The Click and Wrap Case—Relevance of the Contract for the Adoption of Cloud-Based CRM Applications

This case study addresses online contracts associated with providing software as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)—a provision model of cloud computing. It investigates a company planning to migrate from an on-premise scenario to using SaaS services for its CRM system. The SaaS services can only be accessed by clicking the service agreement with no opportunity to negotiate the contract. The manager in charge of the CRM migration project faces interrelated issues in different fields such as project management, contracting, customer relationship management, data migration etc., all related to various contractual relationships. Guided by the CM Approach and CM Model, he develops a roadmap for the adoption of the CRM system, starting with the identification of the issues to be addressed, continuing with propositions for the choice of the new system and with a request for the modification of the company’s governance model, and finally ending with the successful data migration. To this end, it highlights the value of risk management for the identification of relevant decision-making fields and the many ways in which change management leads to questions related to contracts as well as contract handling. The case study also considers the governance policies of an organization and underlying complexities when it comes to choosing a cloud-based service, applications which use cloud-based technology or are offered online, as well as certain services which could go against such governance policies.