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IS hosting r1ght for yourness? Compare the costsof licensing and running an applicationon your own with the costs of a hostedservice. Use the table to evaluate thecosts for your app, compared with thetotals for the oakland Athletics' CRMupgrade. The A'S had been usingstandalone Excel spreadsheets andAccess database files; the organizationasked san Mateo, calif. -based NetSuiteto provide an integrated CRM package.

CRM YOURLICENSED APPDeploymentHardware $97500SOftware license $50 000Installation S60 000Staff trainirlR $15000Deployment costs 5222,500operationLicense fees $90005erver/desktoo maintenance $40000ADOlication maintenance $60000Annual operating costs 5109,000

InstallationStaff traininDeployment costs...Hostin feesAdministratIonDeskt maintenanceAnnual operating costs

$53 ()()()$15 ()()()577,000S60 ()()()$30 ()()()$15 ()()()

5105,000

Map business processes to the software.

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Before switching over to the newhosted service, it is worthwhile to verifythat each user's desktop has the appropriate configuration. Even Web applications may require a specific browserversion, special configuration, or plug-inslike Flash or an Activex control. Use achecklist like the one below to track thereadiness of your users' desktops.

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Migrate data.This is perhaps the most work-intensive and challenging stepin the project. Once the hosted application is prepared, you must migrateyour business data to the hosted system. The service provider shouldeither provide you with migration tools or perform the task for you. Datacleansing is often needed in this process to discard corrupt or redundant informationas well as reformat the data to be compatible with the new application.Justin Foster, NetSuite's vice president of services and support, advises that thedata migration typically requires one to four weeks, depending on the amount andcleanliness of the data and the number of data sources. NetSuite facilitates datamigration by providing extraction, transformation and loading (ETL) tools that cancull data from 99% of commercially available applications. The Oakland A'S exportedthe data in Excel and Access, and NetSuite did the rest.

Most hosted services areWeb-based, but some useclient-side software. For example, a hosted groupware service maybe accessed using Microsoft Outlook.

Once the businessprocess map has beenproduced, solutions need to becustomized to support the processes. Work closely with the serviceprovider in this step. For theOakland A's, NetSuite's developerscustomized the CRM package'sWeb-based components such asdrop-down lists, text fields andonline help.NetSuite also fine-tuned the software's business logic. For example,the season-ticket sales team neededdifferent business rules than thegroup-ticket sales team.Cameron Stewart, marketing andadvertising manager for the baseballteam, attributes the success of theCRM migration project to Netsuite'sflexibility in customization.But the big-pictureadvantage for the A's in hiringNetSuite is that the organizationcan free up more time to concentrate on staying competitive anddrawing large crowds to McAfeeColiseum.

User Department User level Modules Statusra in staff.Before switching over Completeto the hosted service,it is imperative to train theappropriate individuals in your company.Training can be divided into two parts- ~ - - - - - - - + - - - - - 4 - - - - - - + - - - - - - - + - - - - - - 1one for administrators, the other forend users.The service provider can often help with training. NetSuite, for example, sent representatives to the Oakland A'S frontoffice to train seven key individuals, who then spread their knowledge throughout the organization. Prepare a roster likethe one you see here to track the training program.

Switch over to thehosted service.Now, you're ready to switch from your existing application. Depending on the business process, you mayeither make an abrupt switch-over or use the new serviceconcurrently with the existing system until all business functions can be weaned off the old application. A hosted CRMsystem, for instance, can come online and replace the oldone instantly at the stroke of midnight, while an accountingsystem may require a slower transition so you can close outthe last quarter.

Prepare for a surge in tech support calls after the switchover. Then repurpose systems that you no longer need.SWITCH-OVER CHECKLISTo Data migration completeo Staff training completeo Affected business functions notifiedo User account setup completeo Legacy system data archivedo Transition period noted (for gradual moves)o Tech support prepared for surge in call volume