Can You Rent a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Solution?

Yes, and it may be a wise idea. It's no secret that many customer

Renting applications represents a rapidly growing trend in the software industry. Many companies prefer to outsource applications because it puts the technological burden on someone else and lets them expand their capabilities without making a huge financial investment.

You can rent CRM solutions from software vendors or application service providers (ASPs) -- like NaviSite and AT&T -- which typically set up a network on behalf of your company and charge a monthly fee based on the number of users. Rental packages usually include software, network maintenance, support, and server space for data storage.