SugarCRM 6 Sweeter Deal than Salesforce

PCMag.com released a review of SugarCRM 6 on Tuesday and it looks pretty delish. They gave the new version (due for release on July 1) 4 out of 5, or “very good.”

Some highlights…

“The new version includes a much cleaner home screen that focuses more on current processes and workflow. It utilizes a combination of AJAX and other recent Web development capabilities. The rest of SugarCRM’s package remains as powerful as ever.”

Sugar Includes More Than Others

“It’s important to note that both paid packages include many built-in features that cost extra on other services. One example is forecasting, which lets you track how your individual salespeople have updated their projected results over the course of a given quarter. To get this with Salesforce.com…you have to pony up for the Enterprise version, which costs $125 per user per month—over four times what SugarCRM costs.”

Improved Workflow

“SugarCRM works hard to keep your main view uncluttered. The new task-driven home page focuses on upcoming calls, meetings, and opportunities, while a feed on the right shows current activity within the system. Search results appear in overlays, instead of on separate browser pages. Mouse over each module, and a pop-up will open that goes into more detail.”

Logging Calls Is A Breeze

“If a customer call comes in while you’re working on something else, click Log Call, and an overlay drops down that lets you attach new information to the contact on the phone, without losing the data you were originally working on somewhere else in the app.”

Leads Populated From Forms

“SugarCRM’s Web-based forms make it easy track new customers to your business. Anyone who fills out contact info on your business’ Web site ends up as a Lead in the system.”

Social Media Put to Use

“The system integrates directly with LinkedIn, Jigsaw, Hoover, and similar data providers, so you can discover relationships between customers right away, or merge contact and account records together. As leads become more likely to buy, you can convert them into contacts, where you can add related opportunities and schedule appointments. Meeting requests and e-mails attach automatically to contacts, and you can also import existing Exchange and Gmail contact data.”

Thrives on Open Source and Email Integration

“SugarCRM really thrives on third-party plug-ins. You can find them at http://www.sugarexchange.com/, an independent marketplace that lets developers add features. Some examples are Twitter tie-ins, a VoIP plug-in that pops up caller info and click-to-call buttons, integration with Box.Net, and more. An Outlook plug-in lets you send archived e-mails back and forth, create leads, or generate mail merges.”

PCMag.com’s Conclusions

“The latest revamp goes a long way towards addressing its previously obtuse interface, and an active online community helps users with any issues they may have. Many SMBs will find that investing in the open-source and widely supported SugarCRM pays off.”