The advantages of open source CRM software, SugarCRM and SplendidCRM

Open source professional software is becoming more widely available to businesses and is seen as a marketing strategy for software vendors. Free customer relationship management (CRM) software is great for any business that needs a custom CRM or a foundation on which to build applications.

It’s refreshing to see the growing number of alternatives to Saleforce.com and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. More than 50,000 companies use SugarCRM and the California-based company currently has more than 150 employees. SugarCRM is based on the PHP scripting language and is relatively easy to learn and modify. However, to simplify software integration, it is preferable to use the same software language across the board.

For companies working in a Microsoft focus environment, PHP is not the first choice. SplendidCRM offers such a solution using the Microsoft-oriented C#.NET programming language. SplendidCRM is based on a previous version of SugarCRM and uses the same database, but the application has been moved to a .NET environment. It’s a good option for some businesses, but with SugarCRM’s position as a leading open source CRM system, it’s likely that we’ll find third-party components that aren’t compatible with SplendidCRM. The popularity of SugarCRM also means that we are likely to see new versions and improvements in the coming years.

Microsoft and PHP technologies can work together, but providing a seamless integration of a PHP application with ASP.NET-based software can be tricky. Integration requirements must be studied on a case-by-case basis. Factors that influence estimates include the level of integration required, the number of entry points, and speed requirements. A PHP application may have one way of handling user authentication and a .NET application another.

However, two applications that use the same database content with little integration are less complicated. If you need cross-framework integration, we recommend a consultant to discuss the requirements.

SugarCRM is free with basic functionality and comes with open source code that allows developers to extend the system, the professional version costs around $360/User (minimum 5) per year.

SplendidCRM has a free extensible basic version, the professional version costs $275/user (minimum 10) per year.