Community Edition vs. Professional... Maybe Hosted?

[amid.aplatt]

First off, I have never used nor heard of SugarCRM until I started researching CRM solutions for our marketing group. As the technical contact for the company, I will have very little workings with the software except for installation. Since I am new I hope you will bear with my ignorance and provide direction.
We will have a small 3 - 5 person marketing team that will use the CRM package. Most are local, but there are 2 that will always be remote users.

I have looked at the matrix that does some basic comparisons of the Community vs. Pro vs. Enterprise version. The Community edition looks like it offers NOTHING. But surely there are folks out there who are using the Community edition that can actually speak to its limitations.

Since we are not sure that Sugar is the way we will travel, we are considering having this hosted at a provider and leasing the server for a very inexpensive rate. This will limit the up front cost and still allow us a good trial of the software under the Community license. Any thoughts on this?

I am sure more questions will follow. I appreciate your input.

[Angel]

I am not sure how you drew the conclusion that Community Edition has nothing to offer.

Given that the user base for Community Edition is much larger (many times over) than the one for Professional/Enterprise, it obviously offers something of value.

Now, it is possible that it offers no such value to your specific organization, but given you haven't divulged what it is you are looking for in the way of functionality/problems to be solved, it is hard for anyone on the outside (like myself) to conclude either way.

The main difference between the editions is that Professional and Enterprise have more features than the Community edition. Even though that difference exists, there are many excellent modules/enhancements available on sugarforge.org/sugarexchange.com that help bridge that gap.

[amid.aplatt]

So the small matrix that shows some basic "check marks" for functionality it what I am speaking of. If you look at the matrix, it is pretty clear that CE is more limited in functionality that Pro and Enterprise. Even without a vast understanding of the software I can interpret check marks Perhaps the hyperbole that it offers nothing was a little exaggerated. I am sure it has value. What I am trying to determine is what it lacks. If you told me that with CE I would lose the ability to integrate with Outlook (which is what looks like the matrix is saying) then that may be a show stopper.

I hope I didn't ruffle any "Sugar-Coated" feathers out there

It is difficult for me to tell you exactly what we need the software to do, again, because I am not in the marketing/sales department. They are working on a list of requirements which I hope will materialize soon.

[Angel]

Perhaps the hyperbole that it offers nothing was a little exaggerated.

Hence my comment. Admittedly, it is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, but not rebutting your earlier comment would leave the impression with other readers that indeed there is no value in the application, when that's the furthest thing from the truth.

That is the tricky part about written communication. The only safe assumption that can be made is that what one wrote, is what one meant to say, and nothing further.

If you told me that with CE I would lose the ability to integrate with Outlook (which is what looks like the matrix is saying) then that may be a show stopper.

I hope I didn't ruffle any "Sugar-Coated" feathers out there

It is difficult for me to tell you exactly what we need the software to do, again, because I am not in the marketing/sales department. They are working on a list of requirements which I hope will materialize soon.

You really need to get the requirements first.

To your point about the Outlook integration, it is true that Professional/Enterprise include an Outlook link, but there is also an equally functional one available to Community Edition users. It is created by a third party, but solves the same problem.

Even then, it is possible that may not be what you want. For example, Riva is a server based Exchange/Sugar integration piece that requires much less from a user in order to accomplish the same as the above referenced link. That is a third party solution and would require an additional purchase regardless of the Edition of Sugar that you pick.

Many other features fall into this category, hence my mention of sugarforge.org/sugarexchange.com in my earlier message.

The difference between the various editions is really not all the great. These are the main areas that tend to come up (which are not in Community):

Teams (ability to assign data to more than one user)
Quoting
Reporting
Mobile device access

All of them have viable 3rd party alternatives for use with Community Edition. They may also be moot points as they may not be show stoppers for you. This again underscores the importance of first understanding the problem you are trying to solve and gathering requirements.

[dannyBlue]

Are there any alternatives to the new UI that is not present in the community edition?

Also does anyone know of cheap hosted solutions that have the Professional edition?

Thks