CRM Software Industry News

SugarCRM, the first commercial open source application vendor to adopt the Microsoft Community License, introduces new Windows-based distribution

SAN FRANCISCO - Feb. 14, 2006 - Today at the Open Source Business Conference, Microsoft Corp. and SugarCRM Inc. announced their intent to enhance interoperability between their respective Microsoft® Windows Server™ and SugarCRM products. The companies announced that they plan to begin working together on a technical collaboration project to help their mutual customers take further advantage of the increased reliability and simplified administration available on the Windows® platform. SugarCRM also announced that it will be releasing a new Sugar Suite distribution under the Microsoft Community License with the Sugar Suite 4.5 version. This license is part of the Microsoft Shared Source Initiative, a program through which Microsoft shares source code with customers, partners and governments worldwide.

“With nearly 35 percent of SugarCRM’s customer base currently running on Microsoft Windows Server, this intent to collaborate exemplifies the breadth of partners and developers finding economic success on the Microsoft Windows Server platform,” said Bill Hilf, director of Technical Platform Strategy at Microsoft. “SugarCRM is a leading commercial open source vendor. We are pleased to be working with it on this joint collaboration effort designed to provide customers using SugarCRM on Microsoft Windows Server with the best possible experience within their environment.”

Although the two companies will continue to compete in certain areas, they intend to work together to improve interoperability and provide increased benefit to their joint customers. Initially, the key areas for technical collaboration and architectural guidance are expected to focus on improved SugarCRM support for Internet Information Services (IIS) as well as optimization for Active Directory® and Microsoft SQL Server™, including SQL Express, SQL Server Workgroup and SQL Server Enterprise. In addition, SugarCRM plans to use the Windows Installer XML (WiX) toolset to build its forthcoming product installation as a Microsoft Software Installer (MSI) package for Windows Server 2003.

“We are excited about our collaboration with Microsoft, as it will allow our customers to capitalize on their existing Windows infrastructure by helping to speed deployment times and lowering overall costs,” said John Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer of SugarCRM. “In addition to this technical collaboration, the simplified language contained within the Microsoft Community License also provides a straightforward licensing option that meets the needs of our mutual customers.”

“We recently deployed SugarCRM’s Sugar Professional edition on the Windows platform,” said Valerie Kozikowski, partner at BDO Seidman LLP, a leading national professional services firm. “Increased interoperability between Microsoft and SugarCRM allows us to take advantage of the reliability, ease of use and simplified administration available on the Windows platform.”

“Superior Industries has been running our business on Microsoft and Sugar Professional for some time,” said David Schmidgall, MIS manager for Superior Industries, a manufacturer of conveying systems and components. “We expect this collaboration to improve our back-end database integration and streamline system administration.”

About the Microsoft Shared Source Initiative
Through the Shared Source Initiative, Microsoft is sharing source code with customers, partners and governments worldwide. The Microsoft Shared Source Initiative is a framework for making Microsoft source code more broadly available through clear, simple licenses. The Shared Source Licenses enable companies such as SugarCRM to build compelling solutions and service offerings while decreasing costs and speeding time to market.

More information on Microsoft’s Shared Source Licenses can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/resources/sharedsource/licensingbasics/sharedsourcelicenses.mspx.
 

Company Also Selected for Two Panel Discussions and Demo

Cupertino, CA (February 7, 2006) - John Roberts, chairman, CEO and co-founder of SugarCRM Inc., has been selected to deliver a keynote address on the open source business model at OSBC West, the Open Source Business Conference that opens in San Francisco on February 14. Roberts and Clint Oram, the company’s general manager of Sugar Online & co-founder, will also give three other presentations at the conference.

The engagements stem from SugarCRM’s status as the market’s most successful commercial open source enterprise vendor, with over one million downloads and over 300 commercial users of its Sugar Suite of open source CRM applications since the first product in the suite was released in July 2004.

Roberts’ February 15 keynote on “Commercial Source: The Project-Powered Enterprise” will discuss the successful ingredients of an open source business model, global development methodologies, and the importance of building and sustaining user communities.

Roberts will also participate in a February 14 panel discussion titled “Crossfire: CXOs on the Hotseat” designed to separate open source software hype from reality, and will demo the SugarCRM solution as part of the “OSBC Emerging Elite” representing the best of open source innovation.

Oram will speak in a February 14 panel discussion titled “The Open Source Community Imperative: Methodologies, Mechanics and Metrics.” The session will address best practices for establishing and growing open source development and distribution communities, as well as the optimal legal structures for community development.

SugarCRM will also be exhibiting at the conference in Booth #1.