Risk Assessment

There are several risks of buying, leasing, or subscribing to SalesForce.com for any business. According to Gallaugher (2016), one of the biggest risk of switching software “may involve the slow and difficult task of transferring very large data files over the internet”.  This put the company's existing files at risk for corruption when trying to transfer them over. There is one risk that most companies probably rarely consider, and that is the chance of the software vendor going out of business. With the ease and the cost-efficient comfort of using software over the internet means there is no hardware to be housed at the company and all the files are stored in the “cloud”, which is now those files are owned by the software vendor. With that said, these SaaS products rely heavily on a good and steady network connection to run, which can cost a substantial amount and is hard to find.

For UPMC specifically, with confidential customer and employee data integrated throughout the Health System, security and privacy are two primary issues. UPMC’s database full of confidential sensitive customer data is essential to protect when it comes to keeping a strong reputation of trust from their customers. If criminals were to steal this sensitive information, the distrust created would be detrimental for the health system as a whole. Not only is customer data worth protecting from outsiders, it is also important to protect internal data of employees from one another. Then there are challenges related to the cost and time for implementation of SalesForce as the CRM system for throughout the company. Other risks could include stubbornness of employees to learn a new systems and integrating old technologies/systems over to SalesForce.

SalesForce provides a "Data Safety Detection" feature which protects the organization's data during a system outage (SalesForce, n.d.), which, believe it or not, all systems have from time to time. It makes the risk for losing data a minimal one, although a system outage causes problems for customers, since everyone hates to not have the access to their necessary data, especially when it comes to something that can be as timely and important as the usage of insurance information.

Back to one of the primary issues which is privacy of information that UPMC’s insurance division holds for customers and employees. These privacy issues are split into two facets, internal (employee to employee or department to department) and external (confidential data being protected from unauthorized outside parties). Internal facets are all about regulating who has the appropriate level of access to the correct data. For instance, an insurance agent should not have access to a customer’s complete medical file that the UPMC health system may possess which is not required for the insurance purposes. For this reason, encryption of and securing confidential data is necessary. Edward Snowden has also mentioned that end-to-end encryption is a must to keep the confidential data safe during inter network transmission (2014). Salesforce has a layered security which limits all threats from the outside when it comes to information being exposed, and by regulating the access of this data, it would lead the only concern with UPMC’s Insurance Service Division (ISD) being an internal one.



When it comes to security, our topic shifts towards the vulnerabilities that are present in cloud computing. SalesForce uses SSL which hosts everything necessary on a secure server with layers of firewall protection. Users are prompted with multiple step identification every time they login, which maks it extremely difficult for an unwanted user or malicious malware to access the SalesCloud (SalesForce, n.d.). Salesforce itself has a specific department designated to handle it’s clients security issues and concerns (SalesForce, n.d.), which provides a high level of confidence to all the clients of SalesForce.com. Salesforce maintains a comprehensive set of compliance certifications and attestations to validate the ever-growing value of trust with frequent upgrades to the hardware and software that encrypts the data more efficiently and resolves any bugs in timely manner (SalesForce, n.d.). For in-depth details of security and privacy features that are provided, refer to the SalesForce's Official Site.



SalesForce.com is a leader in CRM technologies, with thanks in part to their strong performance and infrastructure when it comes to privacy and security. There will always be hackers and unwanted third parties trying to gain access to confidential customer data that organizations such as UPMC have. Salesforce provides a platform to provide a team with the necessary data efficiently in order to grow the customer base and increase revenue, which in our case is the ISD. UPMC’s ISD is constantly growing and Salesforce.com is the platform of CRM that is capable of delivering the experience that will create lasting business with clients. Salesforce.com presents several benefits with organized account and contact lists, mobile application reliability, real time customizable analytics, and task organization. It also provides numerous certifications and training opportunities that allows the client to gain knowledge for better data management, report, dashboard, and workflow creation, and improve data security (Florentine, 2017). In addition, there are several benefits that will affect the bottom line. According to Gallaugher (2016), a company shouldn't even think twice when deciding between renting a software and buying one. Renting a software can lower the cost because there is no software licensing involved, no server hardware to purchase, and no on-site system maintenance. Since the software will be operating through an app over the internet, the service company will be able to troubleshoot and fix bugs from a remote location. The most important and obvious benefit is the cost effectiveness; “Firms that adopt software as a service never actually buy a system’s software and hardware, so these systems become a variable operating expense”. Furthermore, “For large enterprises, the cost to license, install, and configure products like ERP and CRM systems can easily run into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars”. This allows companies to reduce the cost during slower seasons, considering they may be down-staffing their departments. Overall, the minimal risks that come with Salesforce.com with the vast benefits shows that SalesForce has potential to revolutionize the UPMC's ISD operations.

References:

Gallaugher, J. (2016, July). Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology. version 5. Retrieved from https://scholar.flatworldknowledge.com 

Salesforce. (n.d.). Salesforce trust. Retrieved November 5, 2017, from https://trust.salesforce.com/en/

Salesforce. (n.d.). Stay current on security. Retrieved November 5, 2017, from https://trust.salesforce.com/en/security/stay-current-security

Salesforce. (n.d.). Compliance engineered for the Cloud. Retrieved November 5, 2017, from https://trust.salesforce.com/en/compliance/

Snowden, E., Wizner, B., Soghoian, C. (2014, March 10). Edward Snowden and ACLU at SXSW. Retrieved November 3, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIhS9aB-qgU

Florentine, S. (2017, August 16). Salesforce certification: Your guide to a lucrative Salesforce career. Retrieved November 5, 2017, from https://www.cio.com/article/3188348/certifications/7-salesforce-certifications-that-will-advance-your-career.html