Pros and Cons of Hosted CRM

With the prevalence of all the various CRM software solutions becoming available, it can be difficult to decide what’s right for your business. Do you know what the differences are between SaaS CRM, Hosted CRM, and Cloud CRM? Once upon a time, these were all considered different solutions. SaaS CRM software referred to the subscription model for the services, hosted CRM software referred to web-based CRM systems that were hosted on a single or multiple servers, and cloud CRM software referred to CRM software solutions that were hosted on multiple servers for maximum uptime and reliability. Nowadays, these three terms have more or less merged into a single term that refers to hosted CRM software that leverages CRM cloud computing technology. The popularity of  cloud computing CRM reliability and security, and it’s pay for what you use model has made it the new norm for hosted CRM software.  It’s hard to find a single company that isn’t leveraging hosted CRM, since the benefits of the solutions are obvious.

Hosted CRM offers many benefits, including:

• Faster time to value.
•  Easy deployment.
• Frequent updates.
• Little to no maintenance.
• Cost-effective.
• Often the only alternative for SMBs.
• These days Hosted CRM offers the same features and functionality that used to be only found in enterprise CRM software.

On the flip side:

• You need regular high-speed internet connectivity.
• Over time, the TCO can shoot up.
• Shifting to another vendor may not be easy.
• Data security is always a nagging worry because its not in your control.
• Customization and integration is not always easy.

Whether you decide to use hosted CRM or opt for in-house solutions is up to you. In the end, the most important factor is getting your sales and marketing staff to adopt the software into their daily routines. Check out our other articles and blog posts to learn more about hosted CRM.

Tags: hosted crm, SaaS CRM