Open Source ERP and CRM Solutions

The recessionary time has forced businesses to minimize their IT expenditure.

Enterprise spending on proprietary applications too took a hit. Today in any

business scenario, as enterprise applications like ERP and CRM have become key

success enablers, organizations can't shun them away. To their rescue comes the

Open Source community that provided applications for ERP and CRM software. The

advantage is that organizations are not dependent on one solution provider; they

can download software and customize it based on their business needs, and it the

organization's work flow and business processes.

Most Open Source software are web based, and as a prerequisite require a

database and web server configured before installation. To further ease the

installation, the Open Source solutions are available as packaged installers

that will do the entire database and web server setup for you. Apart from that

these solutions are available as virtual appliances as well, just mount them on

a virtual machine and your ERP/CRM solution is up and running. Just type in the

address or intranet URL where ERP/CRM is running and your employees can access

the application. The benefit of such a virtual appliance is that in future if

you wish to upgrade the system or change the platform, all you need to do is

save the instance of the appliance and mount it on new virtual machine and you

can start from that very point onwards. Thus, saving the hassles of

re-installation and re-configuration. The concern with Open Source solutions is

of support. Prominent Open Source solutions have a good community built around

them, which include contributors who consult the clients as well. So, even if

you want to have a free solution and don't want to opt for paid technical

support from Open Source providers, you can always avail the help of the global

community for it.

Apart from lower implementations costs, Open Source ERP systems are ideal for

enterprises whose business requirements are not generally covered by standard

proprietary software.

Had there been an ideal ERP solution that would have worked for every

business, then every organization would have opted for that very solution. But,

that is not the case, since each organization would have unique business needs,

and for that you need ERP solutions that can be customized to fit such needs.

Free Open Source ERP solutions like OpenBravo or Compiere can be downloaded

freely and installed on your system. You can then configure and manage them

according to your needs.

Today organizations have reached a point where they feel CRM software is a

necessity for their success and to remain competitive in business. Regardless of

the organization being small or large, salespersons need to keep track of

customer leads and require information like customer's details and past records,

which will help them drive sales. Open Source CRM packages can range from simple

customer tracking software to high-quality interactive sales and marketing

management software.

Whichever Open Source ERP or CRM solution you choose, to make sure that you

have researched about them very well. With Open Source becoming a hot thing in

business community, there are some small communities coming up with software

solutions that offer some interesting features and functionalities.

You also need to check out data migration from your existing databases to the

CRM solution that you are deploying. Solutions like SugarCRM have support to

import data from vast variety of sources, like Excel sheets, flat files, CSV

files, etc.

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