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There are many different kinds of CRM programs to choose from. One type that is gaining in popularity is using an online third part to provide Customer Relationship management for you. Generally speaking, these companies will use some kind of web based interface that all of your employees can access. While this is not a crm software package in its truest form, it is a great tool that corresponds to other Customer Relationship management packages. There are some distinct advantages to using this an online system to manage all of your customer needs. There are also some serious difficulties as well.

The first advantage is in the usability. Anyone with a browser can log in and use your customer system. As long as you have a secure password system you data will be completely safe. In addition some companies will only allow people to access the system from certain IP addresses. This extra layer of security may or may not be necessary for your needs. Another advantage is that the company maintaining the database will do all of your backups. In general the back up policies and procedures for these companies will be much more robust than what you could implement. This is especially true in smaller businesses.

Some of the negatives are that if the Internet is down you can not access your information. Without this online connection you will lose all access to your customer and billing records. The other negative is that because you access your data through the Internet there is a possibility that your database could be compromised. Depending on how sensitive the information is that you are storing this may rule out an online CRM system.