Research Proposal on "Transitioning to Cloud Computing"

Research Proposal 4 pages (1065 words) Sources: 7

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Cloud Computing Services

The intent of this research proposal is to determine if Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications delivered on the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform can significantly increase the strategic financial and marketing performance of a global enterprise. Previous studies of CRM systems indicate that when correctly implemented, SaaS-based customer management systems are capable of drastically reducing the cost of sales, increasing customer loyalty and increasing profitability (Ang, Buttle, 2006). The most pivotal turning point in the deployment of any CRM system is the concentrating on the user experience and navigating of features, functions and workflows throughout applications (Ekinci, Gillett, Stone, 2007). This research proposal concentrates on evaluating the impact of user experience design and implementation on CRM system adoption when delivered on the SaaS platform. The SaaS platform is designed for agility of tailoring its interface to the specific needs of users, the majority of which are sales people and sales management teams (Kumar, 2007). Studies indicate the greater the level of autonomy of how their CRM screens and workflows are designed, the higher the level of adoption by sales, marketing and executive management (Ang, Buttle, 2006). Just how much agility and usability of applications impact the adoption of a CRM system, and how the higher the level of adoption drives greater revenues and profits, is the overarching objective of this study. The following section defines the research objectives of the study in greater detail.

Objectives and Methodology of Research Proposal

The following are the objectives for this research proposal. Creating cloud services in a company must first be aligned to strategic priorities and direction to be successful. That is the assumption that unifies the following objectives:

1. To define the core business processes that can be most accelerated and enhanced through the use of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) CRM applications and benchmark them before implementing the software. This first objective will also serve as the foundation of the entire implementation of Cloud-based services for the long-term within the organization. This objective is also essential for creating a series of benchmarks to evaluate the performance of SaaS-based CRM systems over the long-term. Using a series of metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) captured on a dashboard, the organization will measure their core business processes for attracting, selling and serving customers with manually-based and legacy system approaches. These measures of performance will most likely also reflect errors in transactions and workflows as well. This data however is critical for evaluating how effective SaaS-based CRM systems, designed specifically for the needs of the organization, are streamlining core business processes over time. Of the many processes this first objective can concentrate on, the most valuable is lead conversion cycles and quote-to-cash process workflows. Both of these are highly dependent on pricing, quoting, catalog management and order management systems. The metrics and KPIs can successfully be used for isolating the effects of SaaS-based CRM usability on overall company performance, also isolating down to the individual quoting close rates and order cycles (Limbasan, Rusu, 2011).

2. To devise a financial model that determines the Return on Investment (ROI) and Payback Period from implementing a SaaS-based CRM system vs. upgrading existing legacy, often non-standard systems. This objective concentrates on capturing… READ MORE

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