FAQ'S Answered

	What is Commercial Open Source?
	Greater Innovation
	Better Quality
	Less Risk
	Faster Payback
	What are your product editions and prices?
	What are the deployment options?
	Sugar On-Demand
	Appliance
	On-Site
	How quickly can I deploy the software?
	Can I migrate between deployment options
	How do I access the SugarCRM application?
	How do I work with SugarCRM when I am not connected to the Internet?
	Can I get a demo of the software?

Commercial Open Source (COS) is based on the value Open Source software delivers to corporate buyers and the realization that existing commercial CRM applications are overpriced relative to the actual engineering dollars required to build these applications. The Commercial Open source model allows SugarCRM to offer:

Greater Innovation
By nature, open source product development is a Darwinian process, where only the most useful features and products merit the time and attention of the open source community. This "survival of the fittest" approach differs greatly from the development model of proprietary software vendors, where a group of engineers guess and then build features they think users across a variety of businesses, industries and geographies might want. By contrast, Commercial Open Source (COS) captures the feedback of thousands of the world's best developers; leading to more frequent improvements of an application that fits the demands of individual businesses worldwide.

Better Quality
COS reveals 100 percent of its source code to developers, allowing the open source community to test and fix any problems or bugs within the application - a radical departure from the world of closed vendors. COS producers believe that using business applications and software in general does not have to be an unpleasant experience. If the software is not meeting customer demands, users should not have to wait for another product development cycle or patch release to fix the problem.

Less Risk
Too many companies have paid too much money and then watched as employees failed to adopt a new CRM system. The problem: people were forced to adapt to the application, not the other way around. The COS development process places customization and usability at the forefront. A fun, friendly and usable application increases user adoption, improves employee productivity and provides the visibility executives need to make their business successful.

Faster Payback
COS systems offers lower upfront, implementation, customization and maintenance costs than proprietary CRM systems because of the way the software is manufactured. By leveraging the expertise of developers worldwide, COS vendors deliver a better product at lower cost. Thus, customers can measure their return on investment in months, if not weeks; instead of years or, in some cases, never.

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We have three products. Sugar Enterprise offers the functionality and support needed for the most demanding enterprises. Sugar Professional offers a sub-set of Sugar Enterprise functionality. Sugar Open Source is our open source product which can be freely downloaded and used. To learn more about the differences between our three editions, click here.

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What are the deployment options?

SugarCRM does not believe customers should be forced to make false deployment choices based on the software vendors' business model. We have learned from our customers that they require different deployment options depending on their stage of growth, IT resource availability and the level of comfort of having a third-party manage their customer information. In order to give customers maximum flexibility, we offer our commercial products in a hosted environment (Sugar On-Demand), in a deployment-ready appliance behind your firewall (Sugar Cube), or downloaded in a pack (Sugar On-Site). Customers can easily move between these existing deployments options depending on their needs.

Sugar On-Demand
Sugar On-Demand provides customers the latest version of Sugar Professional in a hosted environment. Sugar manages installation, upgrades, and patches for our On-Demand customers. Unlike other hosting providers, all customers receive a separate application and database that's isolated from other customers, ensuring the integrity and security of customer information.

Unlike other hosting providers, Sugar On-Demand can be easily migrated when a customer decides they would like to bring their CRM application inside of their firewall. Other hosting solutions only offer the data for the migration. Sugar On-Demand customers can continue their Sugar Professional license, and attain their database and software including customizations to re-install on another system. SugarCRM will also transfer the customer's application onto a Sugar Cube, a stand-alone appliance that can immediately be installed onto a customer's rack.
More information about Sugar On-Demand

Appliance
Sugar Cube offers customers the opportunity to deploy a complete CRM application pre-installed, optimized, and ready for production on a stand-alone server. Sugar Cube is best for companies who do not have hardware available to install Sugar Professional, or lack the IT resources in the allotted time to get Sugar Professional supporting mission-critical business activities. Sugar Cubes are proven, tested and optimized based on the Sugar Professional Pack ordered. Customers who need a proven solution guaranteed to run efficiently with a fast integration cycle, the Sugar Cubes are the best solution to implementing Sugar Professional.

The servers are built with the latest technology and components covered by a three-year hardware warranty and lifetime toll free technical support from our vendor. This is in addition to your Sugar Professional support. Sugar Cubes offer your IT professionals all of the options of a made-to-order appliance solution, including appliance hardware configuration, appliance operating system, choice of Sugar Professional user packs and extensions, and full source code.
More information about Sugar Cube

On-Site
For customers who would like to not only have their CRM information reside behind their firewalls and also would like to have their IT experts customize and integrate sugar with third-party systems, we offer Sugar On-Site, a deployment option that gives your team the maximum control to get the most our of your CRM application. Sugar On-Site differs from existing installed CRM because it is written in a computer language (PHP) that is simple and understandable. Thus, companies no longer have to hire billable Java or other expensive developers. Instead, Sugar can be deployed quickly and customized without the expensive consulting fees and lengthy deployment times.

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How quickly can I deploy the software?

SugarCRM was built using state-of-the-art programming languages to ensure simplicity. Gone are the days when your company would spend months budgeting and planning to deploy a CRM system. Users can be up and running in 15 minutes.

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Can I migrate between deployment options

Yes. If you would like to move from On-Demand to Appliance we can port your information from our servers to an appliance and install it behind your firewall. From On-Demand to On-Site, we will pack your information and install it on your own servers. From Appliance or On-Site to On-Demand, we can import your Sugar instance to our servers.

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How do I access the SugarCRM application?

Regardless of deployment options, all Sugar information is accessible through a standard web browser.

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How do I work with SugarCRM when I am not connected to the Internet?

Sugar Enterprise offers offline client synchronization that lets users work without an Internet connection and then automatically transmit their new work into the SugarCRM system when they get back online. Sugar Professional and Enterprise are also accessible via wireless devices so users can access important information while on the move.

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Can I get a demo of the software?

We are so proud of the ease-of-use and speed of our product that we offer a live, fully-functional demo of Sugar. No screen shots or mock-ups. See for yourself why SugarCRM offers the best user experience with deep functionality across sales, marketing and service. When you're done, ask other software providers to do the same.