Cloud Computing Services the Intent Research Proposal

The financial implications of having greater agility and flexibility in defining workflows has been quantified through empirical study, showing the aggregate effects on financial performance (Lin, 2010). In order for this objective to be accomplished, a series of financial metrics will be defined, and during the benchmarking period in the first objective, they will be measured. The impact of streamlining CRM processes and workflows, in addition to making quoting, pricing and order management more efficient has been shown to improve the financial performance of organization within nine months or less (Ang, Buttle, 2006). The financial model to be designed will take into account the relative levels of spending on Cloud computing platform technologies including virtualization software, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based platform components including multitenancy support and security, and CRM software. Professional services for tailoring the SaaS-based CRM applications to the specific workflows of the company are also included in this calculation. The costs associated with system integration within the SaaS-based application, using the Cloud architecture, will also be included as part of the overall costs as well. The objective of this model is to evaluate the payback period and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for the CRM implementation.

3. To determine the impact of greater SaaS-based CRM adoption on customer satisfaction over the long-term, with the first measure being six months after implementation and regular measures every six months thereafter. The methodology to accomplish this goals is focused on measuring the extent to which a more effective, streamline CRM system contributes to overall customer satisfaction by increasing communications and order accuracy. This will also be a longitudinal measure of performance, completed every six months to measure the relative level of contribution the SaaS-based CRM system has on long-term customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

The SaaS-based CRM market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.2% per year, reaching $16.5B in revenues in 2013 (Klie, 2011). A large part of this growth is being driven by the ability of SaaS-based CRM systems to deliver measurable performance gains in financial, marketing and operations-based objectives (Ang, Buttle, 2006). The intent of this research proposal is to evaluate the extent to which Cloud-based applications augment the most critical business strategies and needs of a business, while also simplifying and streamlining the overall workflows designed to attract, sell and support customers globally using these Cloud-based systems and processes.

References

Lawrence Ang, & Francis Buttle. (2006). CRM software applications and business performance. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 14(1), 4-16.

Yuksel Ekinci, Peter Gillett, & Merlin Stone. (2007). Deploying a CRM system in practice -- Understanding the user experience. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 14(3), 195.

Kane, R.. (2009, January). Straight Talk: Advice from the Trenches of SaaS CRM. Customer Relationship Management, 13(1), S3-S4.

Klie, L.. (2011, August). Global CRM Market to Grow by $1.3 Billion in 2011. Customer Relationship Management, 15(8), 13.

Kumar, A.. (2007). From mass customization to mass personalization: a strategic transformation. International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, 19(4),…