The benefits of an Open-Source CRM

Open source Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a cost-effective and practical solution for your company. CRM has opened the floor, enabling the creation and sustenance of positive consumer relationships between companies and their customers. Presently, a range of strong CRMs is accessible with open-source architecture.  

It’s open and free

Open-source code may be changed to meet the unique needs of the company. Additionally, as new updates are introduced, your business can benefit from new features and improvements. You can save a ton on license costs if you have the resources to change the code for your specifications and keep the software up-to-date with any patches or updates that are released.

Complete personalization

Many open-source CRM solutions provide a pre-configured software toolkit, but a particular all-round solution may not meet your needs because each industry and vertical requires unique parameters for consumer management. You may change the source code to satisfy any need for personalized CRM applications. Open-source code is designed to be extended. Your team will use the source code as a starting point and enhance it to meet your needs and requirements. Then again, if your organization only needs basic CRM functionality, you may be able to utilize an open-source CRM “off the shelf”, or with modules that are available for free or for a nominal fee.

Easy Administration

Open-source CRM applications can be leveraged without the need to incur additional license costs and can be deployed in several places. You can download, install, and be up and running quickly.

An open-Source CRM can save resources that you would otherwise invest with apps, such as MailChimp, Klaviyo, etc. that retailers currently have in their communication programs and allow you to do more from one cohesive customer communications platform.

Continuous real-time updates

Open-source software is not locked down to the innovations of a single developer, so you benefit from an engaged community looking after the program’s future. The ecosystem around your CRM will be responsible for creating innovative functionality, keeping up with evolving security standards, and the constant enhancement of the program. 

A platform you can start with and grow with

Open-source technologies can produce significant business benefits. Since small and medium-size companies may access and utilize the code, simple implementation costs for open-source software can be better than the ongoing fees associated with Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions like Salesforce. 

Additionally, many licensed CRM platforms require you to pay based upon the number of users that will log in to your CRM instance. That can lead to users sharing access or being locked out of the system because it’s too costly to pay for access for all users in a business or organization. With free open-source licensing, you don’t have those problems.

No contracts or costly commitments

Commercial CRM platforms like Salesforce typically need a long-term license commitment. You might wind up paying for a program that it turns out you don’t want or need. You may also find yourself forced to pay more to get access to the necessary tools or to renew your license when your initial contract runs out. 

Open-source software takes the opposite approach. You can deploy your open-source CRM, upgrade, edit, and use the software with no software licensing fees or long-term commitments. 

Options to build custom integrations

In many cases, you’ll find yourself wanting to connect your CRM with other software and systems. These may include customer and order data in your online storefront, point-of-sale software, or ERP system. Many leading open-source CRMs have open APIs built-in, allowing you to connect your CRM securely and effectively with other systems.

Software and data ownership

When working with a SaaS solution, you have to worry about who has access to your data, whether the data is properly backed up, and what happens if the SaaS company is acquired or goes out of business.

With open-source software, your CRM is truly yours. Even if the producers of the software stop supporting it, your installation of your CRM will continue to function. You’ll also have much better control over the custody of your data, since you’ll be able to securely host your CRM with your choice of vendor, like JetRails, without having to share data rights with others.

Conclusion

If you see the benefit of a CRM software, and you don’t want to pay SaaS solutions license fees, don’t want to rely on rigid solutions that may not meet your requirements effectively, and don’t want to worry about 3rd parties having access to your highly-sensitive data, consider an open-source CRM. An open-source CRM like OroCRM, SugarCRM, AuroCRM and SuiteCRM provides you with a strategic edge in a multi-channel business world. This is doubly true when you leverage a mission-critical fully-managed hosting provider like JetRails, a team like Brainvire that’s highly experienced at deploying, customizing, and maintaining CRM solutions.