It is not unusual for folks to ask Why Customer Relationship Management Software? It’s expensive and takes a lot of work to keep it up. Well today there are web based solutions like Salesforce CRM for less than $25 a month that will provide a good amount of functionally and reporting. Yes they take work to keep them up to date, but with smart phone based tools like CamCard for the iPhone that take a photo of a business card, digitize it and upload it to contacts that task just got a whole lot easier.  

But that is not the real leverage of Cloud Based CRM systems. The real advantage is the front office to the back of the loading dock integration. Any one from customer service, field sales to the person on the loading dock can access and update information in real time. There is no need to synchronize or update information passes seamlessly across the whole enterprise.

With the advent of Smart Phones and iPads even field service folks can be connected. One commercial lift company here in Orange County, CA equipped their service techs with wireless iPads so they could list parts, billable hours and total it all then send an e-mail to the customer and to accounts receivable. That one chance shortened the billing cycle by 3 days, and improved cash flow. This level of integration was once the province of large mega corporations and it is now even available to a one-person shop.

Key Cloud Computing players like Salesforce are aiming to create a whole ecosystem of software and hardware this is revolutionizing business. Those that adopt it will surge ahead of their competitors and do a whole lot more with a whole lot less much more profitably.