Web Based CRM is Software as a Service (SaaS) providing Customer Relationship Management functionality on the internet. Instead of buying the software licenses and installing the application on the company infrastructure, customers acquire a subscription to a system which can be accessed via the World Wide Web. Once the subscription fee is paid, customers can directly log into the web based CRM solution.

Web Based CRM Software (such as sales force automation on the web) features a number of benefits when compared to traditional on-premise CRM solutions. The top three benefits are: lower TCO, an accelerated implementation track and improved technical integration capabilities because of its inherent Service Oriented Architecture.

The reduced TCO of online customer relationship management solutions has 2 main drivers: lower implementation cost and reduced operational costs for system and software maintenance.

Most of the articles on the internet discuss the benefits of web based CRM software. It is true that this subscription based business software model has a lot of advantages but potential customers must not neglect the challenges of CRM On Demand solutions.

The top three challenges are: integration, security and support. This article will discuss each of these challenges in detail and provide recommendations on how to effectively manage them.