The Enterprise Edition builds on the Professional version launched in October 2004 by extending the platforms it supports to include support for Oracle 9i as well as MySQL. In terms of functionality, it features an offline client that provides automatic synchronization of changes made to the CRM data, and more advanced reporting that allows administrators to write multi-dimensional queries directly using SQL queries in order to report on complex associations. The company has also made Module Loader available across its portfolio, which is designed to simplify the installation and management of third-party add-on modules. It keeps the add-ons separate from the base application code so core updates can be made without affecting the modules.
Open source CRM is still in its infancy, but since its first CRM suite release in April 2005, SugarCRM is emerging as one of the most prolific providers. It has a growing suite of free and commercial software, and the move to support the Oracle platform will immediately increase its appeal to customers as well as its opportunity for growth.
