Customer Reviews

Implementing SugarCRM: 'A step-by-step guide to using this powerful Open Source application in your business.'

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

OK, I generally do not write reviews when I like a product. I let others do that (since there are plenty of people who do write positive reviews). But I take it upon myself to let others know when the product sucks. This is one of those occasions.

I am very disappointed with this book for the following reasons:

1. With all the great reviews, I had thought that this would solve world hunger and then some. It went through this book in exactly 40 minutes, scanning over each chapter looking for something that I already did not know. I could not find anything. NOTHING. Nothing at all.

2. It has precious little information about installing, customizing and troubleshooting the application for your specific business needs, which will occur if you are doing anything useful with the application.

3. The documentation pdfs that the sugar folks have put together are much more involved and detailed, not to mention concise and free.

4. The price of this book suggests that it would be a detailed work. The author actually did no research/make any contribution to what already exists in public domain. I felt cheated. Looks like someones idea of making a quick buck. Disgusting.

If you are looking for a book that describes what a CRM is, why you would want one, how you can use one and how SugarCRM may be right for you, then this is a great reference.

But, if you know what a CRM is and why you need/want one and are hoping to learn how to add features/functions to SugarCRM to meet your specific business needs, then this is not your book, especially because of its price.

I rate this book with 5 stars because:

1. It presents clear, very clear explanation what a CRM for a small- mid-size business is.

2. The author has background as small- mid-size business manager/owner so he speaks not from technology geek point of view but from business owner/manager point of view. All goals are first of all business goals, not some technological gains.

3. Very clear explanation of open-source SugarCRM.

4. Interconnection of all items (CRM, SMB needs, SugarCRM abilities) together under excellent examples of imaginary small business implementing SugarCRM.

Overall very rare book in these days which speaks about business first of all and speaks with authority of "been there done that". As SugarCRM user myself I find this book extremely useful.

We're now in the process of implementing SugarCRM in our business and I've found this book to be an invaluable tool in helping us during this process.

The writing is clean and clear and the author has added some flavor to what can be a dry subject.

I would highly recommend it to anyone using or considering using SugarCRM in their business.

I was surprised that nearly a third of the book had absolutely nothing to do with implementing SugarCRM, and the remaining sections were truly vague. If you want a book that describes generic concepts about what a CRM is and why you might want one, this book is for you. If you don't have a clue what a CRM system is, this book is a nice primer. In fact for the first third of the book, I believe it mentions other CRM products more often than Sugar.

If you are actually trying to implement SugarCRM and expect this book to show you how to change a single setting to customize it your way, you will be sorely disappointed. There are vague references to things like "use the admin panel to change user permissions" but nothing more detailed than that simple phrase - and very little of that.

This is not a technical "how-to" book. It is an easy to read description of what CRM's do and general ideas on how to use them effectively.

I found this book very helpful.

Anyone who is planning to administer SugarCRM should buy this book. It is great for getting to know the application from a bird's eye point of view. As SugarCRM consultants, we recommend it as a reference guide to administrators. That being said, it is only valuable as that: a point of reference to use for minor studio customizations or when small issues arise. For more in depth tasks like large data migrations, deep customizations, and building complicated modules, this book will not answer all your questions.

This author clearly understands small and medium business, and Sugar CRM - I would recommend this book to anybody. Worth every penny!!!!!!!