STES’s

Sinhgad College of Commerce

Kondhwa (Bk.), Pune – 48
A Project
On
Financial services (B 406)
Submitted to
Department of BBA
By
Mr. “Shivshankar Swami”
of S.Y.B.B.A. Roll No: F34
Under the guidance of
Asst Prof. [Link] Gaur

Department of Business Administration (BBA)

2020-2021
 STES’S
SINHGAD COLLEGE OF COMMERCE

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr. “Shivshankar Swami (Roll Number F34)” of S.Y.
B.B.A ([Link]) has worked and completed the project in the subject of
“Financial services” under our guidance and direction in all respects. His
project is a bonafide work completed in partial fulfillment of B.B.A degree
of Savitribai Phule Pune University. His work is found to be satisfactory.

Asst [Link] Gaur Dr. Snehal Gaur [Link] Wazal

Project Guide HOD principal

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 STUDENT DECLARATION

I,(Shivshankar Swami), hereby declare that the present Project report for the subject
“Financial services” of S.Y.B.B.A([Link]) is uniquely prepared by me.

Name of the student: Shivshankar Swami Roll No: F34

Date and Signature:

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 Index
[Link]. Particulars Page No.
1 Project on core 5 to 35
banking system
2 project on web server 36 to 42
technology
3 project report on 42 to 53
customer relationship
management

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 PROJECT ON CORE BANKING SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION :
After years of debate about the need for core system
replacement, there is finally evidence of growing momentum both in the
market of smaller banks (dominated by package vendors) and in in-
house projects of larger banks.

.Core Banking a general term used to describe the services provided by

a group of networked bank branches. Bank customers may access their
funds and other simple transactions from any of the member branch
offices.

Core Banking is normally defined as the business conducted by a

banking institution with its retail and small business customers. Many
banks treat the retail customers as their core banking customers, and
have a separate line of business to manage small businesses. Larger
businesses are managed via the Corporate Banking division of the
institution.

Normal core banking functions will include deposit accounts, loans,

mortgages and payments. Banks make these services available across
multiple channels like ATMs, Internet banking, and branches.

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Core Banking solutions are banking applications on a platform enabling
a phased, strategic approach that lets people improve operations, reduce
costs, and prepare for growth. Implementing a modular, component-
based enterprise solution ensures strong integration with your existing
technologies. An overall service-oriented-architecture (SOA) helps
banks reduce the risk that can result from multiple data entries and out-
of-date information, increase management u , and avoid the potential
disruption to business caused by replacing entire systems .

What is core Banking system ?

• Core Banking System or Core Banking Solution is a term that we
hear very often these days. For IT and Banking folks, this term
doesn't need any explanation but for those who want to know a bit,
here's a brief overview of what

• Previously a bank's core operations such as keeping a ledger of

various transactions, maintaining customer information, interest

• calculation of loans and deposits, adjustments to accounts on

withdrawal and deposits of funds etc. were done manually. With the

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 advent of ICT (Information & Communications Technology), efforts
were done to automate various banking processes using software
applications so as to make them simple, efficient, effortless and cost
effective. Thus, the platform where ICT is used to perform the core
operations of a bank, like those mentioned above, is known as Core
Banking System.

• In Core Banking System, software applications record transactions,

maintain customer information, calculate interest on loans and
deposits etc. The data, instead of huge ledgers, are stored in backend
databases in digital form. Now, the same software can be installed in
various branches of a bank and can be interconnected through the
internet or telephone lines to form a core banking network of the
bank. The advantage, a customer can operate on his account from
any branch of the bank and if the bank owns Internet Banking or
ATM facilities, then the customer can operate on his account from
virtually anywhere.

Thus, Core Banking System has radically changed the way in which
banks function. The greatest advantage of having a Core Bank System is
that new features and functionalities can be easily added to the system
that customers will have a whole lot of services that they can use.
Electronic funds transfer between banks online trading in the stock

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markets etc. are examples of this, which were unheard of in banks pre
Core Banking System era.

