Brands turn to in-the-cloud CRM services

Technology companies, including Microsoft, HP and IBM, have unveiled plans in recent weeks to launch or expand in-the-cloud CRM services, reflecting the growing demand from marketers for more collaborative and timely data about customers and prospects. Now, some industry experts have customization concerns.

Industry experts say that cloud computing can present customization hurdles for marketers. Chris Hubble, VP of brand strategy at market innovation company DB5, which switched to in-the-cloud service InfoStreet three years ago, says it can be more challenging to make simple changes like switching font styles. "If it's something other [companies]aren't asking for, it goes to the bottom of the list, or else we have to pay a fee to get that change made," he says, adding that these are minor concerns overall.

As more marketers embrace cloud CRM, the industry is as well embracing social media for its collaborative format and facility for crowdsourcing. Last summer, Salesforce.com launched Chatter, which integrates real-time communication and collaboration tools from Facebook and Twitter to enhance CRM efforts. Last month, the CRM provider made Chatter widely available free to any organization.