Cloud-based sales automation software is a continuing strong trend that many businesses with an extensive suite of products have begun to use, enabling sales and marketing professionals convenient mobile access to all of their offerings from anywhere with an Internet connection. Not only does this capability make quoting to potential customers easier, but companies can have better corporate communication throughout the sales pipeline.
The cloud is continuing to gain traction in the business world. Three-quarters of business users, IT decision-makers and cloud vendors who responded to a recent survey from North Bridge Venture Partners and GigaOM Research claiming to use some type of cloud platform, an 8 percentage point increase from the previous year.
Businesses using the cloud to topple competition
The cloud speeds up business processes and the companies that are able to adjust more quickly to customer needs are usually the ones who will be leaders in their industry. Here’s why:
54 percent of respondents said business ability and scalability are the main reasons they have begun to use a virtual infrastructure,
48 percent cite the ability to save money as the reason for their use of the cloud.
55 percent of respondents believe that using a hybrid environment or multiple cloud vendors will become the norm for enterprises in the upcoming two to three years.
"This survey provides new insights into how cloud computing is transforming IT," said Steven Martin, general manager of Windows Azure marketing and operations at Microsoft. "In particular it shows that businesses are using cloud computing to outpace their competition and that, over the next five years, hybrid cloud will become the norm. This echoes what we hear from customers and it's why comprehensive, hybrid cloud solutions are core to our strategy."
Will the cloud really be a sound investment?
Many businesses have begun their cloud initiatives and more companies are planning to do the same, but each firm is different and must be sure that their deployment of a virtual infrastructure will bring back a strong return on investment. It's important to do a cost analysis of cloud deployments to ensure they will be a valuable asset for both the short and long term, according to Computerworld.
Businesses that have a team of sales and marketing professionals must understand the benefits of using online quote software to host their company's suite of products. How best to make this capability a valuable asset will certainly make it easier to sell items to leads and potential prospects.
