30 May 2014, 11:33 am
Gartner's CRM vendor guide said that, at some time in 2015, more than 50% of businesses' CRM tools will be hosted in the cloud by 'software-as-a-service' providers. The analysts said that as many as 85% of businesses' CRM tools could be cloud-based by 2025, according to a Forbes report.
Technology law expert Angus McFayden of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that it is not surprising that the flexibility provided by cloud solutions are an attraction for businesses that are looking to keep pace with consumer demands for ever improving responsiveness as technology advances.
"The move towards cloud based solutions is predominantly being driven by cost effectiveness and the flexibility of those solutions," McFadyen said. "As a result, businesses are able to deliver on their strategies a lot quicker than if they had to build their own CRM system. It also removes the hassle of hosting and maintaining infrastructure in-house."
"Cloud-based CRM tools are easy to get up and running and businesses can usually build functionality to tailor solutions to their own needs but with minimal set-up issues to contend with," McFayden said.
"From a legal perspective, businesses need to manage the risks associated with data in the right way. This will include ensuring their suppliers are alive to those concerns, but many are engaged with this already," he said.
