Sander van Hooft

An extended SugarCRM knowledge base can be found online in the SugarCRM forums, in the SugarCRM online documentation (for users, developers and administrators) and very valuable pieces of information can be found scattered all over the World Wide Web. Finding the information you need can consume very much time, even more if you are new to the Open Source CRM solution SugarCRM. Not all books however are the right choice for all user types. Buying yourself a decent book may be an obvious time saver, but then, since you’re new to all this, what book should you buy?

So far, I’ve read 4 books on SugarCRM:

1. “SugarCRM for Dummies” by Karen S. Fredricks (November 2008)
2. “Implementing SugarCRM: a Step by Step approach” by Michael J.R. Whitehead (February 2006)
3. “SugarCRM Developer’s Manual: Customize and extend SugarCRM” by Dr. Mark Alexander Bain (June 2007)
4. “Definitive Guide to SugarCRM: Better Business Applications” by John Mertic (November 2009)

Below you can find my advice on what books to read.

For SugarCRM newbies and end-users

If you are new to SugarCRM, I recommend reading “SugarCRM for Dummies”, it’s the most simple yet elegantly written introduction to using SugarCRM – a typical end user working with a not too much modified SugarCRM installation will find all he or she needs to know. For people working a while with SugarCRM it may be a convenient reference book. For SugarCRM administrators, some basic guidelines are included – don’t expect to much of it though. The book is from November 2008 and SugarCRM has not changed that much since, so it is reasonably up-to-date. » Read the rest of this entry «

As some of you might have noticed, I’ve been playing around with SugarCRM a bit the last months. I was all new to this, so it took me some time to get myself familiar with CRM practices in general. It seems to me as a very powerful web application, however I was a bit intimidated at first sight by all its functionalities, resulting in many modules, form fields, buttons and texts at the home screen (as are most first-time users as a matter of fact).

However it is (almost) fully customizable, most of this clutter is likely to remain. Why? Well, you are likely to use most of the functionality of the system, since it is very easy to configure, and intuitive to use – once you’ve get used to it, and that may take some time. Is it worth it? Well, I’d say it depends on how easy you learn, what this time is worth to you and the company, and what the benefits of using a CRM system and SugarCRM in particular are to the company. Yes, the guru’s tell us that the CRM systems are a valuable asset to almost all companies, ranging from small to huge(!) companies, but in my humble opinion not all CRM systems are fit for all companies, and not all companies benefit from a CRM system, or at least not in all growth stages. You might consider implementing costs, risks, time, maintenance, training and even vendor lock-in (I’ve chosen to use SugarCRM as it is Open Source, enabling me to migrate data with more ease if I ever decide to switch to another CRM system for whatever reason).

Once it has been properly implemented and aligned with your company processes, it however is unlikely to be a bad investment. Having all the latest intelligence available to all employees wherever they are, increased responsiveness to clients, comprehensive insights in your opportunities and business growth at a glance,  is a not to be underestimated asset for management decisions.