Zurmo Open Source CRM / Zurmo Open Source CRM Blog: Recent posts

For CRM administrators, it is annoying when they have to log out and log back in with another user's credentials to troubleshoot an issue they are having. In order to replicate the issue, the CRM admin must test the system the same way the new user does. That means the admin must chase down the user, get him to give up his password, and log in as the user. Wouldn't it be nice if an admin didn't have to go through all those steps and could just switch to the users' credentials within the admin user? With 'Super User Switcher', gone are the days of logging out and logging back in with another user's login. This will allow admins to provide better support and even create new user settings while still logged in as an admin. This new feature will be included in 2.8 release.... read more

OAuth 2.0 is an open authentication/authorization protocol which enables applications to access each others data. If an application has to access data from any Zurmo instance, they have to use the Zurmo API: http://zurmo.org/wiki-subject/api. Now, the Zurmo API supports authentication/authorization using standard OAuth 2.0 protocol.

OAuth 2.0 Configuration Process

Adminstration->Plugins->OAuth:... read more

I've always wanted to visit the Great Pyramid of Giza (aka Pyramid of Khufu) as it is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Until then, all Zurmo users can enjoy the new charts that are included in the reporting engine. Pyramid and Funnel Charts add some variety to the visualizations that can be rendered in a report. These are examples of how each can be used for pipeline analytics:... read more

How many times have you needed to invite a colleague or co-worker to a Meeting? Maybe you need to bring your trusty side-kick to help with a sales presentation. Or maybe you need to include a project manager to a Kick-off Meeting with a new customer. The reality is that we often need to add users to our meetings. That is why in 2.7, we added the ability to invite CRM users to Meetings.

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The Zurmo roadmap continues to grow as another release is published. The latest release (2.7) was tagged today. Here is what is new:

• Shared Calendar / Saved Calendar
• New Email Template Builder
• Adding users as invitees on meetings

The post Zurmo 2.7 Release appeared first on Zurmo.... read more

One of my friends mentioned that he uses a shared calendar with his wife in order to organize their schedules. It's unfortunate that our lives today are so busy that we need a shared calendar with our spouse in order to ensure our golf outing with the guys doesn't clash with dinner at the in-laws.

In Zurmo 2.7, the calendar gets some major improvements:

Shared Calendar

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So not everyone likes spicy food (even in a Latin American country like Costa Rica, which I found kind of strange…), but we all can appreciate when something gets an extra touch of goodness. The new Email Template Builder has that extra touch in the upcoming 2.7 release.

Here is a preview:

1. When building your Email Template, you have the option to select a base layout. Right now, we support 6 predefined layouts with different presets. The idea is to pick a predefined layout and change a few style options such as text or images. If you want more control, you can use the Blank predefined layout.
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There can be so much going on in the world today that it's sometimes hard to keep track. So imagine how difficult it would be to track what's going on throughout the galaxy. That's the problem Admiral Ackbar was having until he began using Zurmo and its flexible Account to Contact Affiliations feature.

See how Account to Contact Affiliations can help you get a better hold on who is doing what outside of your organization.... read more

Zurmo Inc., the leader in CRM gamification, released a case study on a recent implementation of Zurmo Pro by TazWorks, a Utah-based technology provider to the background screening industry. Zurmo was selected by TazWorks to run the company’s sales and support business processes.

Challenge:
Prior to selecting Zurmo Pro, TazWorks was using a desktop CRM application that was separate from other parts of the business and did nothing more than capture contact information. The company needed a dynamic tool that could help manage sales, set reminders for future tasks, automate lead handling, chronicle interactions with prospects and clients, and allow for email and calendar integration.... read more

Zurmo Pro received a 'job' makeover with the 2.6 release. By using Beanstalk,  the managing and running of jobs is significantly improved. The key benefit is real-time queuing of jobs that need to go out. For example, when using crons perhaps you only process outbound email every 15 minutes, but with the implementation of the worker queue using Beanstalk, you can have emails sent out in real time. Another example is asynchronous export. This usually could take a long time to process, but now it will process much faster. The other advantage is that it reduces the load on the server since you don't need as many cron jobs running regularly.
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Recently, our development team improved the Job Manager to allow for better logging.  This means the logs will auto rotate, thus reducing the space needed on the server to store logs.  Additionally if you run the job from the browser, it will log the output to the log files in addition to the browser which is an improvement. Thank fully, no trees were cut down for this enhancement.
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How much time do you spend in your email inbox? How many times do you send the same email response over and over again? Wouldn't it be nice if you could send an email to a Lead or Contact in your CRM based on a template? With Zurmo 2.6, this is now possible.

