LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - It's been described as a tidal wave, but it's much more impactful than that. It's the move to enterprise relationship management (ERM) and if computers were a tidal wave, then this is a fundamental tectonic shift in how the world does business.

1975, computers in: 2012, computers out

The recent movement, which has kicked off in only the past few years, will shift tens of billions of dollars out of the hands of large established firms such as Microsoft and Oracle to smaller, more nimble firms.  

These changes are being brought about by the confluence of two trends in computing. The first is cloud computing, and the second is consumerization.

Cloud computing is rapidly catching on in business as firms learn they can save millions in overhead by using the cloud. No longer do firms need to maintain banks of servers and small armies of IT staff to attend them. Now, they can store and back-up their data in the cloud, save the worry of catastrophe, and save on the costs and hassle associated with maintenance. In an economy of increased competition and shrinking profits, such moves mean quick, critical boosts to the bottom line.

Consumerization is the shift of power from IT departments to employees. Increasingly mobile and connected, employees are no longer content to remain at the mercy of IT departments. Instead, employees are taking their work to go, saving time and space for their firms. As part of that change, they are now insisting that employers support them in their mobile offices and cost conscious employers are all too happy to oblige.

Employees are also demanding that applications become increasingly user-friendly, and they are turning their nose up at applications that require entire classes to use. Consumers are used to programs like Facebook, Gmail, and Google+, all heavily integrated, user friendly, and cloud-based.

As savvy managers clue-in to these trends, they are supporting them by moving their work to online platforms that allow mobile access to critical data and enable relationship management on the fly. Such changes bring savings, freedom, and flexibility to the workplace.

What to do?

Analysts suggest that brick-and-mortar establishments find an enterprise computing firm, and quickly. Finding a scalable solution is both possible and essential. Indeed, as the business landscape shifts with the economy and developments in technology, any business that rests on its laurels risks being left behind in the blink of an eye.
If you think it doesn't make any difference, think again. Corporations that were early adopters of computer technology in the 1970's often had a distinct advantage over less tech-savvy firms. This time however, ERM isn't as intimidating or expensive as computers appeared back then, so implementation of ERM technology is rapidly occurring. In many cases, firms are finding that their employees already have some familiarity with using cloud services and with digital relationship management thanks to their use of popular applications such as iCloud and Facebook.

Large corporations like Apple and HP have already started their transition. Earlier this year, HP ruffled feathers when it announced they would start developing enterprise computing solutions, mostly because few people saw the revolution coming. However, just mere months later, everybody is seeing it at once. Their strategy shift, signaled by Apotheker last summer and ridiculed by investors, is now being espoused by Whitman and HP's board.

Apple has done well, having already implemented the iCloud service for individuals. Amazon has also worked to reposition itself in the market and continues to do so as they develop applications for consumers. Both companies have reliable models (iTunes, Amazon.com virtual bookstore) that can be converted, with some challenge, into ERM systems.

Other companies, such as Box.net, Zendesk, Workday, and Yammer are starting up in an effort to capitalize on the new market, but they are literally building their systems from the ground up.

Despite the rush to cash in on the convergence of these trends, at least one efficient firm has catered to business customers for the past three years, well ahead of the curve. California-based TheHUB Company gets high marks for foresight and for specializing in scalable enterprise relationship management.

Their signature suite, TheHUB, was perfected as early as 2009 and quietly serves several large-name clients including the Republican National Committee, Catholic Online, and one of the world's largest gaming companies.

Catholic Online is their showcase client, and uses TheHUB to manage over 5 million pages of content, 3-4 million monthly visitors, and an international staff that provides a wide variety of news, media content, and business assets to the company. Despite their expansive coverage, overhead in the for-profit firm remains surprisingly low, all because the Catholic Online was able to trendspot successfully and set itself up for success as an early adopter of ERM software.

New clients are approaching TheHUB Company for their experience and to implement their scalable ERM software in the one right way, the first time, leery of taking risk with unproven start-ups. There's something to be said for first-in market advantage.

As ERM becomes the new indispensible tool of businesses around the world, experts predict that it will provide streamlined operations and new profits at a time when many businesses are struggling to improve.
The business world is at a threshold, and one thing is for certain: ERM is the future. What computers did for the world of business in 1975, ERM will do for tomorrow.

More to come...

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