Core banking solutions

• Core Banking Solutions is new jargon frequently used

in banking circles. The advancement in technology,
especially internet and information technology has led
to new ways of doing business in banking. These
technologies have cut down time. working
simultaneously on different issues and increasing
efficiency. The platform where communication
technology and information technology are merged to
suit core needs of is known as Core Banking Solutions.
Here computer software is developed to perform core
operations of banking like recording of transactions,
passbook maintenance, interest calculations on loans
and deposits, customer records, balance of payments
and withdrawal are done. This software is installed at

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 different branches of bank and then interconnected by
means of communication lines like telephones,
satellite, internet etc. It allows the user (customers) to
operate accounts from any branch if it has installed
core banking solutions. This new platform has changed
the way banks are working

• Now a day's all banks are upgrading to provide the

facility of core banking to their customers to be in the
race. It is one step closer to mix technology with
baking for providing convenience of banking to the
customers

Levels of computerization vary significantly in the Indian

Banking Industry. On the one hand centrally
computerized and fully networked new private banks
and foreign banks and on the other with little

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computerization in old private banks and PSBs are in two
ends of the spectrum. This situation will very soon
change and the entire banking system in the country will
be technology driven. This is evident from the fact that
almost all the banks have implemented are
implementing the core banking solution and are also
offering Internet banking services. With the payment
system in the country getting upgraded technologically,
the intermediaries namely the Banking system will have
to absorb technology in a big way. Further, competition
in the industry, cutting edge technology based customer
services and products, growing customer needs, RBI
guidelines, guidelines issued by CVC and also the VRS
offered by Banks are some of the factors that are driving
all the players to computerize the operations quickly and
effectively to reduce the transaction cost and maximize
profits, Major efforts towards computerization in the
banking industry started almost two decades Ago.

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Key Features of the System

1) 24X7 Banking :

As a result of implementing Core Banking,

most of the facilities being offered by banks, are available to
Customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The transactions
are performed using multiple channels such as ATMs.
Internet Banking, Phone Banking und Mobile Banking
Further, the transactions using these delivery channel are
updated in the CDC in real time .

Anywhere Banking : Customers can avail of banking services

across the branch and Channel network irrespective of location
where their account is maintained

Core Banking integrates all strategic sectors of

Banking such as Trade Finance, Treasury Asset-Liability
Management and Corporate Balance Sheet. As a result, the
information related to these areas is centrally available for use or
references.

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 Core Banking integrates all strategic sectors of Banking such as
Trade Finance, Treasury Asset-Liability Management and
Corporate Balance Sheet. As a result, the information related to
these areas is centrally available for use or reference .

• Core Banking Solution is more than just a transaction processing

system. It provides updated data for generating various reports for
Management Information System (MIS), and will facilitate Decision
Support System (DSS) and Executive Information System (EIS) As
data is located on CDC, branches and administrative offices can
concurrently avail updated data when required.

• Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)- enabler

Core Banking would enable implementation of BPR initiatives of a Bank

and facilitate centralized handling of various processes. Branches would
do less and less back office work and would be able to focus on
marketing customer relationship management and cross selling

Concept regarding core banking system

• Is the concept a novel one?

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•

• No this concept came into existence somewhere in

1980's but till recently it was in its budding ages, but
with technological advancements in all fields this
concept is also grooming and adding more and more
features to itself.

• Why the inception in INDIA so late?

• There are many reasons for the late inception of CBS

in INDIA, some of them being

• Indian banks were not interested in going for it.

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• ✓ Required technology for adopting CBS was absent.
The competition prior globalization was not that of
present level.

• What are the application areas of core banking?

• Required computer software is developed to perform

core operations of banking like

• Balance of payments and withdrawal are done.

• Mobile banking

• Re

• Internet banking

• ATM's

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•

• Recording of transactions

• ✔ Passbook maintenance Interest calculations on

loans and deposits

• ✓ Customer record

This software is installed at different branches of bank

and then interconnected by means of communication
lines like telephones, satellite, internet . It allows the
user (customers) to operate accounts from any branch if
it has installed core banking . This new platform has
changed the way banks are working. Now many
advanced features like regulatory requirements and
other services like.

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• share (stock) trading are being provided. Core
banking solutions are very helpful to

• SME industries.

• What all banks are using it?

