zoho CRM Professional Edition. Even Microsoft has taken Dynamics CRM out of the datacenter and into the cloud.
Another facet of ubiquitous access is, of course, mobile access. You rarely find a major CRM system that doesn't have accompanying apps for smartphones these days, though the extent which you can interact with your data will vary greatly by service.
That's why dedicated CRM solutions were a welcome technology. Businesses finally had a dedicated way to centrally manage customer information. Since then, CRM technology has flourished and is easier than ever to deploy and manage, and more feature-packed than ever.
CRM Everywhere
CRM has shifted from an on-premise-only solution to one that is increasingly cloud-based. CRM is well suited to move to the cloud because business people want ubiquitous access to customer and sales data.
Salesforce.com, the leading CRM provider, is strictly cloud-based. Other noteworthy CRM vendors with cloud-based solutions include SugarCRM and Zoho CRM Professional Edition. Even Microsoft has taken Dynamics CRM out of the datacenter and into the cloud.
Another facet of ubiquitous access is, of course, mobile access. You rarely find a major CRM system that doesn't have accompanying apps for smartphones these days, though the extent which you can interact with your data will vary greatly by service.