Online privacy is always an important issue for businesses and consumers alike. CRM solutions in the cloud are no exception, as companies transitioning to the cloud need to know that their system is transparent and abides by government regulations. As recent articles have pointed out, a CRM system that protects both the business and its customers is beneficial to the company’s success.

Denis Pombriant’s recent blog post, “The Opposite of CRM,” highlights recent invasions of privacy by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the now-defunct News of the World. In his post, Pombriant argues that clients demand protection from their CRM providers. But such demands extend beyond the customers themselves: the U.S. government has many regulations affecting consumer privacy. These include the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the Patriot (News - Alert) Act. A variety of state laws also requires companies to tell its customers about compromised information, and recent data security regulations passed in India will influence IT operations for retailers with any operations in India.

Companies such as Soffront Software offer a number of security features to ensure that CRM providers comply with regulations. These include stringent authorization protocol; total firewall protection, with strong inbound and outbound traffic filtering; Symantec (News - Alert) Endpoint Protection to guard against viruses, SPAM, and spyware; and frequent inspections of server conditions by Soffront’s network management program. These features give companies peace of mind about the privacy of their clients, allowing them to focus on quality products and customer service.

An article at TMCnet.com describes other problems encountered by companies using cloud CRM. Although CRM has progressed significantly through the cloud, it can still present issues associated with the “old” cloud. The article advises companies on how to solve these problems as they move to cloud CRM.

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