by Joe Taylor Jr
Cloud computing remains a big buzzword in Silicon Valley, because the idea of distributed computing and storage is already revolutionizing the way that companies manage customer relationship management, e-commerce, and business intelligence data. Yet, for many companies early to adopt CRM software, the cloud remains a distant promise. Feeling locked in to their current vendors, some companies continue to invest in their own hardware while paying software maintenance fees. Recent announcements by some of the biggest players in the CRM software business may change all that.
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CRM Applications: Storage and Networking Strategies
Until recently, large-scale CRM applications required significant amounts of processing power and storage within a company's network. Older CRM installations running on mainframe computers sacrificed depth for speed, especially when running on DOS or UNIX-based platforms. The next generation of CRM systems ran on more sophisticated operating systems, populating client screens with key information piped from central databases. Today, CRM software can be served through Web browsers or through virtualization platforms, offering limitless options for company decision makers.
However, the fast pace of change in the CRM application space has required companies to rethink their storage and networking strategies. In an era of "always on" customer service expectations, a simple server rack in the back room of a corporate office might not be the right solution for a growing company. Instead of simply allowing data to be stored offsite, many companies now choose for their entire CRM applications to be served up from remote processors. Better still, processing power and bandwidth can scale to match immediate customer demands. A surprise response to a broadcast ad no longer has to bring a call center to its knees, thanks to distributed processing.
CRM Software Data: Choosing the Public or Private Cloud
Still, the transition to the cloud still leaves some company leaders wondering about the right place to host their customer relationship management data. "The cloud," as experts have come to call the collection of data centers storing corporate information, still has some faults. Sharing data center resources carries the perceived risks of security issues and the real threat of downtime. Companies willing to take on extra risk generally enjoy heightened response times and greater productivity. But media coverage of high profile outages at major data centers has dampened some CIO's enthusiasm for distributed computing.
Therefore, some CRM software vendors have created service packages that include, in their terms, a "private cloud." Like a traditional dedicated server rack, resources are used only by a single client company. However, with help from blade servers, RAID storage arrays, and other tools, vendors promise the ability to ramp up quickly during times of peak demand--without relying on a shared server farm.
According to industry analysts, recessions often force companies to make hard decisions about their vendors and platforms. While some CRM software companies have tentatively extended invitations to the "private cloud," other vendors rely on the scalability and redundancy of the public cloud for their clients' success. Either way, may current CRM software subscribers will spend time over the coming months requesting quotes and exploring the kind of data infrastructure necessary to take their businesses to the next level.
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About the AuthorJoe Taylor Jr. is an internal business consultant for a Fortune 500 company, who writes about finance, culture, and design. He holds a bachelor's of science in communications from Ithaca College.
