ASUK is in the process of importing the data from all the different systems, where a lot of the data is of very poor quality. Shoesmith provided an example of instances where dates had been inputted as 'the day after my birthday'. The organisation began updating the data by providing the networked sites an excel template to fill in, which was then uploaded into the CRS by the IT team.

However, Shoesmith said that this process has been 'very inefficient' and the data will be uploaded directly by the remaining sites. ASUK praised Salesforce's usability, claiming that during the tender process the thirty line of business managers that were asked to test demos all said that it was the most usable platform and the closest match to the consumer apps they are used to.

Other companies on the shortlist during the final tender process were Microsoft, IRIS and Lotus Notes.

However, Shoesmith did highlight some negatives about Salesforces' platform, which included licencing and sourcing skills.

"There are a few things we find frustrating. I still get confused about licencing options, what you have to pay for and what you don't, it keeps changing. It's quite hard to work out what it's going to cost sometimes," he said.