How long does it take to implement a 20-user CRM system?

Hi Jake,

A successful 20-user CRM project can be a fairly large commitment. Also some CRM software solutions have built in integration with Outlook, while others take longer to integrate or have less robust integration. What CRM system are you purchasing?

There are quite a few other variables to take into account as well as Outlook integration. Depending on your choice of software, business partner and your business requirements, it could take anything from two weeks to six months. It also depends whether you’ve chosen a hosted or on-premise deployment, as hosted is usually (although not necessarily) quicker than on-premise.

The key factors to consider that will define how long it’s going to take to successfully deploy your CRM system are typically:

- Analysis of your business requirements, processes, project objectives and subsequently scoping the CRM project
- Configuring the software, and if it’s highly bespoke, customising the software
- Software Installation
- Data cleansing and data Import
- System testing
- Admin training
- User Training
- Documentation development
- System reviews

CRM can be a cultural shift for many organisations. As previous posters have mentioned things like getting user buy-in, availability of internal resources, support and effective project management are as critical to the success of the project as setting up the software. These can all add time to the project. You also have to build in ‘thinking’ time, plus the time it takes to get agreement and sign-offs for each stage of the project within your business.

Not all CRM projects will involve all the above points, but you should give consideration to them. Using and agile, systematic approach with a defined project methodology can also reduce implementation times by reducing risk and rework while also increasing the chances of your projects success.

Anyway, to try and give some figures to answer your question: if your requirements are straightforward and you’ve chosen one of the mainstream CRM solutions, you should be able to effectively deploy a solution in two to four weeks, or if your requirements are more complex or you want to take a fully comprehensive approach, it will typically take around three-months.

Hope this helps!

Peter

http://www.concentrix.co.uk

I agree with all of the posters except for Brad (sorry!). No good implementation can be done in a day. Sure, you can purchase/subscribe to the software, turn it on, and start using it. But the huge pieces of the puzzle that allow success for your implementation are still missing -- a good needs assessment across all disciplines of the company; if you haven't found the system yet, going through a detailed system selection process; vendor negotiations; data cleanup and migration; system configuration; report definition and development; user training; and documentation.

As others have said, this is not dependent on the number of users, but rather how successful you want the implementation to be. I've done a 20-user implementation in 3 months and I've done a 50-user implementation in 9 months, but they had different variables that allowed the project to take longer/shorter of one another. You can complete the process in 6-12 weeks (but it also might take you longer). If it takes you much shorter, there may have been critical steps skipped/overlooked that will affect your future use of the system.

If "how long" includes becoming embedded into the work processes of all sales people and sales management, figure at least three months AFTER senior management made a public and lasting commitment to the CRM system.

From a professional services standpoint we have a technical person "Install" the software, but Business Consultants lead the business through aligning the application flow with the sales process and sales strategies. Organizational Change Management is an often overlooked portion of the implementation process - human nature has it that most people resist change to some degree. People will resist adoption of new technology or applications unless they have a great understanding of how the change benefits them. Hard-nosed stances such as "Full compliance is a requirement of continued employment" will breed a negative culture and the ROI will never approach anything near optimum. Managing the implementation process will insure that the application actually fits your business strategy, processes and activities. This can include defining market segments, lead sources, prospect types, etc. It can also include customizing the application based on the business unit, prospect types or solutions categories. This is only a brief description of the opportunities in Sales Force Automation, but doesnt begin to address similar requirements in Marketing, Customer Service or Product Support. Customized workflow, business system integrations and business intelligence tools round out the functionality that can help a business realize maximum ROI from such a business management tool.

I've personally setup a SugarCRM system for five people in 15 minutes. But if you take into consideration training people, then that could be up to a full work day.

Hi Jake,
James is right on. You should expect a 6 -12 week implementation. A good deal of planning should take place before you begin. The following items will determine how fast you can go: the conversion from what you are using now, the quality of your customer database, the business process your use, any integration issues with Outlook, executive support and the resources available to you. All the best!

Hi Jack

I would prefer to go for SugarCRM. Quick five basic reasons:

1) Fully open source
2) Very easy to implement
3) Very cost effective.
4) Solid community application support.
5) You can go for on-site and could both type of implementation

Thanks
Ashish Joshi
iNetProcess India (Experts in CRM and DMS solutions)
Visit: http://www.inetprocess.co.in