Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise versus Online

Why would you choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online over Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise? Or vice versa? Well here it is – the definitive cheat sheet to determining whether you should choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online or Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise.

The Benefits of Choosing Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

         With CRM Online There’s No Hardware Needed

• No hardware is needed to deploy Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Customers who don’t have an IT department often opt for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for that reason.

        CRM Online Provides Easy Secure Backup

• Many customers choose the online version because they feel more secure knowing that Microsoft is performing the backup to their CRM system. Like many of us, they know they will have a difficult time ensuring that backups are done on a regular basis and so they prefer handing off backup responsibility to Microsoft.

        CRM Online Gives a Secure Foundation

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is built on Microsoft’s “infrastructure as a service” platform called Azure.  There are over 250,000 customers using Azure and over half of Fortune 500 customers use Azure’s hosting platform. With a 99.9% service level agreement you can be confident your CRM systems going to be running.

        CRM Online Can be Accessed From Anywhere

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is easy to access from anywhere. While Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise can be accessed from anywhere as well, it requires more setup.

        CRM Online Provides Faster Setup

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online can literally be setup within five minutes. That’s fast. Customers who want to get going immediately on Microsoft Dynamics CRM opt for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

The Benefits of Choosing Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise

        CRM On-Premise Allows Controlled Upgrades

• Midsize organizations often want more control over when upgrades are going to be performed on their software. CRM upgrades can impact a large number of users and therefore these types of organizations want to have more control over when updates are released.

        CRM On-Premise Allows For Faster Local CRM Connections

• If Microsoft Dynamics CRM is hosted locally the local connection can be more than 100x faster than the internet connection. While using an internet connection for Microsoft Dynamics CRM online is typically adequate, a local connection can speed up the application.

        CRM On-Premise Allows Easier Local Integrations

• As organizations grow larger it becomes more imperative (and more worthwhile) for organizations to integrate CRM into other systems (E-commerce systems, ERP systems etc.).  If the Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation is on-premise, integrations to other systems perform better (especially if there is a lot of information that needs to be transmitted).

        CRM On-Premise Provides Secure Local Data Storage

• For many financial, legal and government institutions it’s imperative that the data not be stored outside the country. For example, many Canadian organizations are legally mandated to house their information within Canada and therefore cannot house their data in the US.  With Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online data housed in the US, it’s not an option for them to go with the online version.

        CRM On-Premise Allows No Limit to Custom Entities

• While albeit small, there are some limitations to the number of custom entities that Microsoft Dynamics CRM online can host.

        With CRM On-Premise There Are No GB Charges

• Heavy users of Microsoft Dynamics CRM might consider the fact that there are GB usage charges on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. An organization that is storing large amounts of attachments in Microsoft Dynamics CRM might consider moving to Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise to avoid storage fees.

        CRM On-Premise Allows Advanced Custom Workflows

• For advanced customer workflow assembles Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise is required.

        CRM On-Premise Allows for Better Reporting

• Advanced SSRS reports based off Microsoft TSQL (in simple terms TSQL allows for more advanced reporting queries) are only available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise. Some subscription based reporting is also only available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise version.

Those are your cheat sheet keys for determining whether you should be using Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premise or Microsoft Dynamics online. If you have further questions, feel free to reach out to us at Encore.