Calling All Core Apps

Although integration solely via API is easy, this approach limits the ability to integrate SaaS applications into broader enterprise processes. And as on-demand CRM applications do interact with core systems, the integration issue will be harder to avoid, notes Chris Barbin, CEO of the SaaS consultancy Appirio.

He sees CIOs now beginning to realize this. "A lot of existing Salesforce.com customers are looking to migrate off Siebel, Clarify and Vantive," Barbin says, turning from using Salesforce.com as a contact manager and sales reporting tool to using it as an extension of the core enterprise apps. "That's a big issue because now you have to integrate Salesforce.com into your financial system and your master customer data," he says.

Integration limits in an on-demand CRM app can truly hinder your options. Research firm Common Sense Advisory found this out the hard way: It licensed Salesforce.com's professional edition and later wanted to integrate it with Constant Contact, QuickBooks and MySQL. "We called customer support about the API, which, it turns out, is available only with the Enterprise or Unlimited (Salesforce.com) editions," says Don DePalma, president of the firm. And those editions cost $US1500 to $US2400 per user per year, compared to the roughly $US700 that Common Sense had been paying. He ended up dropping Salesforce.com.

On the other hand, where SaaS applications are accessible via their own APIs, the fact that SaaS applications are unchangeable benefits IT, notes EFI's Do. It's harder to do in-house hacks that later complicate maintenance, upgrades and support. "SaaS forces you to be disciplined; you have to use the APIs to do your integration," he says.

Dan Tabori, executive VP of business operations at Prudential Locations in Hawaii, has taken advantage of the APIs in NetSuite CRM to integrate it with his real estate brokerage's financial systems and customer Web portal. "Three years ago, we realized we needed to centralize all client data, not just property data," says Tabori, whose duties include the CIO role. Tabori wanted more than a contact manager; he wanted a portal that agents could use for managing both their clients and transactions.

The firm uses Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions' DPN software for the financial transactions, and a home-grown Web portal to help clients search for homes. To make all three applications work together, Tabori's IT staff uses NetSuite's APIs to invoke tasks within the CRM software, such as sending an e-mail survey to a customer once a transaction has occurred in DPN. He also uses the APIs to request tasks of other applications, such as registering a new client within the Web portal. For the other two applications, Prudential Locations uses a combination of Web services and JavaScripts to access particular functions.