Cloud computing is essentially the use of the Internet for the use of desired software as a service. By incorporating cloud computing services, companies have access to scalable and virtualized resources that are delivered in real-time. Making the switch to the cloud for customer relationship management (CRM) solutions provides benefits such as time and money savings, fewer glitches, customization and the reflecting of consumer trends.

More companies are realizing these benefits and turning to the cloud when implementing CRM solutions.

“There is definitely a shift going on in terms of CRM moving into the cloud,” said Vern Hue, senior market analyst at IDC Australia and New Zealand.

According to research by IDC (News - Alert) Australia and New Zealand, the CRM market is growing by a rate of 14 percent annually. Hue says that is the total CRM growth number, but growth for CRM on-demand will be significantly higher.

A couple of factors that are nudging organizations toward an on-demand solution are led by the cost considerations. IT is expected to deliver savings and drive business transformation at the same time. By running CRM systems in the cloud, organizations can also free up IT personnel to focus on more mission-critical and transformational projects.

NZ Post is one company that released an Oracle (News - Alert) RightNow CX Cloud Service system that combines Web, social and contact center functionality. The aim of the release was to move away from a “siloed” approach, with one person looking after the call center, another looking after chat and another social media.

The new system allows the company to record all of the customer activity in one place. It gets a multi-dimensional view of the customer in the online space as well as case management functionality such as logging calls and recording details.

Its mobile site is predicted to grow three times as fast and there have been about 50,000 downloads of the NZ Post iPhone (News - Alert) app. To adapt to the growing adoption to mobility, the company will put the same Oracle RightNow knowledge base on the mobile site in the next three to six months.

Another company that has moved to the cloud is Southern Hospitality. The supplier of products and services for the food service and hospitality industry was searching for a CRM solution that needed to be mobile and accessible from anywhere. It deals with around 600 calls a day and the 100 mobile staff each interact with five to 15 customers a day. The company implemented a Salesforce.com (News - Alert) CRM system and all mobile staff members were equipped with iPhones with the Salesforce.com app running on them.

The top benefits of the solution include the ability to connect and communicate with the team and the fact that it’s live information.

One of the top concerns about cloud CRM is security. Many cloud-based solution providers have strong security measures in place, such as dedicated security staff and advanced response systems that detect any suspicious activities at the on-set.

“If security is the only key concern facing an organization, I would suggest that they compare their own internal security framework and policies against that of the CRM cloud provider,” said Hue. “Chances are that the cloud CRM provider would have a very compelling security framework.”

Want to learn more about cloud communications? Then be sure to attend the Cloud Communications Expo, collocated with ITEXPO West 2012 taking place Oct 2-5, in Austin, TX. The Cloud Communications Expo will address the growing need of businesses to integrate and leverage cloud based communications applications, process enhancement techniques, and network based communications interfaces and architectures. For more information on registering for the Cloud Communications Expo click here.

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