CRM refers to Customer Relationship Management or the process by which you market, sell and provide service to your customers. It is often referred to as an online, web based, hosted, internet based or even Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) CRM software application systems.
Many of the desktop CRM applications have now been migrated to the Internet and are offered as cloud CRM software. What companies find attractive about cloud based CRM software is that there is no hardware to purchase or software to maintain. The software is delivered over the Internet as a service and may be accessed at anytime and anywhere via an Internet browser.
Its flexibility and the usage over internet is making it a huge success. Many business owners consider cloud computing as cost effective especially SME's look forward to increase efficiency in their working operation.
The cloud based CRM model is most prevalent in small-to-medium size companies. Without any infrastructure costs - capital expenditure, costly hardware or software, the solution can be easily accessed and customized based on unique business requirements. Also, the entire system is maintained by the provider, so the user does not have to worry about maintenance costs. Moreover the CRM provider also takes care of timely updates.Cloud CRM is the best choice if you are looking to purchase a complete secure CRM application to manage customer relationships, and yet want to avoid the high costs and system complexities of implementing the traditional solutions. Cloud based CRM solutions are location and computer independent, so small business CRM users are free to use their CRM tools anywhere, any time.