CRM YOUR

LICENSED APP
Deployment
Hardware $97500
IS hosting r1ght for your SOftware license $50 000
ness? Compare the costs Installation S60 000 Installation $53 ()()()
of licensing and running an application Staff trainirlR $15000 Staff trainin $15 ()()()
on your own with the costs of a hosted
service. Use the table to evaluate the
costs for your app, compared with the
Deployment costs
operation
5222,500
...
Deployment costs 577,000

totals for the oakland Athletics' CRM License fees $9000 Hostin fees S60 ()()()
upgrade. The A'S had been using 5erver/desktoo maintenance $40000 AdministratIon $30 ()()()
standalone Excel spreadsheets and ADOlication maintenance $60000 Deskt maintenance $15 ()()()
Access database files; the organization
asked san Mateo, calif. -based NetSuite Annual operating costs 5109,000 Annual operating costs 5105,000
to provide an integrated CRM package.

Map business processes to the software.

Once you've confirmed that hosting
BUSiness function BUSiness process Software modules
Is the way to go, sit down with the
service provider you've selected. Analyze
your business processes and identify the
automated features that will support those process-
es. This service is usually included in the provider's
fees. Three NetSuite experts worked with oakland's
systems administrator and business analysts to map
the front office's business processes to the modules
in the software. The deliverables from this step
include a business process map, as shown here.

CO P. y
Name: Oakland Athletics
Type: Major League Baseball organization
Employees: 80 to 100 in front office
GOA
• Automate sales, marketing and account
management operations
• Reduce I.T. costs through outsourcing
• Increase uptime for critical applications
U'l
• Provide secure access to internal systems
o
o TASKS
N
Q: 1. Run the numbers on hosting
W
co 2. Map business processes to the software
o
~ 3. Customize solutions
u 4. Migrate data
o
w 5. Deploy desktops
Z 6. Train staff
::;
W
til
7. Switch over to the hosted service
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co
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Once the business
process map has been
produced, solutions need to be
customized to support the process-
es. Work closely with the service
provider in this step. For the
Oakland A's, NetSuite's developers
customized the CRM package's
Web-based components such as
drop-down lists, text fields and
online help.
NetSuite also fine-tuned the soft-
ware's business logic. For example,
the season-ticket sales team needed
different business rules than the
group-ticket sales team.
Cameron Stewart, marketing and
advertising manager for the baseball
team, attributes the success of the
CRM migration project to Netsuite's
flexibility in customization.
But the big-picture
advantage for the A's in hiring
NetSuite is that the organization
can free up more time to concen-
trate on staying competitive and
drawing large crowds to McAfee
Coliseum.
Migrate data.
This is perhaps the most work-intensive and challenging step
in the project. Once the hosted application is prepared, you must migrate
your business data to the hosted system. The service provider should
either provide you with migration tools or perform the task for you. Data
cleansing is often needed in this process to discard corrupt or redundant information
as well as reformat the data to be compatible with the new application.
Justin Foster, NetSuite's vice president of services and support, advises that the
data migration typically requires one to four weeks, depending on the amount and
cleanliness of the data and the number of data sources. NetSuite facilitates data
migration by providing extraction, transformation and loading (ETL) tools that can
cull data from 99% of commercially available applications. The Oakland A'S exported
the data in Excel and Access, and NetSuite did the rest.
Before switching over to the new
hosted service, it is worthwhile to verify
s. that each user's desktop has the appro-
priate configuration. Even Web applica-
Most hosted services are tions may require a specific browser
Web-based, but some use version, special configuration, or plug-ins
client-side software. For ex- like Flash or an Activex control. Use a
ample, a hosted groupware service may checklist like the one below to track the
be accessed using Microsoft Outlook. readiness of your users' desktops.

Train staff. User Department User level Modules Status

Before switching over Complete
to the hosted service,
it is imperative to train the
appropriate individuals in your company.
Training can be divided into two parts- ~-------+-----4------+-------+------1
one for administrators, the other for
end users.
The service provider can often help with training. NetSuite, for example, sent representatives to the Oakland A'S front
office to train seven key individuals, who then spread their knowledge throughout the organization. Prepare a roster like
the one you see here to track the training program.

Switch over to the
hosted service.
Now, you're ready to switch from your existing ap-
plication. Depending on the business process, you may
either make an abrupt switch-over or use the new service
concurrently with the existing system until all business func-
tions can be weaned off the old application. A hosted CRM
system, for instance, can come online and replace the old
one instantly at the stroke of midnight, while an accounting
system may require a slower transition so you can close out
the last quarter.
Prepare for a surge in tech support calls after the switch-
over. Then repurpose systems that you no longer need.
SWITCH-OVER CHECKLIST
o Data migration complete
o Staff training complete
o Affected business functions notified
o User account setup complete
o Legacy system data archived
o Transition period noted (for gradual moves)
o Tech support prepared for surge in call volume