Looking for PowerObjects? Don’t worry, you’re in the right place! We’ve been part of HCL for several years, and we’ve now taken the final step in our acquisition journey: moving our website to the HCL domain. Nothing else is changing – we are still fanatically focused on Microsoft Business Applications!

PowerObjects Blog 

for Microsoft Business Applications


Upgrading CRM: CRM Online vs. On-premises - Finding the Best Fit for Your Organization

Post Author: Joe D365 |

Welcome back for part two in our Upgrade CRM blog series! In last week's blog, we delved into how to decide between a CRM upgrade versus a CRM reimplementation. Once you've chosen to move forward with a CRM upgrade or reimplementation, you then have to decide whether you will host your CRM system online or on-premises. In today's blog, we will go over some of the pros of each option to help you decide which option is the best fit for your needs. Let's get started!

Benefits of CRM Online

CRM Online is a SaaS model. If you choose CRM Online, this means that your CRM system will be in Microsoft's Cloud.

  • You get immediate access to new features for Dynamics CRM as soon as they are released. Microsoft currently releases two major updates a year for CRM Online.
  • You will get some features that are ONLY available in CRM Online.
  • No falling behind on versions – Microsoft requires you to update regularly, which prevents you from falling multiple versions behind. This prevents a large and time consuming upgrade project in the future.
  • Less upfront and ongoing costs because you don't need the IT infrastructure or maintenance.
  • With online hosting, you pay a monthly fee instead of paying all at once. It requires less cash up front.
  • CRM Online is secure and reliable and has a super robust disaster recovery scenario that few on-premises customers can afford to create.

Benefits of CRM On-premises

This traditional model is where CRM is hosted by your company or by another hosting partner or vendor.

  • You have access to the SQL database:
    • You have the ability to run SQL queries and reports.
    • If you run into performance issues, you can  always throw mare hardware at it since you are responsible for the infrastructure.
  • You decide precisely when and if you want to upgrade.
  • You can run old code that does not run in CRM online.
  • You decide and have control of security and setup.

Ultimately, the decision comes down to what will work best for your organization's unique business needs. You can read our case study and solution story for examples of two companies who chose to upgrade their CRM systems and the hosting decisions they opted for. Also check out the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online security and service continuity guide for additional information: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj134081(v=crm.6).aspx#Introduction

Hopefully this gives you a starting point when considering whether to host your CRM system online or on-premises. Check out our webinar, “Upgrading CRM: Powerful New Features to Make Your Work Easier.” It's a great place to start if you have questions about upgrading. Please reach out to us with any additional questions or if you want to have conversation about CRM online versus on-premises. Make sure you check out the final installment in our series, where we talk about how to move from a data-driven CRM system to a process-driven system.

Happy CRM'ing!

Joe CRM
By Joe D365
Joe D365 is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 superhero who runs on pure Dynamics adrenaline. As the face of PowerObjects, Joe D365’s mission is to reveal innovative ways to use Dynamics 365 and bring the application to more businesses and organizations around the world.

PowerObjects Recommends