10 Mar New Year, New CRM?
Posted at 16:08h
in Microsoft Dynamics 365
Is SaaS the way to go?
Most businesses have implemented a CRM system at some time, but if this was a few years ago, maybe 2017 is the time to look at changing it. Over the years, technology advances have changed the functionality of CRM systems dramatically. Whilst you may have the “if it isn’t broken don’t fix it” mindset, do you realise how much more effective you and your team could be with a new system?
New functionality and more automation could dramatically improve performance, freeing up your time to do other important tasks – such as selling or improving customer service. Traditional CRM implementations such as ACT! or GoldMine were typically installed on-premise, with you, the customer, having responsibility for your own server, backups and upgrades – or paying an IT support company who offers those services.
Software as a Service (SaaS) has been increasing in popularity over the last 5 years, and according to Gartner, over 80% of new CRM systems will be cloud based by 2020. The top two benefits (in our opinion) of SaaS are:
- Users want/need to be able to work anywhere on any device. Field Sales staff do not want to spend one-day a week in the office updating the CRM system, far better to have a cloud-based system which allows them to make key updates as they go along using a tablet or smart phone.
- Companies are looking to reduce their investment in the infrastructure and support needed to maintain a traditional on-premise installation. With SaaS you don’t need a server, backups are carried out for you and the software is maintained and updated so you never have to worry about out-of-date software.
The last 5 years have also seen dramatic improvements in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM software – which from 1st November 2016 has been renamed Dynamics 365.
So why not start to think about changing your system to see how it could positively affect your business? Now’s a good a time as any!