An interesting article on online CRM has appeared over at Computer World. A few thoughts occurred to me while I was reading it, firstly, online apps were buzzing many years ago, but never really took off. This article’s tag reads “Vendors cite large deals as a sign of growing acceptance of online apps, but skeptics remain.” Well yeah, why wouldn’t you be skeptical after companies like Microsoft and Sun tried to push online applications. Microsoft trialled it here in Australia with their Office suite, but nothing eventuated.

Another thought that occurred to me is that if online apps are the way to go, why and how? Vendors may be able to point to “big deals” but so what. I think that there is actually a need for online apps for small businesses and non-profit organisations. Most of these types of places don’t have the resources to emply a large IT team to look after internal apps. So, a company willing to provide their application needs simplifies it for the business. CRM applications are likely ideal for this type of technology. Another advantage is that databases can be administered and backed up by someone else, giving businesses piece of mind and releasing them from the headaches of such administrative needs of a database system.

There would also be handy security enhancements and added flexibility for a roaming sales force. Although it’d be nice to have your sales force mobile with access to an online app, most small businesses cannot afford to have wuch wireless technology, it’s just too expensive. Until we get over this problem, it is a big drawback to looking at online CRM apps.