• Most of the nationalized hanks in India for example:

State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Allahabad
Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank today supports core banking,
As of 2007, many Cooperative banks in India such as
REPCO Bank. Jain Urban Cooperative Bank, Central
Cooperative Bank, Udaipur Urban Cooperative Bank.
Kollam District Cooperative Bank, Kerala State
Cooperative and Mercantile Cooperative Bank have
started to use and offer centralized Core Banking

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• Some of the Cooperative banks and RRBs are yet not
having CBS, but they are on their way to go for CBS
and very soon they will also be under the roof of the
umbrella of Core Banking Solution.

• What are the Standard Software tools?

• Some of the standard software tools that many

hanks are using these days are

• Intellect Suite from POLARIS

• Flexcube from iFlex Solutions

• ✓ Finacle from Infosys

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• What is the need of Core Banking Solutions?

The need for such a solution does not arise just because
of one reason or the other but it requires a
combination of driving forces to come into existence.
Some of these forces being.

• To meet the intense competition and changing

market dynamics in an over

• banked environment.

• • To meet the regulations and compliance

requirements (example in order to meet the Basel Il
norms hanks must enhance there IT infrastructure).

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• To meet the demands of customers who are better
informed, more

• demanding and less loyal than ever.

• • To enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

• • Increasing customer satisfaction and convenience

• Freeing up time for branch staff to focus on sales and

• Simplifying process for employees

• • Enhancing bank's competitiveness in the market

Improved process efficiency

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•

• "Shrinking margins, slow growth... The challenges

that confront today's banker are as intense as they
are varied. And technology, the banker's trusted
friend in the past few decades, has lately become an
obstacle in the quest for market leadership.
Stakeholders' expectations continue to be whetted
by their positive experience in other industries like
retail and travel, of how technology can make a
difference. Satisfying such expectations requires that
banks make their vital systems customer-centric,
cross-channel capable, multilingual and process-
oriented. Not doing so in the near term could prove
to be a costly gamble.

• Benefits to the branch, customer and the bank

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• Benefits to the branch

As the back office work is done at a centralized location,

more time is available to the branch officials for
activities like product promotion, marketing,
business expansion and cross selling of products.

• Single window service for the varied needs of the

customers is made available at the branches. This
enhances customer service at the branch

• There is a uniform approach to the branch

rules/operations

• Branches can concentrate on developing business.

Standardization of IT infrastructure at the branches.

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• No End of Day (EOD) Beginning of Day (BOD) process
at the branch

• No local server and hence no local backup and other

Re chores

• Benefits to customers

• Anywhere/anytime branch banking is available to the

customers

• As multiple delivery channels are facilitated, Internet

banking, online access

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• to all ATM network, tele-banking facility, bill
payment facility etc are made available to the
customers.

• Customer becomes customer of the bank

• Improved customer service at the branches

• No need to visit the branch as the multiple delivery

channels enable the customer to transact basic
banking even from the comfort of her home/

• office

• Benefits to bank

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• Instant availability of consistent and accurate data

• MIS at a central location enhancing the decision

support for the top

• management. There will be effective control and

monitoring by

• the

• top management. Data base and processing are

centralized leading to better monitoring of the
business and reduction in data cost and transaction
cost.

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• Faster introduction of customer centric products
from the central location

• ensuring uniformity in implementation. Roll out of

new products Business changes can be implemented

• immediately

• New delivery channels can be integrated easily The

need for reconciliation among the branches is
eliminated thereby

improving better housekeeping and better operational

risk management Ease of system administration and
thereby reduction in support costs.

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Core banking in Axix Bank Finacle software

Core Banking :

• Core Banking is normally defined as the

business conducted by a banking institution with its
retail and small business customers.

• ▸ Nowadays, most banks use core banking

applications to support their operations where CORE

stands for "Centralized Online Real-time Exchange".
This basically means that all the bank's branches
access applications from centralized datacenters.
•

▸ Normal core banking functions will include deposit

accounts, loans, mortgages and payments. Banks

make these services available across multiple
channels like ATMs. Internet banking. and branches.

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 Core banking solutions

Core banking solutions are

banking applications on a platform enabling a
phased, strategic approach that is intended to
allow banks to improve operations, reduce
costs, and be prepared for growth.

