We've been talking a lot about cloud computing here at Think Gig and we'd like to share an example of how we are moving to the cloud with our Salesforce.com implementation.

It begins with the classic story. The Software as a Service (SaaS) implementation replaces a homegrown funnel management system whose performance had been steadily degrading. Managers lacked visibility into the sales cycle and tools for coaching. Users wanted the ability to manage customers from a Smartphone without losing performance. The tool wasn't able to scale up quickly as the user base grew and changes to the application took longer than we'd like.

What are the benefits we found by moving to the cloud?

Shorter implementation cycle. The Salesforce automation (SFA) project got underway in May 2010. In six months, the team did analysis, design, c

Everything is going 'social.' First we had social media and social networking, then the social customer and now social CRM. I've always believed in using the right technology to enable a customer-centric approach. When I started to see 'Social CRM' appear as the latest buzzword in social media, I realized it was a great way to describe being customer-centric in today's online world.

Paul Greenberg, founder of the 56 Group, describes the social customer perfectly when he notes that customers are now communicating outside traditional channels, and that who and how they trust is different than it used to be.

While I don't think traditional marketing techniques will go away, I do think organizations that don't integrate social media tool