Erp hosts grow

With software, value for money increases when advances in underlying computing technology enable the development of innovative solutions. On-demand software — usually in the form of applications hosted online by specialist providers — is one example.

Ubiquitous access to such 'outsourced' IT is now possible without major concerns about bandwidth or security. The basic question for customers is the simple one of whether to 'buy or rent' their software. To make such decisions, IT buyers weigh the reward or benefit against the perception of risk.

Traditionally the arguments were weighted against the on-demand approach because the risks were considered high, but views have changed.

A recent success story in this sector is

. Business has grown rapidly for its on-demand customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and there are probably several reasons for its popularity.

Traditional CRM solutions generally did well in controlled environments such as call centres. Nevertheless, many firms suffered from failed CRM projects, and their CRM capabilities often disappointed sales staff in the field.