New CRM Suite with Joomla!
July 9th 2010 01:04
Link: office123.net
Office123.net
To be honest, after using Zoho for a while, and being hooked on Google apps for quite some time, I really wasn't too enthused when an office123 guy messaged me to check it out. But he pricked my ego in just the right place, so I spent a minute there, and then another, and another.
I was intrigued and a little skeptical when using my gmail account to log in to office123. But after hemming and hawing for awhile, I finally decided it was safe. I haven't lost my identity yet, so I guess it is. (sometimes I'd like to be identity-less.)
I was mostly right - office123 is a lot like other free CRM suites. It has the tabs/links for pipelines, sales, accounts, contacts, calendar, etc. They're all easily accessible and related (relational database-style). The GUI is a bit more polished than Zoho's.
What I really like is the built-in Joomla!
Joomla! is an online CMS that you only usually get to use if you've paid for hosting somewhere. It's usually installed using Fantastico, as a script that runs within the server space that you've already paid for. So to see it built in to a free service is interesting. Very interesting.
The website you create certainly has its limitations. You don't get a groovy domain name. You can get that if you DO want to pay for it. But it's a cool way for people to learn Joomla! and get hooked on it before having to find a webhost.
The only other thing I'm not crazy about is the lack of a decent document app within Office123's suite. Of course, with its integration with Google and Google Marketplace, maybe they assume their users already use Google docs, but since they already have document storage, why not a word processor of some sort.
But that's really getting picky. Office123 didn't need to recreate the wheel with a doc app. They made a competitive CRM suite with built-in simple web design. They did it. YOU didn't. It'll be interesting to see how much competition they have in that arena in the months to come.
To be honest, after using Zoho for a while, and being hooked on Google apps for quite some time, I really wasn't too enthused when an office123 guy messaged me to check it out. But he pricked my ego in just the right place, so I spent a minute there, and then another, and another.
Basic CRM, right?
I was intrigued and a little skeptical when using my gmail account to log in to office123. But after hemming and hawing for awhile, I finally decided it was safe. I haven't lost my identity yet, so I guess it is. (sometimes I'd like to be identity-less.)
I was mostly right - office123 is a lot like other free CRM suites. It has the tabs/links for pipelines, sales, accounts, contacts, calendar, etc. They're all easily accessible and related (relational database-style). The GUI is a bit more polished than Zoho's.
What I really like is the built-in Joomla!
Joomla! Built-in. Wow.
Joomla! is an online CMS that you only usually get to use if you've paid for hosting somewhere. It's usually installed using Fantastico, as a script that runs within the server space that you've already paid for. So to see it built in to a free service is interesting. Very interesting.
The website you create certainly has its limitations. You don't get a groovy domain name. You can get that if you DO want to pay for it. But it's a cool way for people to learn Joomla! and get hooked on it before having to find a webhost.
The only other thing I'm not crazy about is the lack of a decent document app within Office123's suite. Of course, with its integration with Google and Google Marketplace, maybe they assume their users already use Google docs, but since they already have document storage, why not a word processor of some sort.
But that's really getting picky. Office123 didn't need to recreate the wheel with a doc app. They made a competitive CRM suite with built-in simple web design. They did it. YOU didn't. It'll be interesting to see how much competition they have in that arena in the months to come.
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