• The platform where communication technology

and information technology are merged to suit
core needs of banking is known as Core Banking
Solutions. Here, computer software is developed
to perform core operations of banking like
recording of transactions. passbook
maintenance, interest calculations on loans and
deposits. customer records, balance of
payments and withdrawal.

• No

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• (CONTD)

• This software is installed at different branches of

bank and then interconnected by means of
communication lines like telephone, satellite,
internet etc. It allows the user (customers) to
operate accounts from any branch if it has
installed core banking solutions.

• ▸ Core banking systems typically include

deposit, loan and credit processing capabilities,

with interfaces to general ledger systems and
reporting tools.
•

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▸ Strategic spending on these systems is based on

a combination of service-oriented architecture

and supporting technologies that create
extensible, agile architectures.
• HISTORY

• Axis Bank, previously called UTI Bank.

• AXIS BANK

• The first of the new private banks to have begun

operations in 1994, after the Government of
India allowed new private banks to be
established.

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• Joint venture- Unit Trust of India (UTI-I).

• Life Insurance Corporation of India(LIC). General

Insurance Corporation Ltd.

• National Insurance Company Ltd.

• The New India Assurance Company. The Oriental

Insurance Corporation

United Insurance Company Ltd.

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• COMPANY PROFILAXIS BANK

• Founded -Ahmedabad, 1994.

• Headquarters -Mumbai, India

• > Key people - Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO

Industry-Financial Commercial banks.

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 Swot analysis of Axix bank

• Strengths

• Support of various promoters High level of

services Knowledge Indian market

• Weakness

• Not having good market

• Market capitalization is very low

• Not been fully able to position itself

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• CONCLUSION
•
• As core banking system gather momentum
worldwide, the small and large banks are
starting to adopt SOA-based strategies to ensure
that they put in place an agile banking platform
for the future. Most companies are increasingly
recognized as having the mission-critical
credentials to provide the platform of choice for
a new generation of banking enterprise services
that will complement their multi-channel
collaborative and communications technologies
and help ensure that banks realize a better
vision.
•
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
•
• The data has been collected from various
sources and analysed manually before
interpretation. The sources include various
websites like:

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•
• [Link]/industry financial services
banking [Link] EEG
[Link] banking
•
• [Link]

34
PROJECT ON WEB SERVER TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION:
web server is software and hardware that uses HTTP
(Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and other protocols to respond
to client requests made over the World Wide Web.

web server is software and hardware that

uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and other
protocols to respond to client requests made over the
World Wide Web. The main job of a web server is to
display website content through storing, processing and
delivering webpages to users. Besides HTTP, web servers
also support SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and
FTP (File Transfer Protocol), used for email, file transfer
and storage.

Web server hardware is connected to the internet and

allows data to be exchanged with other connected
devices, while web server software controls how a user
accesses hosted files. The web server process is an
example of the client/server model. All computers that host
websites must have web server software.

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Web servers are used in web hosting, or the hosting of
data for websites and web-based applications -- or web
applications.

How do web servers work?

Web server software is accessed through the domain

names of websites and ensures the delivery of the site's
content to the requesting user. The software side is also
comprised of several components, with at least an HTTP
server. The HTTP server is able to understand HTTP
and URLs. As hardware, a web server is a computer that
stores web server software and other files related to a
website, such as HTML documents, images
and JavaScript files.

When a web browser, like Google Chrome or Firefox,

needs a file that's hosted on a web server, the browser will
request the file by HTTP. When the request is received by
the web server, the HTTP server will accept the request,
find the content and send it back to the browser through
HTTP.

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More specifically, when a browser requests a page from a
web server, the process will follow a series of steps. First,
a person will specify a URL in a web browser's address
bar. The web browser will then obtain the IP address of
the domain name -- either translating the URL
through DNS (Domain Name System) or by searching in
its cache. This will bring the browser to a web server. The
browser will then request the specific file from the web
server by an HTTP request. The web server will respond,
sending the browser the requested page, again, through
HTTP. If the requested page does not exist or if something
goes wrong, the web server will respond with an error
message. The browser will then be able to display the
webpage.

