CRM (Customer Relationship Management):

Customer relationship management is known as CRM. Nowadays, when you hear about CRM, it typically refers to CRM software, which is a software management system created to assist your business in providing customers with a distinctive and seamless experience and in strengthening relationships. CRM software does this by giving you a complete picture of all customer interactions, monitoring sales, organizing and prioritizing opportunities, and facilitating communication between various teams.

In order to deliver better services and foster stronger relationships with the customers, it includes gathering customer data and examining the history of customer interactions. This will ultimately increase sales and revenue.

Apple CRM, Amazon CRM, Coca-Cola CRM and many more are just a few instances of CRM.

Open-source CRM:

Most CRM systems include pre-built software that is ready to use and has a specific set of functionalities. A typical CRM would provide tools for developing and enhancing customer connections as well as a selection of templates from which to choose. The finest open-source CRM software is simple to use, delivers a powerful out-of-the-box solution, and offers reasonably priced hosting plans. Teams with technical know-how that require a customer solution frequently use open-source CRMs.

Conversely, open-source CRM offers companies a greater level of customization because open-source software is all about personalization. The contemporary management criteria can be modified to meet your company's demands. The source code (the code that makes the programmed run) is changed to accomplish this. Users have the option to distribute, redistribute, and modify the code to suit their own needs. You are no longer need to pay software vendors extra features in order to complete a task.

It is composed of publicly available source code that is shared by users and developers all over the world, as opposed to being created and managed by a single organization. Even though these products are usually ready-to-use finished goods, what makes an open-source CRM so advantageous is that anyone with the technical know-how may open up the programmed themselves and change features, built asset, and very much anything else as they see appropriate.

The benefit of adopting public source code is that businesses can modify and update it as necessary based on the design and expansion of the business. For specialized businesses that need particular functionality that the big, established platforms do not provide, open-source software is the best option.

CRM primarily focuses on customer relationships and interactions; by having the proper controls for each stage, business flow can be slightly improved.

Due to the fact that open-source software is not restricted to the ideas of a single developer, you gain from a determined community that is concerned about the program's future. The network that surrounds your CRM will be in charge of developing novel features, remaining consistent with changing security requirements, and continuously improving the software.

Most open-source CRM programmes are Linux-based and frequently incorporate free programmes like PHP and the Apache web server. Any software that is OSI compliant and works under an open-source effort can be implemented into a CRM platform and used for profit.

While the basic software for open-source CRM solutions is free, hiring developers or allocating internal development resources to modification can be expensive if you don't have experience designing CRM software. Larger businesses who have the funds to invest in more extensive system development may also profit from building their own CRM platforms.

Here are Top 10 open-source CRM in year 2022 are:

i)SuiteCRM

SuiteCRM is a PHP-based, open-source, free customer relationship management programmes for servers.

It is a software modification of SugarCRM's well-known customer relationship management (CRM) platform, with the most recent open-source SugarCRM release serving as its base. When SugarCRM made the decision to terminate the development of its open-source version, the SuiteCRM project emerged. (Open-source CRM is frequently used as a substitute for commercial CRM programmes from well-known companies like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM).

ii)ICTCRM

ICTCRM is a cutting-edge CRM tool that is connected with CTI to manage your organization's everyday business and communications needs. You have the option of managing your telemarketing campaigns by phone, SMS, email, or fax.

ICT Innovations (http://www.ictinnovations.com) has pushed ICTCRM, which is a customized version of the well-known open-source CRM SuiteCRM with unified communications integrations using ICTCore, an open-source unified communications framework. We have improved its capabilities by combining this modern CRM and ERP solution with unified communications platform ICTCore (http://www.ictcore.org), which adds both personal and mass communications capability through SMS, voice, email, or fax-based technologies.

iii)YetiForce

A hybrid open-source customer relationship management (CRM) tool, YetiForce serves large and midsize organizations from a variety of industries. Users can manage their interactions with both current and potential clients using the platform.

iv)Laravel

A dependable and user-friendly open-source PHP framework is Laravel. It follows the model-view-controller design pattern. When creating online applications, Laravel makes advantage of already-existing components from other frameworks. The final web application is more structured and useful.

Laravel offers a wide range of functionality by integrating the core elements of PHP frameworks like CodeIgniter and Yii as well as other programming languages like Ruby on Rails. Web development will move more quickly because to Laravel's vast feature set.

v)X2CRM

An open-source web-based CRM system for sales, marketing, and customer service is called X2CRM. In order to address the dynamic needs of organizations in today's dynamic world, it offers a quick, modern, and small CRM solution.

vi)Dolibarr CRM

Dolibarr ERP CRM is a free, open-source software programmes for small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and independent contractors. It has several capabilities for customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP), as well as other functions for various operations.

v)EspoCRM

Open-source CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software called EspoCRM enables you to view, enter, and assess all of your business relationships, regardless of the nature of the relationships. People, businesses, or opportunities all in a simple and clear interface.

