Cognizant CRM Insights

Planning a SaaS CRM Project?

First, Create an Operating Model
By Ajay Hoskeri
When it comes to customer relationship
management (CRM) software, the software as a
service (SaaS) model is undeniably attractive.
With SaaS, or on-demand software, you dont
have to pay for the underlying infrastructure, as
you would with an on-premises application.
Software updates are handled by the provider
and included in the price,
If you fail to manage which is predictable. And
a SaaS application many SaaS CRM versions are
properly, the environment simpler than on-premises,
easing user adoption.

can easily become

fragmented as changes But for all its advantages, the
proliferate out of control. SaaS model for CRM does

bear one major difference

from on-premises CRM -- one that many
companies do not consider. Before you can
implement a SaaS version of CRM, you will likely
have to put in place a governance structure and
operating model that will dictate how your
organization and its users interact with the
application. If you dont take the time to do this
upfront -- and many, if not most, companies do
not -- you risk losing the benefits for which you
went to SaaS in the first place.
The operating model for SaaS applications
encompasses governance, change management,
release management, support and operational
processes. Addressing all of these components

does not occur overnight, but unless you have just

a few CRM users, you must put an operating
model in place if your company is to receive the
full cost and operational advantages of SaaS CRM.
The need for an operating model for mid-size to
large SaaS installations comes as a surprise to
many executives, who are expecting quick
returns from SaaS (as in, turn it on and it
works). But you cannot sidestep the exercise of
creating and implementing a governance
structure and operating model for SaaS. In fact,
the operating model is much more important
with SaaS than with on-premises software, which
is inherently better controlled since it exists
within the four walls of the enterprise. If you fail
to manage a SaaS application properly, the
environment can easily become fragmented as
changes proliferate out of control. This is
especially true for large organizations that might
have hundreds of sales reps using the CRM tool.
The more complex your environment, the more
you will need a clear-cut operating model prior
to migrating to SaaS.

Start with Governance

At a high level, governance provides the
structure for making decisions and helps define
the principles of the operating model -- in this
case, decisions having to do with the SaaS CRM

CRM Insights

application. An effective governance structure

supports strategy through a leadership team
that sponsors change initiatives affecting
business operations. Governance supports and
reinforces changes at each stage of an
implementation, as well as with ongoing
application support. Good governance defines
the decision-making process, providing
consistency and keeping all projects on track,
regardless of business unit.

on an analysis of the application. This analysis

should begin as soon as you begin the
application selection process. Ensuring
alignment with business objectives is an ongoing
task for the governance team.

Change Management
You will need a formal change management (CM)
process to identify application changes and
maintain better control by doing the following:

Other governance tasks include:

Provide overall strategic guidance.

Evaluate, prioritize and approve any application

design changes or business processes/rules.

Establish consensus on application or process

changes across groups and user communities.

Support project teams as appropriate (for

example, with staffing and planning).

Define integration and develop plans for

change.

Resolve escalated issues from different

groups.

Ensure the application adheres to the organizations legal and application standards.

Identifying the importance of CM.

Defining the process to manage change requests.

Allocating and managing the

change implementation.

Gathering feedback and closing the communication loop.

The first step is to identify

a governance team with
representatives from
executive management,
the lines of business, IT,
sales, the field, support,
change management and
release management.

Application changes arise from a

variety of situations, including
organizational change, usergenerated enhancement requests, business
process changes and modeling modifications.
The basic change management process follows a
predictable flow:

Governance defines levels of accountability and

sponsorship. The SaaS environment brings
newfound flexibility to the CRM application,
empowering users to make changes and own the
application. This flexibility requires that you have
a well-defined governance model to control and
monitor the potential changes your users are
making and ensure standards are being followed.

1. Recording: Who, what, when?

Governance outlines principles and procedures

for monitoring and control. Questions to be
addressed include: What level of customizations
and configurations do we allow? How much
liberty will business users be given? Will one
business unit be allowed to maintain previous
procedures rather than using standard
processes?

7. Communicating: How is the change being

communicated?

The first step is to identify a governance

team with representatives from executive
management, the lines of business, IT, sales, the
field, support, change management and release
management. Plan on having one representative
from each of these areas on the governance
team. Before implementation, the team needs to
brainstorm and define its core principles based

2. Filtering: Who should follow up?

3. Prioritizing: Where does this request fit?
4. Tracking: Where does the request stand?
5. Approving: Who needs to sign off?
6. Managing the workload: Who is implementing
the change?

Once you have requested feedback from the

organization regarding what changes should be
made, you will need to record the change
requests that emerge. Requests can be triaged
by the teams change management lead. Simple
requests can be addressed immediately or
batched for weekly or monthly releases. Request
types can be classified as immediately
addressable or as needing further approval.
Requests that are not deemed as candidates for
immediate action during the triage stage should
be investigated for prioritization and level of
effort. These requests might be a nice-to-have

CRM Insights

from a long-term perspective. The change

management team will need to analyze and
prioritize the requests based on alignment with
business objectives, ROI, current integrations
and user adoption. With the change
accomplished, it is important to communicate all
completed change requests to the requester and
the general user community.

