Is your CRM cloud-based? If it's Simpleview CRM, the answer is "Yup - and always has been."

You've probably been hearing more about "cloud-based" technologies lately. Apple recently announced "iCloud," and if the past is any indication, they'll make the technology widely understood and familiar.

You've probably also been hearing about cloud-based CRM and wondering where we stand on the topic. Short answer: Simpleview CRM has always been cloud-based and always will be. For a longer answer, here's some simple Q&A.

What is "the cloud"?

It's actually just a colorful name for any bank of servers that you don't personally own and house. The name became a popular way of referring to files and software that aren't stored locally but instead somewhere "out there."

Got an example?

Have you ever had an email account with Yahoo! or Google? Those emails were stored in the cloud, and the software was also cloud-based. Ever used a file-sharing service like YouSendIt? Cloud. Flickr? Cloud.

Note that folks generally use the phrase only for stuff that belongs to you - your files, your music, your data - not for something like Netflix streaming movies (even though those movies do stream from "out there").

And Simpleview CRM is cloud-based like Google Docs?

There are two kinds of cloud services. One is the public model like Flickr and Google Docs. They're low-cost or free and monetized through advertising, data mining, etc.

Private cloud services handle more sensitive content - like your CRM data. But the equipment you don't see and the benefits you feel in your soul are the same: always-on access to secure, scalable off-site storage backed-up with heavy redundancy for disaster recovery (a.k.a. "peace of mind").

So this new cloud thing isn't sounding that new.

Ding-ding-ding! You're right. It's not. It's basically a new way of talking about something that's been around a long time. But it is new to some companies and technologies.

Some companies are just now offering the kind of secure, web-based tools and data storage that's been the core of Simpleview CRM since it was first introduced nine years ago. You could say we were "ahead of the cloud". 

If I'm not using Simpleview CRM, should I pay to upgrade/migrate to the cloud?

Cloud-based data and tools are definitely the way to go! Should you pay for them now? It's hard for us to say "yes" since we believe you should have had them all along.

If you'd like to see what else you've been missing before you decide, let us know - we're happy to give you a demo of Simpleview CRM and answer any questions you may have.

One more thing you should know: We've never charged for upgrades even though we're adding *true* innovation every year, and this year will be the biggest so far (translation: "a great time to switch").