The new version will include Sugar Module Loader, a plug-and-play installation utility for third-party add-on modules. A key aspect of the utility is that it keeps the add-ons separate from the base application code which means core updates can be made without impacting the add-on modules. Over 80 Sugar Suite accessory modules have been developed, ranging from language translation packs to document and knowledge management systems, timesheets, database backups, and Java synchronization.
A range of other improvements have been made including support for cross-module reporting, so users can merge data sets from different Sugar Suite modules. Plain text emailing has been augmented with HTML emails to enable the use of embedded graphics and formatted text in single-use emails and in Sugar Suite-based email marketing campaigns. The company has also worked to improve upgradeability of customizations via upgrade-safe event handlers that will preserve modifications during future release upgrades. The Microsoft Outlook plug-in has been improved to enable faster navigation and greater control over synchronization of contacts and calendars into Sugar Suite. Finally, personalization has been addressed with four new interface templates.
Sugar Suite is available in a range of deployment models: on-premise, hosted, and appliance-based. The 3.5 beta is available for free download immediately from http://www.sugarforge.org, with general release scheduled for August 15. The company also offers more advanced suites, Sugar Professional Edition and Sugar Enterprise Edition, for $239 and $449 per user per year, respectively, which includes 12 months of application updates and support.
Interest in open source CRM is growing but it has not captured much market share so far. SugarCRM and the host of other open source CRM suppliers will hope to gain ground on the issue of price, making the SMB market a target. However, it also looks like government could be interested in open source CRM because of its combination of low cost and vendor-independence.
There are major challenges however. The open CRM vendor community is entering a maturing market at a time when standalone CRM vendors are struggling and falling prey to mergers and acquisitions, and open source credentials are no protection against this type of market force. Also, users are recognizing that to get the most from CRM initiatives, they need their software to include analytics, cross-sell optimization, and customer data-integration capabilities, but the open source CRM vendors have not really reached that level of functionality.
