Archives for August 2004

It’s a fairly complicated home office environment around here…and as things get busier, scheduling, managing communications, tracking research and all the other tasks that come with a busy professional practice have always been a challenge. For a long time, we’d been using Lotus Organizer to do our scheduling and contact management, but it just seemed so “90’s.”

I wanted a Web-based CRM that runs on Linux (given the preponderance of Linux systems around the house.)

And I have finally found the one I really like, and have integrated it into the office routine — BrowserCRM, from a company based in Wellington, NZ.

The software does it all – contact management, calendar management, a nifty little Intranet for notes, documents and other file exchange, full mail-merge capabilities, the ability to create online forums — you name it, and there are extremely useful office management tools in here!

I’ve set our system up on a 2.6ghz Celeron server next to my desk, and the system just flies. It’s resident there with Traction, our knowledge management/tracking tool. The result? It’s elegant, fast and an absolute joy to work with.

The cool thing about BrowserCRM is you can run it on your own server (Linux or Windows); or you can use it on a ‘service bureau’ basis, i.e. you simply visit this site, sign up for a few accounts, pay on a monthly basis, and you are in business. Personally, I think what they’ve done here blows other CRM systems such as SalesForce.com out of the water.

What is particularly impressive about the product are several key features : installation was an absolute breeze compared to some of the other CRM systems I used; the design is clean, functional, and absolutely pleasant to work within; and all of the modules are tightly integrated, so that your contacts flow directly into your calendar, for example. They’ve really thought through the design, which is quite brilliant.

BrowserCRM is gaining increasing attention in the CRM world, and rightly so. Having looked at dozens of systems, I simply found this one to be of a quality, design, and functionality that makes all the rest pale by comparison.