SaaS-y-CRM

SaaS-y-CRM


Dears,

Hope the New Year is treating you all well. I am currently in Saudi Arabia meeting some business prospects and believe the trend in MiddleEast is very encouraging and surprised by the mindshare and their projections for the future.

Mention cloud computing today, and many people will immediately picture a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, the quick-win way to deliver an application’s capabilities without a lot of upfront cost.It’s not surprising that SaaS commands so much mindshare. A study conducted by a reputed research found that 68% of global companies that have implemented clouds are SaaS users. But analysts say that while “cloud” and “SaaS” may be synonymous to many organizations, this may change in coming years as other, more potent options become commonplace. Their advice: Take advantage of SaaS for business today if there’s a strong business case to be made, but make sure long-term cloud strategies also include Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and private-cloud models.

I certainly see a trend where more and more companies will be buying a software license and then leveraging a [PaaS or IaaS] provider to run the application in the Future. In this juncture its important for us to understand the top 10 SaaS crm definitions.

The top 10 CRM on demand definitions

1. On demand CRM vs. SaaS CRM vs. hosted CRM

2. Web services

3. Application service provider (ASP)

4. Multi-tenancy

5. Single-tenancy

6. Mash-up

7. Integration connector

8. Application programming interface (API)

9. Apex

10. Widget

1. On demand CRM vs. SaaS CRM vs. hosted CRM

Understanding on demand CRM vs. SaaS CRM vs. hosted CRM can be confusing, and most experts will agree that these terms are not synonymous. According to experts, the term "hosted" means that someone else is managing the application via a remote computer. Software as a Service (SaaS), on the other hand, is a software distribution model where hosted applications are made available to a customer over a network, typically the Internet. The term "on demand" is used to describe applications that are available via the SaaS or hosted delivery models.

2. Web services

Web services, or application services, are services (usually including programming and data) provided by an application service provider (ASP) that are made available to users over the ASP's Web server. On demand CRM is an example of a major service offered as a Web service.

3. Application service provider (ASP)

An application service provider (ASP) is a company that provides customers with access to specific, remotely-hosted applications or services over the Internet. ASPs usually provide their applications or services on a pay-per-use or subscription basis. Any vendor that provides hosted SaaS CRM applications to its customers is an example of an ASP.

4. Multi-tenancy

Multi-tenancy means that multiple companies are using a single, remotely-hosted database. Every organization's customer data is stored in the same database and kept separate. While multi-tenant SaaS CRM applications tend to be less expensive, many companies worry about the security of their customer data in a shared database.

5. Single-tenancy

Single-tenancy means that each customer is provided with a dedicated database, middleware and application instance. Since single-tenancy provides customers with their own private database, single-tenant SaaS CRM applications are often the choice of companies with sensitive customer data.

6. Mash-up

A mash-up is a Web page or application that combines complementary elements from multiple sources. In response to the ongoing shift towards a more interactive Web, many vendors are adding Web 2.0 functionality such as the ability to create mash-ups, to their on-demand CRM products.

7. Integration connector

An integration connector is a software program that lets users map data from one application to another. Many SaaS CRM vendors provide pre-built integration connectors that allow users to load data from other sources into the SaaS application.

8. Application programming interface (API)

An application programming interface (API) is a set of standards for a software program that can be defined by the developer. The API defines the way a developer should request services from a specific program, and allows a programmer writing an application program to make requests of the operating system or other applications. Some SaaS CRM vendors have established APIs for integrating their applications with the user's in-house applications.

9. Apex

Apex is a development platform offered by Salesforce.com for building third-party SaaS applications on top of Salesforce.com's CRM functionality. Apex applications are hosted by Salesforce.com and include API developers can use to access data from Salesforce.com, a Builder that allows for easy customization, and a native programming language called Apex Code. This is also know as Force Platform.

10. Widget

A widget is an element of a graphical user interface that displays information or provides a specific way for a user to interact with the application. Widgets can be anything from an icon to a pull-down menu, and are used by SaaS CRM vendors to help users navigate their applications.

Loving P&C


DC*