Opinions SugarCRM vs. GoldMine vs. Maximizer single user local install

[directjj]

I'm interested in opinions of SugarCRM vs. GoldMine vs. Maximizer or other app for single user local install.

PowerUser with little or no programming capability who understands database concepts but not administration. Knows a little FoxPro. Could learn MySQL if I have to.

Need to customize fields and screens, hopefully without programming?

I am partial to an application interface as opposed to a browser interface and definitely don't want a hosted solution.

[atheimer98]

I can tell you from a pure database design standpoint Sugar is the best, both GM and MaxM have horribly constructed databases. Apart from that it really is going to depend on your needs GM offers a ton more flexibility in terms of querying in both plaintext and sql. Not to mention that being a desktop application it will be faster and will afford you multiple views i.e. you can see your calendar while viewing a contact record. Maximizer's strong points are in the sales force automation side of the picture it's easy to configure a workflow where as if you complete a followup call another can be scheduled automatically.
I can't make a personal recommendation due to my job but I would definetly encourage looking at Sugar alternatives.

[Angel]

As a long time GoldMine user, I can tell you that perhaps the greatest strength in GoldMine when compared to other applications is its ability to automate workflow. It is also a great value for the price.

On the flip side, its biggest downfall is that the power and feature richness comes at the price of usability.

If you are wanting to take full advantage of GoldMine, you'll need to come to terms with the fact that you need to either be willing to invest some time into reading manuals/completing some formal training, or pay someone to do the more complex setup work for you.

Maximizer is a good application, but in my opinion, can be a bit cumbersome to worth with and I remember it lacking some features I personally felt were "must haves". Grant it, it has been a while since I last reviewed it (couple years), so they may have addressed some of those issues by now.

As for Sugar, I personally think it is a great product, so much so that I am working on replacing my GoldMine install of 10+ years with it.

From an IT perspective, I think one of its strong points is that it is very easy to deploy to any given number of users since it is a browser based application.

The additional advantage with that approach is that it is automatically "web enabled." GoldMine requires additonal configuration on top of the standard installation. You actually need to purchase additional software or use something like Remote Desktop in order to get that functionality. I believe the same is true for Maximizer, but I am not sure.

Depending on your needs, that alone could become a real problem.

Secondly, the usability of Sugar is very good. Because it is browser based, users feel very comfortable with it from the get go. Some of the more advanced features may require a little work/reading, but for the most part, one can take to the application almost immediately. At least that's been my experience and I've noticed the same as well with other users where I was the Sugar admin.

I am not sure I would recommend Sugar for a single user though. Especially in your case where you've got a preference for desktop apps. I would definitely encourage it for multi-user environments.

All this being said, for single users, I'd recommend you take a look at ACT!. The more recent versions have had some technical issues, but I believe it still continues to be the leader for single users because it is very easy to use and offers many features comparable to GoldMine/Maximizer.

Again, unless you are willing to invest in some training (time or otherwise), GoldMine is likely not a good fit. You'd likely end up getting annoyed by the complexity and only use it as an electronic rolodex, not realizing any of its real value.

[directjj]

Angel Magaña

I think I recognize your name. Sent you a private message.

[directjj]

>>I'd recommend you take a look at ACT!. The more recent versions have had some technical issues,

When ACT! did a total rewrite for the 2005 version AKA ACT! 7 it had a terrible reputation. I was really looking forward to a new version but it turned out to be the bleeding edge of technology.

I had just purchased but not implemented ACT! 6 for 2004

I have not seen a lot of people say "Yeah, but they finally got their ACT together, with the 2006 version AKA ACT! 8".

The history with ACT! is scaring me about GoldMine which is now ALSO trying to revamp their product, getting rid of dBase in favor of FireBird. Single User version is still dBase but what to does the future hold? Slow progress with the Corporate version 7 based on Firebird...

Maximizer looked pretty slick, and they can do custom fields, but the display and allow data entry to these fields in a little section of the screen at the bottom of the contact record.

All this is why I am looking at SugarCRM, a new and growing product.

