Open Source CRM Michelle Murrain, Nonprofit Open Source Initiative March 27, 2008

1. Open Source CRM Michelle Murrain, Nonprofit Open Source Initiative March 27, 2008

2. What I’ll cover today • What is a CRM? • Kinds of CRM • Why Open Source CRM? • Examples of Open Source CRMs • How to choose a CRM

3. So what is a CRM, anyway? • CRM stands for Constituent Relationship Management • aka Community Relationship Management • aka Contact Relationship Management • aka Customer Relationship Management (its for-profit progenitor)‏ • There are many kinds, and they have different feature sets

4. What’s in a CRM? • Basic Data • Basic contact info • Track activities (calls, events)‏ • Track donations • Tracking Volunteers • Actions • Email blasts • Automated donations • Event management and registration

5. Kinds of CRM • Desktop & Client/Server CRM • Download and install on network and/or desktops • Web Server-based CRM • Download and install on your intranet web server, or on your public-facing web server • Work through a web browser • Software as a Service • No download or installation – all hosted on companies site • Work through a web browser

6. Categories of CRM by license • Proprietary • Open Source In Spirit (built on proprietary platforms)‏ • Open Source CRM built on proprietary OS/Database • Open Source CRMs built to run entirely on Open Source platforms • Software as a Service (not obtaining software, obtaining services)‏

7. Examples of CRM: Proprietary • Blackbaud Raiser’s edge • Donor Perfect • Fundware • Sage • ... • ...

8. Examples: SaaS • Democracy In Action • Convio • Kintera • Salesforce • eTapestry • Both Salesforce and eTapestry are free (as in “beer”) for some users: • Salesforce – 10 free licenses • ETapestry – free for 500 or fewer contacts

9. Examples: Open Source In Spirit • METRIX (built with MS Access)‏ • EBase (built with FileMaker Pro)‏

10. Examples: Open Source • Depends on proprietary OS and/or Database • mpower open (built on .NET and depends on MS SQL server)‏ • Organizer’s database (Windows and Visual Basic)‏ • Compiere (requires proprietary databases)‏

11. Examples: Open Source • Can be run completely using open source OS/tools • Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP stack): • CiviCRM • SugarCRM • Any OS, Apache Tomcat, Java: • OpenCRX • vTiger

12. Why Open Source CRM? • Free as in “beer” - organizations can get good CRM without spending a lot of money • Free as in “speech” - you can see, and modify the code behind the CRM • Open APIs – open source CRMs have open APIs (APIs that are without cost, and documented)‏ • Community support • Help to enhance open source CRM by contributing to CRM projects/products

13. Why Open Source CRM? • People seem to be satisfied with their choice of open source CRM: • In the NTEN CRM satisfaction CiviCRM was first in satisfaction, SugarCRM and Organizer’s Database were 3rd and 4th (out of 22 tools.)‏ • These tools were all ahead of Blackbaud, Convio, Kintera, and other proprietary CRMs.

14. Why not open source CRM? • You need features not present in any current open source CRM • Your staff are familiar with a particular CRM • You want Software as a Service (SaaS)‏

15. Open Source CRM • All current open source offerings are: • Stable and secure • Support (both paid and community) readily available • Some are “Enterprise Class”

16. Web Based CRMs: CiviCRM • LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)‏ • Web-based • Integrates with Drupal or Joomla (Drupal is best)‏ • Has a new stand alone version • Version 2.0 is newly released • http://www.civicrm.org • Webinar 4/29

17. Web Based CRMs: SugarCRM • Written primarily for Sales in for-profit organizations • LAMP stack, fully open source • GPL v3 • http://www.sugarcrm.com

21. SugarCRM • Strengths: • Lots of features • Popular • Active Community • Can be used by large organizations • Easy to install • Has a company behind it – so paid support is easily available • Weaknesses • Designed for sales/business

22. Client/Server CRM: mpower open • Very mature product, very newly open source • Comparible to Raiser’s Edge • Windows client • Depends on MS SQL Server • Written in C#/.NET • No community yet • http://www.mpoweropen.com

23. mpower open • Strengths • Designed for nonprofits • Used by medium and large organizations • Comparible to Raiser’s edge • Mature product • Completely open APIs • Company behind it – paid support is readily availabe • Lots of future potential

24. mpower open • Weaknesses • Newly open sourced – no community around it • Not easy to install • Currently depends on proprietary platform and database

25. Desktop CRM: eBase Pro • Has been around for a long while • Is not truly open source – written with FileMaker Pro • Can be customized if you own FileMaker Pro • Good for small-medium sized orgs • Future is uncertain • http://www.ebase.org

29. Dekstop CRM: Organizer’s Database • Windows only • Written in Visual Basic • GPL • Customizable • Active Community • Still under active development • http://www.organizersdb.org

33. How to choose a CMS • What’s your budget? • Cost is not just the cost of software, it includes implementation, support, and data migration • Remember to include staff time in your calculations • Can you identify sources of support? • Paid support from vendor/company • Consultant support • Community support (takes staff time)‏

34. How to choose a CMS, continuted • Features – what do you need? • Basic contact management • Donation tracking • Tracking of activities and events • Integrated online donations • Email advocacy or newsletters • Other features • Compare feature sets of different CRMs

35. How to choose a CMS, continued • Open APIs, and ease of data import and export • How important is open source? • Platform issues (web, desktop)‏ • Database issues (some open source CRMs require proprietary databases)‏

36. Resources • Software choice worksheet: http://nosi.net/projects/primer • NTEN CRM satisfaction survey: http://www.nten.org/research/crm • Great Idealware article on CRM: http://www.idealware.org/articles/crm_software.php