[TriLUG] Open Source alternative to ACT! on Windows?

[Joseph Tate]

bp wrote:

> On Tue, 25 Nov 2003, Scott Lundgren wrote:
> 
>>>Are there any Linux/Open Source CRM project out there that I might
>>>pitch over the MS/ACT! duo?
>>
>>If can you can reply back to the list with
>>specifically how ACT! fits into their workflow it might help figure what
>>would actually be a good solution. If they are just using it for a
>>distributed contact management database then there are a couple PHP/MySQL
>>projects I can think of. If they're using ACT! to set off alarms inside MS
> 
> 
> I have only had a quick 5 minute overview of the need they are looking to 
> fill.  But basically the he saw that several other francises are using 
> ACT! as a central contact manager to keep status on Real Estate Listing 
> clients.    They then use it to get the latest status on a client when 
> they call (no matter who answers).  It's also intended to allow him to 
> check-up on how agents are keeping up with clients.
> 
> I spent time on SourceForge and looked at http://egroupware.org/ and 
> Compiere but think both of those products are overblown for this need.
> 
> Real Estate office have 0 IT staff and need something that requires 
> minimal maintenance and effort. I thought about writting my own php db app 
> to fill this need but I expect that one of the requirements will be for 
> disconnected updates (Maybe a Java client to handle offline updates?)
> 
> Any central/office contact management solutions out there that fill this 
> need?  Or should I write my own and pitch it to him and the rest of the 
> francise?
> 
> -bp
> 

Take a look at SalesForce.com.  They're a managed CRM, which means you 
buy no software, and it's fully remote hosted.  You can however develop 
your own software for it using XML-SOAP.  It's completely web based and 
priced according to the number of users.  (Sorry it's not OSS, but was 
very reasonable).  You can sign up for free personal accounts or 30 day 
trial accounts.  Sign up for a free personal account and someone *will* 
call you within an hour or so.

Joseph