Which CRM for your Business?

By: Sanjay Majumder

CRM or customer relationship management plays an important role in the success of any business. In simple terms, the area of CRM focuses on helping an organization create and maintain long lasting relationships with its customers. In order to make it successful, you need a good CRM application.

There are many commercial and open-source CRM solutions available around the globe. What we've checked out this time is a mix of various types, and for businesses of all sizes, be it large enterprises or SMBs. Most of the solutions we've checked out ca run on Windows and Linux, and are freely downloadable. We've given most of them on this month's CD as well for you to try out. Since most of these packages can work with Apache web server and MySQL database, you don't end up spending extra for those components. The only exception is Compiere, which requires Oracle. Before we look at the individual CRM packages, let's understand a little more about choosing and deploying a CRM solution.

Key Elements of CRM

You need three elements to run a CRM solution. One, a Web or application server to host your CRM solution. This could be Apache, IIS, JBoss or Tomcat. Two, you need a centralized RDBMS to store data. These days most CRM solutions support all major RDBMSs such as Oracle, MySQL, Postgres and MS SQL Server. Three, at the client’s-end you need a Web browser to access and use the CRM software. Apart from these three, you should have technical skills to implement and maintain CRM solution.

You need three elements to run a CRM solution. One, a Web or application server to host your CRM solution. This could be Apache, IIS, JBoss or Tomcat. Two, you need a centralized RDBMS to store data. These days most CRM solutions support all major RDBMSs such as Oracle, MySQL, Postgres and MS SQL Server. Three, at the client’s-end you need a Web browser to access and use the CRM software. Apart from these three, you should have technical skills to implement and maintain CRM solution.

How to choose

The most important thing to remember about deploying a CRM solution is that you have to get your users to use it. You might deploy a very feature rich package, with all the bells and whistels, but at the end of the day (literally), if your sales team doesn't log in their daily sales reports, client information, etc into it, then it's a waste. The first thing therefore is to muster up support both from the users (your sales team), and the management (both top as well as sales head). Only after that should you get into studying each CRM option.

The most important thing to remember about deploying a CRM solution is that you have to get your users to use it. You might deploy a very feature rich package, with all the bells and whistels, but at the end of the day (literally), if your sales team doesn't log in their daily sales reports, client information, etc into it, then it's a waste. The first thing therefore is to muster up support both from the users (your sales team), and the management (both top as well as sales head). Only after that should you get into studying each CRM option.

All CRM solutions these days are very modular, giving you a choice of what to install. Further still, each module has a host of features. For instance, all CRM software we tested had modules for contact management, sales-force automation, customer service, and inventory management.

You need to drill down further into each module and check how well have they implemeted the features 'you' need. Next, check its integration and communication capabilities with other applications. Will its contact management module for instance, import contact information from Excel, email address books, etc? Some CRM solutions extend beyond their basic function to provide ERP, HR, document and project management, etc. Do you really need all those functions? Or will that be excess baggage?

How we tested

We checked for a number of things in the CRM solutions this time. We looked for the databases and platforms supported, mail-client integration, contact management, data synchronization with mobile devices like PDAs and cellphones. We also tried going through each package's report generation capabilities, wherein we checked how good were they, whether they were customizable, or various modules, and ease of installation.

We checked for a number of things in the CRM solutions this time. We looked for the databases and platforms supported, mail-client integration, contact management, data synchronization with mobile devices like PDAs and cellphones. We also tried going through each package's report generation capabilities, wherein we checked how good were they, whether they were customizable, or various modules, and ease of installation.

Performance

On the performance front, we checked how easy or difficult it was to set up each CRM solution. We also looked into how intuitive the user interface of each CRM package was. In this, we noted how quickly the interface responded, how easy or difficult it was for a user to find his/her way around it, how cluttered or uncluttered it was, etc. We also checked whether it gave maintenance options like re-indexing the database, and the kind of security features that were available.

On the performance front, we checked how easy or difficult it was to set up each CRM solution. We also looked into how intuitive the user interface of each CRM package was. In this, we noted how quickly the interface responded, how easy or difficult it was for a user to find his/her way around it, how cluttered or uncluttered it was, etc. We also checked whether it gave maintenance options like re-indexing the database, and the kind of security features that were available.

Our test bed

Out of the five CRM software we tested, only one (Compiere) used Oracle 9i and the rest used MySQL or Postgres as the database. On the test bed, we used a Win XP machine running Apache with PHP and MySQL. For CRM solutions that needed an application server, we configured Tomcat or JBoss.

Out of the five CRM software we tested, only one (Compiere) used Oracle 9i and the rest used MySQL or Postgres as the database. On the test bed, we used a Win XP machine running Apache with PHP and MySQL. For CRM solutions that needed an application server, we configured Tomcat or JBoss.

While testing we observed that installing a CRM is pretty easy, but configuring its pre-requisites takes a considerable amount of time. For instance, Compiere runs on Tomcat application server, and to configure a database with the application server needs the correct JDBC drivers. In addition, you need to edit the configuration file so that the application server can communicate with the database seamlessly. In the configuration file, you have to mention the host name where the database is running, database name, login username and the password.

CentraView

www.centraview.com

CentraView is an Open Source CBM (Centralized Business Management) solution, which combines contact management, SFA (Sales force Automation), and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) under one roof. It also has a groupware module, which allows you to do calendaring and file sharing across workspaces. In addition, it has a human-resource module for expense forms, time-sheet submission and more.

You can even synchronize the application with MS Outlook, Outlook Express, Palm, Pocket PC and Blackberry through the Companion Link conduit. This synchronizes all activity and other important data like all contacts, calendar items, activities and notes on your mobile devices.

CentraView has fifteen modules, but here we will talk about the Contact Management module. This module lets you to keep all the business contacts at a centralized place and anyone can search for any contact from his own desktop. The contacts are kept in three sections (entitles, individuals and groups). You can access this by clicking on the Contact tab. On the left, you will see the above-mentioned section while the right side shows details of selected sections. Here you can also search for contacts. To add new contacts, click on New on the Web page and it will lead you to the data-entry screen, where you can add contact details.

To add more additional fields or modify the existing fields, you can customize the module by clicking on Administration button given on the top left of the Web page. This administrative module lets you configure the software for your specific requirements.

© Source: PC Quest