A Brief History of CRM Data Synching

The need for remote users to regularly sync their contact manager or CRM data from a locally installed database back to a central database dates back to a time when the Internet was far less ubiquitous than it is today and a time when Web technologies and interfaces were not as advanced.

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the norm was for contact manager or CRM users to have a local application plus a local database engine installed on their laptop or desktop.  Users would have to connect to their company’s network and then click a button to push changes that they had made up to a central server and to receive any changes from the server.  In fact, quite a few organizations that started with synchronization between five and fifteen years ago are still running synchronization today.

The Costs of Maintaining Sync

While, for a time, synchronization was the only way to provide remote users with database access, it could be challenging to maintain.  Maintaining synchronization practically became a career for some contact management and CRM consultants.  It was also part of the job description for an in-house CRM administrator position.  The level of soft dollar costs needed to maintain a CRM data synchronization environment are often underestimated.

While long term maintenance of synchronization was normally not a line item on a contact manager or CRM quote, this maintenance could become very expensive in terms of soft dollars — including IT staff time and reduced remote user productivity.

Aside from the soft cost of maintaining synchronization, there’s always been a significant risk of user frustration and overall disenchantment with a system that relies on remote users synching on a regular basis.  The last thing that a sales rep needs when they are paid to produce revenue, is to be spending hours on the phone trying to get their database software to work properly.

Synchronization Workarounds

As a workaround to synchronization coupled with a locally installed application, some companies made the decision to adopt thin client technologies such as Terminal Services or Citrix for remote user access.  While this is workable with the proper infrastructure in place and the proper technical expertise, it creates an extra layer between the user and the application, as it can require the installation and maintenance of a thin client application, as well as a VPN client — which can mean an extra layer of authentication.

A Terminal Services or Citrix type client also creates a wall between the application and the users’ local desktop – a thin client cannot always interact with applications on a users local desktop, such as Outlook, Word and Excel.

Some vendors or third parties provided Web “bolt-ons” as another way to overcome the limitations of client/server application access.  They layering on of Web functionality created a variety of issues, from slow performance to a need for dual customization efforts.

Losing that Synching Feeling

Web development tools have become increasingly flexible and Internet access continues to be more and more ubiquitous.  The fact that you can now access the Internet on many airlines is an indication of just how available the Internet has become.

Eliminating the need to maintain locally installed software, and eliminating the need to support synchronization can represent a significant cost savings to many organizations.  With a browser-based application, users simply need to launch a browser window and securely log into their CRM application.

While CRM and contact manager data synchronization was once the only option for most companies, Web-based CRM technologies have evolved to the point that the synching feeling will soon be a thing of the past.