The current survey on CRM in a ‘Software as a Service‘-model in German companies is in full progress. And even though it will take a while until conclusive results will be available, one or another trend has already become apparent.

In this context we try to find out what conditions must be fulfilled so that German corporations would acquire CRM applications in a SaaS-model from foreign countries. The following two selected results represent a snapshot.

It is not only often discussed, but also obvious based on the first results of the survey that the server location plays an important role in choosing a software vendor. For one in five respondents it is of ‘vital importance‘ whether a foreign software vendor does have servers in Europe. The situation is even more significant if we focus on Germany. More than half of all responding companies consider a server in Germany as of ‘vital importance‘ and respectively require this of foreign software vendors.

The question of how important certifications of acknowledged standards are in Germany revealed clear results. Two third of all respondents indicated that certifications are of ‘vital importance‘. The findings were even more clear when adding companies for which certifications play a ‘very important‘ role. As a result, for five of six corporations a certification is a basic condition in order to consider a CRM-solution as SaaS from foreign countries.

It can be summarized that German companies are principally open-minded regarding CRM applications in a Saas-model from foreign countries, and would take them into account in their decision-finding. However, the eligible vendors have to meet several requirements. These include meeting legal provisions and complying with regulatory requirements in Germany, in addition to the two mentioned before. Furthermore the survey shows that vendors should have sales and service partners available in Germany.

The foreign software vendors that already comply with a majority or even all preconditions have already taken a hurdle in the race for potential customers. It should be clear for other vendors that – given they have a competitive solution – German companies are indeed approachable and it could pay off to invest accordingly.