When in a Lead or Contact, click 'Create' and select 'Email':
Now, select your email template and you are done. If the email needs a few tweaks, go ahead and make any changes before you send:
Now that you have saved yourself some time, you can watch some funny videos on YouTube like this one:... read more

Let's say you grew up in Chicago all your life and your dad was a die-hard Chicago Bears fan. You watched all the games growing up and went through the ups and downs of your beloved franchise. You still have the '85 Superbowl on VHS and you can memorize the Super Bowl shuffle by heart. Wouldn't you want your CRM to reflect the blue and orange of the Monsters of the Midway? If so, Zurmo's Custom Theme Maker will allow you to like to create your own custom theme picker.
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The Zurmo Development team continues to crank out the dev cycles. The latest release (2.6) was tagged today. Look forward to these features:

• Custom Theme Maker
• Improved Job Handling
• Send Email Templates for individual emails
• Dedupe functionality
• Funnel and Pyramid charts
• Accounts to Accounts Affiliations
• Accounts to Contacts Affiliations
• Google SSO*
• OAuth server*
• Additional Queuing Distribution Rules*... read more

With the Zurmo 2.6 release, Dedupe functionality is added in order to enhance data stewardship by identifying possible duplicate records. Once a CRM database contains duplicate records, users can become frustrated as to which records to use, which oftentimes leads to them giving up. To hedge against poor user adoption, the new Dedupe feature will help users maintain confidence in the integrity of the CRM.... read more

As a CRM user in the trenches on a day to day basis, it is oftentimes difficult to determine which Leads or Contacts are getting cold. Perhaps you have a feeling you have been a bit neglectful to a bunch of Leads, especially the guys you met last month at the trade show. You had a wild time at the San Francisco ‘Data World’ conference, but you are so behind after being out of the office that you have not had a chance to reach out. If this sounds like your world, Zurmo’s new ‘Latest Activity’ feature will make life so much better.... read more

Have you ever forgotten your username and password before? We all have. That is why adding Google Single Sign-on (SSO) is helping users access Zurmo without having to remember any pesky login credentials. Once you sign in under your Google account, you will automatically enter the CRM. This will be available in the upcoming 2.6 release.

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Recently, the Zurmo development team standardized on PhpStorm offered by JetBrains. So far, the team is raving about the results. Unlike other IDE’s, such as Eclipse, PhpStorm is fast and does not get slow over time. Since all developers are using the same thing, it is easier to collaborate and increase velocity on dev cycles.... read more

Zurmo, the leader in CRM gamification, announced what will be included in the upcoming phase of gamification while continuing to focus on the younger generation of CRM users. Gartner predicted three years ago that by 2014, more than 70 percent of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one "gamified" application. As the new year emerges, Zurmo is positioned to lead the CRM industry in gamification.... read more

The notion of a Visual Narrative is something we would usually attribute to film, photojournalism, or something that hangs on the walls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In short, according to Wikipedia, "any kind of a story, told visually, is a visual narrative."

Does a database contain stories? Yes.
Does a contact record have a story behind it? It does.

Do most database systems clearly convey the story behind records? They do not.... read more

Many rappers appreciate wood grain when it comes to accessorizing the interior of their pimped out ride. Now, it is highly improbable that rappers use CRM (although they would greatly benefit from Lead, Contact, and Opportunity Management), but if they did, they would appreciate Zurmo’s new Themes and Textures. In a recent release, Zurmo added a number of new and interesting looks, including Wood (or Wood Grain).... read more

Project Management is now fully integrated with Zurmo CRM. This comes as great news to users who have been lamenting about the pains of constantly changing gears between one application and another. Now managing customer relationships and projects can happen within the same environment. We believe this will translate into more people adopting each.

Project Management in Zurmo is agile, collaborative, and facilitates great insight into what is going on. This is very much in accordance to the application as a whole.
Let's see how it all works:... read more

We are pleased to announce the inclusion of phase II Gamification with the release of Zurmo 2.5. Right off the bat, our users will notice the new Gamification Dashboard. Sometimes an image is worth a thousand words. So let's let it speak for itself:

Next up: Collections. These are a fun addition to Zurmo that encourage users to explore the application. When navigating through Zurmo, expect to earn collection items in random hidden corners. Are you just one rabbit in the hat away from completing the circus collection? If you are a user who tends to stick to only one part of the application (like the Marketing Module, for example), maybe you should start exploring some other areas. Pick up unexpected souvenirs along the way and show off your completed collections.... read more

With the release of Zurmo 2.5, commercial customers have access to Lead Queues, which allow automatic distribution of Leads. Each queue includes users and groups and allows for distribution rules like round robin, which equalizes Lead assignments.

Notifications can be sent via email to entire groups (sales teams) so that everyone is updated when a new Lead is created.

When coupled with Workflows, Lead Queues can create an automatic assignment of Leads based on certain fields such as Industry, Source, City, other geographic data points, or any custom field. For example: when a Lead originates from a webform and has a certain area code (such as 60606), then the Lead Queue will assign that Lead to the Chicago sales team in a round robin fashion.... read more

Zurmo users have been requesting a VoIP integration from us since day one. Finally, it has arrived.

The Zurmo 2.5 release allows SIP enabled calling for commercial customers. Whether from a high volume call center or a three person sales office, SIP allows users to click to dial from any phone number within the user interface. The initial integration was done with OnSIP (http://www.onsip.com), but also works with other SIP service providers.... read more