Zoe Soto asked:


All business and businesses are different; they have different objectives, different work plans, different organization, different direction, etc., a factor that most of the CRM solution providers already understand nowadays and apply to their CRM software. Nevertheless, an important factor that most of the CRM solution providers have forgotten is size. There are big, medium, small, tiny companies, and even this classification can be broken into several sub-classifications. This factor creates a problem: all these companies must use the same CRM solution; it doesn’t matter if a company is really big or minuscule, the solution must be the same.

Microsoft identified this problem and created what’s called a “Choice Model”. Now, if a company is in need for a CRM solution and they are big or small companies, they can choose what they believe it’s the best “Choice” for them. Here’s a description of each model that Microsoft provides for your CRM needs:

On-Premise

This is the traditional implementation of a CRM solution. The customer buys the CRM software licenses and they implement the software on their own. The software acquisition won’t be enough, as the company will need the necessary hardware to host the CRM applications and the technical support for implementation and maintenance.

Partner Hosted

This is the most flexible model. The implementation, configuration, customization, maintenance and hosting is done by an external provider. Your company doesn’t need to worry about anything, but the exploit your CRM solution to the maximum.

Hybrid

This model could be the best solution for any business. Most companies tend to need a mixture of both the “partner hosted” and “on-premise” solutions, as they would like to have some control over the CRM solution, but not to suffer all the pain from complete implementation.

CRM Online

Would you like your Microsoft Dynamics CRM software to be hosted by the largest software company in the world? Many companies feel safeness with this solution, as trusting Microsoft to implement their own software for you sounds like a good deal.

This model is very similar to the “partner hosted” model. The only difference is that Microsoft will be your hosting company, instead of any other Microsoft partner. Another difference is that Microsoft will not customize the software or review your company’s needs, thus, if you want optimization and efficiency, the “partner hosted” model would be a better choice.

Conclusion

If your company can easily handle all the CRM implementation trouble, take the “on-premise” model. If you don’t want any trouble at all and exploit your CRM solution by getting a full customization of the software by a Microsoft partner, take the “”partner hosted” model. If you want some control over the CRM implementation and avoid unnecessary trouble, try the “hybrid” model. If you want to choose Microsoft as your hosting, choose “CRM online”.