Businesses collect a lot of customer data, which after collection needs to be managed. CRM systems exist to fulfill this purpose — managing customer data aimed at improving customer experience.


However, there’s one thing that gets overlooked when we talk about CRM, and this is web hosting, and its role in the functioning of CRM systems. Reliable hosting services, offered by reputable companies like HostZealot,  are able to properly support CRM solutions and maintain a high level of data integrity.


In this article, we will look at the role web hosting occupies in CRM solutions, and what you should pay attention to when choosing web hosting services.


What is a CRM?


On a larger scale, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can be considered a strategy that helps businesses improve relationships with their customers and create a better customer experience.


In essence, a CRM solution is software that helps track interactions with customers. CRM systems store and process large amounts of data including information about customers, history of interactions, data on sales, etc. Since CRM represents one place where vital data is stored it makes it easier for teams from different departments, including marketing, sales, business development, and customer service to collaborate.


By organizing data about customers in a specific way and on a centralized platform, companies can get a deeper understanding of what their customers prefer and need. Insights like this can be further used in marketing, customer interactions, lead management, and sales.


CRM also facilitates providing personalized customer care, which will help with effective issue handling and building consistency in interactions with customers.


Data Integrity


Data integrity in CRM implies having customer data that is accurate, structured, and updated. The notion of data integrity is vital when it comes to CRM systems since it influences the quality of insights derived from a Customer Relationship Management system.


Data integrity in CRM solutions is a foundation for:


  • Valuable Customer Insights. One of the most important tasks that stand before CRM is having the means to get relevant and valuable insights about customers; if the integrity of data is compromised, we cannot rely on insights from CRM in our decision-making process.

  • A Smoother Decision-Making Process. If the data stored in the CRM is factual and authentic, insights drawn from it can make a decision-making process much easier.

  • Improved Customer Experiences. High data integrity paves the way for an accurate record of customer interactions, helping to create a personalized approach for each customer group or customer individually.

How Web Hosting Supports CRM


Web hosting is crucial for the proper functioning of the CRM since it governs the accessibility and relevance of customer data. Customer relationship management fundamentally depends on the speed and security of web hosting. When the hosting service is of quality, fast, and reliable, businesses can offer their customer a better experience, which will inevitably contribute to customer satisfaction.


Here’s how web hosting supports the CRM:


  1. Ensures continuous and timely access to customer data.

  2. Maintains data integrity by providing a stable hosting environment.

  3. Facilitates secure data storage, along with backup and recovery.

  4. Supports secure data transmission to ground communication between the CRM system and its users.

  5. Meets compliance requirements by offering features for businesses to comply with various data protection laws.

  6. Aligns resource scalability to the needs of the CRM system.

Besides these fundamental functions, web hosting also provides CRM systems with enhanced capabilities such as scalability options. Also, web hosting offers extended security measures such as firewalls, DDoS protection, establishing SSL connections, etc.


How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Services


When choosing web hosting services for CRM, you need to take into account several factors:


  • Trustworthiness and reliability of a hosting provider. For this, we recommend checking out client reviews on independent sources.

  • Uptime guarantee offered. Consider offers that have more than a 99% uptime guarantee.

  • Location of servers. Here, you need to assess the proximity of servers to your target audience.

  • Security measures.

  • Scalability options.

  • The level of technical support.

We advise you to carefully evaluate these aspects of hosting providers and the services they’re offering.


Best Hosting Type for CRM Solutions


There are several hosting types you can out there, which are based on three main types of servers: dedicated servers, virtual private servers (VPSs), and shared servers.


For CRM, we recommend avoiding shared hosting altogether since it cannot provide the continuous reliability and accessibility that the CRM requires due to the server being shared between multiple users.


Virtual private servers can be used as a web hosting option for CRM, however, VPS-based hosting doesn’t offer full control over the server and has more potential security vulnerabilities, which can risk the security of the CRM system itself.


Based on our experience, the best hosting option for CRM solutions is dedicated server hosting. This is thanks to the following attributes:


  • Robust performance and higher uptime. Dedicated servers have excellent performance and high uptime metrics since they aren’t shared on any level, which will positively affect the CRM performance and data integrity.

  • Increased security. Dedicated servers are extremely secure, which reduces the risk of CRM breaches.

  • Full server control. Dedicated servers offer complete control over the hardware and software components to the one using it; this way, you can customize, configure, and strengthen the server in the way you fit.

  • Vast scalability options. One can easily modify a dedicated server for it to better meet the needs of the CRM solution, and data itself.

  • Advanced features. Dedicated servers are also known for load balancing, redundancy, and options for regular backups (whether manual or automated).

Using web hosting based on a dedicated server, you can enhance the performance of your CRM system, ensure its smooth operation, and reinforce its security.