Release Management
Typically, a CRM software vendor will make
major enhancements to its SaaS products three
to four times per year. The application is
automatically upgraded to the most recent
version without the involvement of the user
organization. Indeed, this is one of the benefits
of a SaaS environment. User organizations are
given release notes for the upgrades in advance,
and the release management
On the support and leader on your governance
operations side, you team can pick and choose
need to map the changes which options are relevant.

of moving from an
on-premises application
to SaaS, such as who
(whether within or outside
the organization) will own
specific operational and
support activities.

It is neither necessary nor

desirable for you to participate
in every release. This area
requires careful attention and
management, as new releases
can wreak unanticipated havoc
on
established
business
processes. Careful review of
every proposed new release is
crucial. The team needs to determine if the new
release provides real business or technical value
to your organization. If not, it is better to go
without it.

how they change under SaaS. There are likely to

be a few surprises lurking, such as an
unexpected task the provider does not cover,
internal data migrations, the internal legacy
system integration supports, in-house data
inconsistency cleansing and any enhancements
that require customization that might come with
extra cost if not covered in the SLA with the
provider. Its better to know about these extra
costs upfront rather than discovering later that
something you thought was covered is not. It
becomes more important to have a detailed
analysis of the changes impacting the SaaS
initiative.

One Proven Approach

The idea of creating an operational framework
for migrating to SaaS CRM is new. Typically,
executives believe they can get up and running
on a SaaS application with a minimum of fuss
and expense. And that is true. However, if you
neglect establishing an adequate governance
and operational model, you risk missing the
benefits of SaaS altogether.
We have worked with several companies,
including a major pharmaceutical enterprise, to
identify and implement this new operational
model for SaaS. These steps are core to our
approach:

Conduct requirements-gathering sessions.

Research the SaaS application operating

model.

Examine and document as-is processes of

the existing CRM support model.

Perform gap analysis (existing on-premise

CRM operating model vs. new SaaS operating
model).

Develop a comprehensive operating model

project plan covering detailed design and
implementation tasks.

Develop a framework with to-be processes

for application governance, change management, release management, operations and
support.

Support and Operations

On the support and operations side, you need to
map the changes of moving from an on-premises
application to SaaS, such as who (whether within
or outside the organization) will own specific
operational and support activities. In many
cases, the SaaS services provider will perform
many of the functions previously handled inhouse, such as data backup, disaster recovery,
infrastructure maintenance, product upgrades
and release management.
In theory, this means internal personnel will
focus on monitoring and coordinating with the
SaaS provider. But it is important that you
clearly outline each of these responsibilities and

CRM Insights

Using these processes, we have helped our

clients develop a framework for defining and
managing the operating model while reducing
operating costs. We have also helped them
empower their business users with formal
change request processes, as well as a formal

governance structure. In addition, we help

our clients streamline their application
enhancements roadmap for support and release
management. Taken together, these elements

form the basis of the operating model for SaaS

CRM. Our client work has shown this to be the
foundation on which SaaS CRM benefits rest.

About the Author

Ajay Hoskeri is a CRM strategist in Cognizants Business Consulting practice. He has spent the last nine
years focusing on CRM strategy, marketing, system implementation and IT cost effectiveness. Ajay
can be reached at Ajay.Hoskeri@cognizant.com.

About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting and business
process outsourcing services. Cognizant's single-minded passion is to dedicate our global technology and
innovation know-how, our industry expertise and worldwide resources to working together with clients to
make their businesses stronger. With over 50 global delivery centers and 64,000 employees as of June
30, 2009, we combine a unique onsite/offsite delivery model infused by a distinct culture of customer satisfaction. A member of the NASDAQ-100 Index and S&P 500 Index, Cognizant is a Forbes Global 2000 company and a member of the Fortune 1000 and is ranked among the top information technology companies
in BusinessWeek's, Hot Growth and Top 50 Performers listings.

Start Today
For more information on how to drive your business results with Cognizant, contact us at
inquiry@cognizant.com or visit our website at www.cognizant.com.

World Headquarters

European Headquarters

India Operations Headquarters

500 Frank W. Burr Blvd.

Teaneck, NJ 07666 USA
Phone: +1 201 801 0233
Fax: +1 201 801 0243
Toll Free: +1 888 937 3277
Email: inquiry@cognizant.com

Haymarket House
28-29 Haymarket
London SW1Y 4SP UK
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7321 4888
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7321 4890
Email: infouk@cognizant.com

#5/535, Old Mahabalipuram Road

Okkiyam Pettai, Thoraipakkam
Chennai, 600 096 India
Phone: +91 (0) 44 4209 6000
Fax: +91 (0) 44 4209 6060
Email: inquiryindia@cognizant.com

Copyright 2009, Cognizant. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the express written permission from Cognizant. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.