This forum is great (although I prefer UseNet). Lots of participation, quick responses to any question I ask. Much better than any of the other vendors for user interaction.

[Angel]

I hear what you are saying, but here is my take...

When ACT! did a total rewrite for the 2005 version AKA ACT! 7 it had a terrible reputation. I was really looking forward to a new version but it turned out to be the bleeding edge of technology.

I had just purchased but not implemented ACT! 6 for 2004

I have not seen a lot of people say "Yeah, but they finally got their ACT together, with the 2006 version AKA ACT! 8".

While it is true that people are coming out of the woodwork claiming it is great, most people don't say anything about a product in a public forum unless it is a complaint or looking to resolve some problem.

Anytime technical changes of such a magnitude are made, problems are right around the corner. This happened when ACT!3.0 (or 4 -- can't remember which) was released, as well as when GoldMine 4.0 was released. If Sugar were to move from PHP to Ruby, I am sure there would be all kinds of issues as well, including the breaking of things that used to work before.

The history with ACT! is scaring me about GoldMine which is now ALSO trying to revamp their product, getting rid of dBase in favor of FireBird. Single User version is still dBase but what to does the future hold? Slow progress with the Corporate version 7 based on Firebird...

I don't believe this is a comparison of equals. Both GoldMine and ACT! had their share of technical issues the previous time they changed databases/structures (4.0 and 3.0 versions respectively if I recall correctly). In the case of GoldMine, version 4.0 was actually the biggest selling version. I don't know about ACT! 3.0 in comparison to other versions, but it certainly continued to be one up on GoldMine. They tended to be 1 and 2 as far as rankings from analysts.

My point is that both emerged from those inevitable problems as a better product. However, this also happened several years ago. Both companies have changed dramatically since those days, and I know that in the case of GoldMine, the approach to development, releases and responsiveness today is as different as night and day when compared to that time of its history.

I don't feel the same is true for ACT!. Yes, they had a lot of technical issues, which could have easily been experienced by any vendor, but I remember they were also quite aware of the issues. Perhaps they couldn't fix it in as timely a manner as they would have liked, but if I were an ACT! user, I would have felt better in simply knowing they were aware of it and working on it.

I agree with your comment on the slow progress of version 7 of GoldMine on Firebird. If you are going to use GoldMine, I'd say you'd also have to ask yourself how much are willing to put with the issues that will come up. Its been over a year since ACT! made their change and they still have some issues. I'd say they are having to deal with a lot of the same issues GoldMine will eventually need to address. So it is probably pretty safe to say that it may be some time before you see a version of GoldMine 7.0 that is as stable as 6.7.

Maximizer looked pretty slick, and they can do custom fields, but the display and allow data entry to these fields in a little section of the screen at the bottom of the contact record.

All this is why I am looking at SugarCRM, a new and growing product.

Like I said before, I really like Sugar. Every release seems to take it up a notch in my opinion, and the maturity rate is excellent. However, I stand by my comment that I don't believe it is the right product for a single user (at least not yet). But I suppose if you get a hosted version and don't mind doing everything online, it would work quite well in that case.

[directjj]

Wish I could get my hands on Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager beta. Hopefully it will be in public beta in May.

Anyhow, I have spent so much time looking and looked at so many products I reluctantly decided to download ACT! 2006 30 day trial. It was the ACT! 2005 fiasco that drove me in to my search in the first place.

Actually ACT! 2006 appears to be a possible fit for me. Performance isn't too terrible, especially on my desktop.

Home address & phone are standard fields, which is good for my application.

Contacts do not have to be associated with Companies, and you can reassign a contact to another different company (job change) which is a good fit for me.

You can't open more than one contact screen at a time, which is a drawback for me.

I haven't gotten to custom fields yet.

There forum has more activity than GoldMine. The best forums in order of activity and or ease of use are:

SugarCRM, ACT!, GoldMine, Maximizer.

Just not a lot happening in the GoldMine forum. I was sorry to see the UseNet NewsGroup go. (Another plus for Microsoft - NewsGroups).