Multiple domains also can be hosted on one web server.

Examples of web server uses

Web servers often come as part of a larger package of

internet- and intranet-related programs that are used for:

• sending and receiving emails;

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 • downloading requests for File Transfer Protocol
(FTP) files; and

• building and publishing webpages.

Many basic web servers will also support server-side

scripting, which is used to employ scripts on a web server
that can customize the response to the client. Server-side
scripting runs on the server machine and typically has a
broad feature set, which includes database access. The
server-side scripting process will also use Active Server
Pages (ASP), Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) and other
scripting languages. This process also allows HTML
documents to be created dynamically.

Dynamic vs. static web servers

A web server can be used to serve either static or dynamic

content. Static refers to the content being shown as is, while
dynamic content can be updated and changed. A static web
server will consist of a computer and HTTP software. It is
considered static because the sever will send hosted files as is to
a browser.

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Dynamic web browsers will consist of a web server and other
software such as an application server and database. It is
considered dynamic because the application server can be used
to update any hosted files before they are sent to a browser. The
web server can generate content when it is requested from the
database. Though this process is more flexible, it is also more
complicated.

Common and top web server software on the market

There are a number of common web servers available, some

including:

• Apache HTTP Server. Developed by Apache Software

Foundation, it is a free and open source web server for
Windows, Mac OS X, Unix, Linux, Solaris and other
operating systems; it needs the Apache license.

• Microsoft Internet Information Services

(IIS). Developed by Microsoft for Microsoft platforms;
it is not open sourced, but widely used.

• Nginx. A popular open source web server for

administrators because of its light resource utilization

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 and scalability. It can handle many concurrent sessions
due to its event-driven architecture. Nginx also can be
used as a proxy server and load balancer.

• Lighttpd. A free web server that comes with the

FreeBSD operating system. It is seen as fast and secure,
while consuming less CPU power.

• Sun Java System Web Server. A free web server from

Sun Microsystems that can run on Windows, Linux and
Unix. It is well-equipped to handle medium to large
websites.

Leading web servers include Apache, Microsoft's Internet

Information Services (IIS) and Nginx -- pronounced engine X.
Other web servers include Novell's NetWare server, Google
Web Server (GWS) and IBM's family of Domino servers.

Considerations in choosing a web server include how well it

works with the operating system and other servers; its ability to
handle server-side programming; security characteristics;
and the publishing, search engine and site-building tools that
come with it. Web servers may also have different
configurations and set default values. To create high

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performance, a web server, high throughput and low latency will
help.

Web server security practices

There are plenty of security practices individuals can set around

web server use that can make for a safer experience. A few
example security practices can include processes like:

• a reverse proxy, which is designed to hide an internal

server and act as an intermediary for traffic originating
on an internal server;

• access restriction through processes such as limiting the

web host's access to infrastructure machines or using
Secure Socket Shell (SSH);

• keeping web servers patched and up to date to help

ensure the web server isn't susceptible to vulnerabilities;

• network monitoring to make sure there isn't any or

unauthorized activity; and

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 • using a firewall and SSL as firewalls can monitor HTTP
traffic while having a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) can
help keep data secure.

3) PROJECT REPORT ON CUSTOMER

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

What is CRM? Software for managing customer data

Equal parts strategy and technology, customer

relationship management (CRM) is about using
data to understand your customers—and boost
sales.

CRM definition

CRM is an abbreviation for customer relationship

management, a method for managing a company's interaction
with current and potential customers, and storing and analyzing
data about past interactions. Management consulting company
Bain defines CRM as "a process companies use to understand
their customer groups and respond quickly—and at times,

42
instantly—to shifting customer desires." But CRM can mean
both the process and philosophy for meeting those goals, and the
technology used to implement that process.

CRM software

According to Salesforce, the leading CRM provider (and more

on them in a moment), CRM software grew out of the contact
management software of the 1980s, which in turn was meant to
provide a digital version of the rolodexes that were so important
to sales professionals. At first, CRM software lived on
individual PCs; later, it migrated to servers where it could
provide services to an entire organization, at which point people
started using the phrase CRM system,reflecting the fact that it
spanned across an enterprise's infrastructure.