It is a web application with a PHP backend that implements a REST API and a single-page frontend.

vi)Fat free CRM

An open-source, Ruby on Rails-based customer relationship management platform called Fat Free CRM places a strong emphasis on ease of use. It comes with contact lists, opportunity tracking, campaign and lead management, and group collaboration features out of the box.

Small businesses can use Fat Free CRM to keep track of and organize all of their customer relations information. It offers corporate information management for things like customer contacts, account information for customers, leads for sales, and sales possibilities. Additionally, it supervises tasks including managing meetings, staff tasks, phone calls, and follow-ups.

Technophobes need not worry because Fat Free CRM has a user interface that is easy to use and intuitive.

vii)Daybyday CRM

Everyday CRM is a type of customer relationship management (CRM) that can help you keep track of your clients, projects, appointments, and other things. The CRM is available as a hosted CRM system as well as an open-source, self-hosted platform.

viii)Laraadmin

Laraadmin is an open source Laravel admin panel/CMS with features like Advanced CRUD Generation, Module Manager, Backups, and many others. It may be used as an admin backend, data management tool, or CRM boilerplate for Laravel.

Advantages of open-source CRM:

The fact that Open-Source CRM systems typically provide more reliable integrations is one of their benefits. Without being constrained by a certain provider, you can also create the exact integration you desire. Open source has a distinct advantage if flexibility and long-term scalability are your main concerns.

Your business can benefit from an open-source initiative in a number of ways. More options can be explored through customer relations due to greater freedom; however open-source CRM largely benefits from customization. You can create and incorporate everything you're looking for.

Some advantages are as follow:

i)Free of charge:

Open source is mostly preferred since, in general, it is free. Although not all open-source software is free, the majority of them is.

ii)Customization:

Anything that can be customized to suit your needs is a good thing. Especially CRM software because CRM deals with managing customers and customer management varies greatly from industry to industry. Therefore, it is very difficult to develop an integrated CRM software without packing all the features that every industry needs. Its adaptability makes open-source CRM one of the most popular software. You can modify the source code to your preference. No need to pay for lots of irrelevant features that you will never use.

iii)Easy management:

An open-source CRM is easy to manage and can be installed in multiple locations as needed. No need to take a census or monitor licensing issues. You can keep as many instances of the software as you like with no financial impact.

iv)Resources:

System implementation does not have to be as resource intensive as traditional software requires. Employees can examine existing code to better understand the product and suggest various improvements that are best suited for the organization.

v)Continuous improvement:

Another good reason to choose an open-source CRM is the developer community behind it. Because everyone has access to the source code, anyone can leverage the collective experience to fix bugs and add new features. As a result, the software continues to improve over time. These are some of the benefits of open-source CRM that make you think. But not at all. All coins have two sides. You should have both pros and cons before making any decision. Now, speaking of cons, let's take a look at why you should consider choosing an open-source CRM.

Disadvantages of open-source CRM:

Some disadvantages are as follow:

i)Restricted Functionality:

Open-source CRM often only offers a small number of key features, so if you're seeking for a more complex solution, it might not be the best option for you. However, you can customize the fundamental features and user interface of an open-source CRM by making a separate investment.

ii)Limited Support System:

You cannot visit a service center with your claims and receive prompt, competent assistance there. Open-source CRMs typically receive assistance from providers on various forums and communities. You can't always rely on their response because they provide it for free and in their spare time; it could be delayed or contain inaccurate information. In any case, you can choose to wait it out or provide more money for professional assistance.

iii)Hidden Cost:

Just because installing an open-source CRM is free up there does not imply subsequent charges won't be involved. Unless you have your own IT team, changing the source code to meet your demands necessitates hiring a professional developer, which results in additional costs. In addition to those expenses, setting up a server and network infrastructure may be necessary for the proper operation of your CRM.

iv)Compatibility:

Since there is no pressure to succeed while creating open-source software, you can discover that some files don't work properly on your operating system. Drivers are produced by many open-source software companies for popular operating systems like Windows. You obtain the necessary software once again, eliminating the need for you to rely on outside experts, hold off on an update, or recruit programmers.

Conclusion:

Consider an open-source CRM if you see the value of a CRM tool but don't want to pay SaaS solutions license costs, rely on rigid solutions that might not fulfil your needs successfully, or worry about third parties having access to your highly-sensitive data.