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Open Source CRM: Customer Success Stories
Sugar CRMPrevalent Networks Prevalent Networks is an information security consulting firm that does vulnerability assessments, legislative compliance, and other work in the field of Internet and network security. Prevalent's main goal is to work with its clients on mitigating internal and external risk. Prevalent employees need to keep information concerning their clients up-to-date on a regular basis and they need to do it easily and from remote sites. Because Prevalent Networks' employees often work from various locations outside of the company's headquarters they must access the CRM application from these sites. Prevalent's main requirements were to maintain and manage client information in real time and to be able to do so on a system that was both easy-to-use and on which it is easy to train new employees. SugarCRM is based on the LAMP stack. Its Sugar Sales Professional can just as easily function in other environments, such as Windows (a WAMP environment), UNIX, or BSD/Mac OS X systems. SugarCRM was able to offer information about the scalability of its product and Prevalent was comfortable with open source technologies like Apache and PHP. This combination went toward satisfying Prevalent's requirements for its planned growth and the platform hints at the usability issue. CompiereEnergiebespaarshop The "Energiebespaarshop" is the leading direct marketer of energy saving equipment. EBS services follow a dual market approach and services both the wholesale and customer market. EBS was limited in its growth, both in size and improvement of processes, by it's IT systems. Market research for IT solutions primarily concentrated on traditional closed source software. However, experience with implementations and customer support of the closed source software systems presently in use motivated management to have a second look at more flexible alternatives without lock in. Managing Director Wim Terpstra form EBS: "We are in a highly competitive market which changes fast. If we want to stay on top we need market- and cost leadership. Closed source systems are too inflexible, cause vendor lock in and limit our adaptability to changing market conditions. We have implemented all Compiere functionality except for CRM. We were a little bit skeptical, but given the good experience we are now rapidly building customized CRM functionality into Compiere. In contradiction to the earliest implementation strategy we now want to be transferring all CRM functionality to Compiere as soon as possible. We have discovered the huge advantages of a flexible open system that can easily be implemented and adapted to our growing understanding of real IT functionality." OhioedgeIER Industries, Inc. According to Ron Burgess, Manager of Information Systems, Sun certified "Ohioedge CRM is customizable and you can make it what you want. The nice thing is that it doesn't lock you into someone else's thinking on handling sales Calls, follow-ups, process handling, etc. You basically design your system into it and go from there. "One benefit is to have a process that allows multiple tasks to go on at the same time. You can parallel process and have the system tell you what you need to finish before moving forward. It is flexible enough to allow you to update status to users via e-mail. "As for the interface, being browser based is nice. You don't need to load a client program onto each system. Just grant access paths and user privileges and you are good to go." Browser|CRMKAST, Kootenay Association for Science & Technology, Canada KAST uses Browser|CRM as a method of keeping track of their room and equipment so that each event is well organized and that all of their equipment is well tracked. KAST also uses Browser|CRM to track appointments and teleconferences and find it an invaluable tool to keep their office well organized. The task list is an essential part of office functionality because they are able to track what work goes where and when it is completed. The browser based database is essential for tracking members and enables them to have a more streamlined networking system in the office. Being able to easily access the system outside of the office allows KAST to maximum flexibility with their communications. This flexibility allows KAST to be responsive to our staff and membership needs. KAST installed Browser|CRM on a local server and it was extremely attentive to their system requirements. It was able to work with their local server to implement the particular configuration standards required. KAST recommends Browser|CRM to their membership and are excited about the potential for increased capacity with it. The dynamic nature of the software allows it to keep growing.
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