One of the most important things to keep in mind about

a CRM system is that it is ultimately less important than the data
you put into it. That's one reason to think of CRM as a
philosophy and set of practices for recording data about
customer interactions, not just a software package you buy.

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What is CRM software used for?

Customer relationship management is a strategic process that

helps you better understand your customers’ needs and how to
meet those needs and enhance your bottom line. CRM systems
link up information about customers from a variety of sources,
including email, websites, physical stores, call centers, mobile
sales, and marketing and advertising efforts. CRM data flows
between operational systems (like sales and inventory systems)
and analytical systems that sort through CRM data for patterns.

If you don’t have an accurate view of who your customers are

and what their needs or desires are or will be at any given stage
in their lives, or if you are losing customers to a competitor,
that's a clear indication that you need a CRM system.

There are many technological components to CRM systems, but

thinking about CRM in primarily technological terms is a
mistake. Instead, CRM should be viewed as a strategic process
to better understand and meet your customers’ needs. A
successful CRM strategy depends on bringing together lots of
pieces of information about customers and market trends so you
can more effectively market and sell your products and services.

44
With an effective CRM strategy, a business can increase
revenues by:

• providing services and products that are exactly what

your customers want
• offering better customer service
• cross selling products more effectively
• helping sales staff close deals faster
• retaining existing customers and discovering new ones

These revenue gains don't happen by simply buying software

and installing it. For CRM to be truly effective, an organization
must first understand who its customers are, their value, their
needs, and how best to meet those needs. For example, many
financial institutions keep track of customers' life stages in order
to market appropriate banking products like mortgages or IRAs
to them at the right time.

Next, the organization must look into all of the different ways
information about customers comes into a business, where and
how this data is stored and how it is currently used. One
company, for instance, may interact with customers in a number
of ways, including email campaigns, web sites, brick-and-mortar

45
stores, call centers, mobile sales force staff and marketing and
advertising efforts. CRM systems link up each of these points.
This collected data flows between operational systems (like
sales and inventory systems) and analytical systems that can
help sort through these records for patterns. Company analysts
can then comb through the data to obtain a holistic view of each
customer and pinpoint areas where better services are needed.
For example, if someone has a mortgage, a business loan, an
IRA and a large commercial checking account with one bank, it
behooves the bank to treat this person well each time it has any
contact with him or her.

CRM vs. ERP vs. marketing automation

Before we move further, we need to clarify the difference

between CRM and a couple of other terms you might have heard
thrown around in this space: marketing
automation and ERP. While there is some conceptual overlap
— all three involve storing, analyzing, and making use of
customer data to improve business processes — the three
actually occupy distinct niches, and learning what those are
helps clarify what each tool does:

46
 • Marketing automation is all about low-cost effective
communication with potential customers, or
prospects, mostly in the form of email and social media
contacts. Ultimately, the purpose is to gather leads
(contact info on prospects) to hand them off to the sales
team.
• CRM aims to converts leads into contacts, which is to
say leads that have expressed interest in buying your
products, or have bought in the past and, you hope, will
buy again in the future.
• ERP coordinates the process of actually producing and
delivering products to the people you sold them to, and
managing the financial information about those sales.

These three tools can work in sequence — the output of the

marketing automation process goes into CRM, and CRM info on
completed sales should go into ERP — but each of them
represents a distinct domain, and truly the only people who
should have login privileges on all three systems are your IT
staff. (Read more about the distinction between CRM and
marketing automation and CRM and ERP.)

47
Salesforce: CRM and beyond

One of the reasons that CRM, ERP, and marketing automation

aren't as distinct as they should be in the popular mind is that
Salesforce, the giant in the CRM field, is also trying to work its
way into the ERP and marketing automation spaces as well.
With 26 percent of the market, Salesforce has a massive lead
over its competitors in CRM; other big names in this space
include Oracle, SAP, Adobe, and Microsoft.

Types of CRM

Beyond the brand names, there are two main types of CRM: on-
premises, which means the CRM software is installed on a
server under the customer's control, and cloud or on-
demand, which runs on the vendor's cloud infrastructure and
follows a more metered or pay-as-you go approach.

