While the content management system (CMS) is surely the cornerstone of popular web applications today, this week news revolves around customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. A CRM is a perfect companion to your online presence that may consist mainly of CMS presentations. Once you have people knocking on the door, it’s time to effectively manage potential and existing customers to get your business to the next level. Our gallery has two free CRM solutions, SugarCRM which is taking the CRM world by storm with many media comparisons larger enterprise competitors, and SplendidCRM, which looks like a promising up and comer. Both are available on the Web Platform Installer, so check them out and see which one feels right for you.
Earlier this month SugarCRM announced their latest version, the Spring release of Sugar 6. They have also recently enjoyed record growth, as well as topping out at over 270 partners, ensuring that there’s plenty of future in store for this open source star.
Update: SplendidCRM released version 5.5 in June 2011, bringing with it more integrations options like Facebook Connect and Google Apps synchronization, as well as enhancements to authentication and security. Check out their "What's New" page for more information.