Just a quick note on CRM (customer relationship management / contact management) and why the cloud (internet based) is better than installing a software based contact database on your computer.
My less than one year old custom built computer from a local computer supplier turned out to be a lemon. (but they are replacing it free of charge). My computer problems, however, perfectly illustrate the point of cloud based computing.
While my problematic main desktop computer has been constantly crashing, I’ve been able to easily keep up with things using my laptop because most of my data is now kept in cloud based services.
- Freshbooks.com – all of my accounting is cloud based
- Shoeboxed.com – all of my receipt and expense tracking is cloud based
- Expenser.com – my mileage tracking is cloud based, and also feeds to Outright accounting
- Highrise – all of my new customer information and updates are done in this cloud based CRM/contact management system.
- BidSketch.com – all of my proposals are cloud based
- SignNow.com – eSignature for easier contract signing instead of faxing or sending contracts by FedEx.
- Dropbox.com – all of my business files are automatically backed up to the cloud and synced to my laptop
- IMAP email instead of POP3 email – all of my email (inbox, sent mail, specific folders, outbox, drafts) is perfectly synced no matter where or how I access it.
So, my saving grace in the face of a computer that crashed 2-4 times per day was that just about everything I do now is cloud based using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) internet based business solutions.
By contrast, I still have a lot of old data stuck in my ACT customer database. I still have to manually sync my laptop and desktop versions of ACT. When I don’t sync them for a few weeks, I get a warning that the sync will be disabled unless I synchronize very soon (always a friendly idea to threaten your users with data disruption!).
And in preparation for swapping my lemon computer for a new one, I had to figure out how best to backup and prepare my ACT customer database. Well… I found the instructions online and there are 19 steps I have to take. And most of that was written in techy language not easy for the average user to understand. Plus, I have to reinstall the ACT software on the new computer and then reestablish the sync with my laptop. Last time I did this, I ended up having ACT tech support on the phone and doing remote control support for over five hours! So I’m still prepared for the worst.
But, at least I know that for all of my current and active customers, I have all of their latest information and notes easily available via any web browser on any computer. And I know that all of my business financials and business files are also available to me securely in the cloud.
So I think it is official… I am divorcing traditional software as much as I can and I’m moving to a virtual life in the cloud. I hope you’ll join me!