The market for on-demand CRM has soared, particularly among

small and mid-sized companies, largely because of fears about
the expense and complexity of large-scale on-premises CRM
implementations. And indeed, on-demand CRM is often a good
choice for companies that want to implement standard CRM

48
processes, are able to use out-of-the-box data structures with
little or no internal IT support, and don’t require complex or
real-time integration with back office systems.

However, on-demand CRM software is not always as simple as

the vendors would have you believe. For instance, customization
can be problematic and hosted CRM vendors’ API tools cannot
provide the degree of integration that is possible with on-site
applications. Getting a hosted CRM system working shouldn’t
take as long as a traditional software package, but larger and
more complex rollouts can still take a year or more. And while
the hosted option reduces the need for in-house technical
support, upgrades can still sometimes be technically tricky. In
addition, some companies with particularly sensitive customer
data, such as those in financial services and health care, may not
want to relinquish control of their data to a hosted third party for
security reasons.

Free CRM

A hosted CRM system will cost in the ballpark of $50 to $100

per user a month. If you want more sophisticated functionality
and a greater level of support, you pay a lot more. An enterprise

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on-premises CRM package can cost anywhere between several
thousand to several millions of dollars, depending again on how
many functions you purchase and how many computers or
“seats” have access to the software. For instance, one company
or department might purchase an email marketing management
application or a salesforce automation application, while a larger
firm might want to purchase an integrated package that includes
a database as well as applications for marketing, sales and
customer service and support (via call centers and online).
Obviously, the integrated software package is much more
expensive.

Those costs, even the hosted options, are well beyond the means
of many small businesses. Fortunately, there's a burgeoning
niche of free CRM options which, while less sophisticated, are
usually more than adequate for the needs of a small or medium
enterprise. Included in this category are open source offerings
like SuiteCRM and SugarCRM. (Read more about the pluses
and minuses of seven free CRM options.)

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What is the best CRM software?

We'd love nothing more than to give you a one-sentence answer

that IDs the top CRM offering. Unfortunately, as is the usually
the case for complex questions about important software tools,
the answer is "it depends." Or, as CIO writer Matt Kapko puts
it, "The best customer relationship management software is the
one that has the right capabilities and features for your
objectives." Kapko has a detailed lowdown what the key
features to look for to match your needs are, and you should
definitely follow him on this deep dive if you're asking this
question.

Managing CRM

As we've noted, CRM is as much a process and a state of mind

as it is a software platform. That's why the biggest returns come
from aligning business, CRM and IT strategies across all
departments and not just leaving it for one group to run. The
reason for this, as Moira Alexander writes, is that "in most
companies, individual departments or teams believe they hold
the key to understanding customer needs more than other areas
of the business. But the reality is that different departments

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simply have a different view into customer expectations and
none has an all-encompassing view."

In fact, it’s best for the business departments who actually use
the software to take ownership of the project, with IT and the
CIO playing an important advisory role.

CRM rollouts are very complex and have a certain degree of

notoriety as doomed to failure. From the beginning, lack of a
communication between everyone in the customer relationship
chain can lead to an incomplete picture of the customer. Poor
communication can lead to technology being implemented
without proper support or buy-in from users. For example, if the
sales force isn't completely sold on the system's benefits, they
may not input the kind of demographic data that is essential to
the program's success. One Fortune 500 company is on its fourth
try at a CRM implementation, because it did not do a good job at
getting buy-in from its sale force beforehand and then training
sales staff once the software was available. (Read moreon what
to do if your CRM project crashes and burns.)

The final thing you need to keep in mind when managing your
CRM project is that you need to eliminate data silos to succeed.

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Users need access to data beyond what they themselves enter
into the system. That means integration — across users and
across departments — and integration projects are always
difficult. But trust us: the payoff is worth it.

CRM examples

Ready to see some examples of CRM in action? Check out this

post from the Teamleader blog. They've got some great detailed
stories on how real-world companies are deploying CRM to
boost their bottom lines.

More on CRM:

• 8 CRM implementation best practices

• Evaluating CRM software: Key features to look for
• What to do when your CRM project fails
• 10 signs your CRM system needs an overhaul
• The 9 dirty little secrets of CRM

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