Open Source development has the advantage of being built on very common languages, databases, and architecture components. The open source community that creates and maintains the software is a good source of talent for implementation. Open Source development avoids vendor lock-in, because you will have a complete copy of all the source code, and can work with any qualified resources that you wish. Many companies that deploy Open Source applications hire the developers who created the application to extend, customize, deploy, and support it in their environment.See our Support and Partners sections for ideas.
The most popular open source licenses only require you to share your code if you redistribute your customizations to the application, such as by sale of the software or as an application service provider to other companies. Code developed internally for internal use only is never required to be shared.Code that is general in nature should be shared with the open source project, contributed back to the community using the application. A policy of evaluating planned changes for ‘general utility’ can reap large rewards over time, as features that you develop and contribute will likely be maintained, extended, and improved by other organizations, and these enhancements can be merged back into your environment.XRMS has a plug-in architecture for extending the application. Plugins are exempt from the standard licensing restrictions, and custom plugins that contain only custom code may be licensed or protected in any appropriate fashion. Code that is company-specific and implements truly proprietary functionality (such as integration to your proprietary applications) should be developed as plugins, and should contain your own copyrights and disclaimers.
Yes. XRMS allows you to change the colors and text without modifying the core application. It also allows customization of specific views in the application, and further customizability is likely to develop. Changing the wording of specific items and views is a combination of user-configurable options, which all packages support, and deeper changes that vary by package. Changing the core terminology such as ‘Activity’, ‘Trouble Ticket’, or ‘Sales Opportunity’ requires changing string files. XRMS administrators are able to change the wording of specific labels and text in the application without modifying the core code by adding a custom ‘English-to-English’ translation file or custom language translations.
XRMS is committed to a smooth upgrade path -- even more so than many commercial enterprise systems. There are two primary ways that you can modify your own development processes to smooth the upgrade process: release ‘generally useful’ code back into the open source community, and stay close to ‘in sync’ with the current version of the open source base package.Committing generally useful code back to the open source community is a good way to make sure that your enhancements to the base package are not only available through future versions, but further maintained and even enhanced by others. Staying close to ‘in sync’ with the open source base package should be facilitated by the quarterly (or faster) release schedule that you wish to pursue. Also, having the your own technology team maintain a truly ‘current’ version of the open source package will identify any potential problems and opportunities quickly.
To import companies, export a .csv file of companies and contacts. We've included templates for many common CRM/SFA applications, such as Microsoft Outlook, Act!, SalesForce.com, Goldmine, Intuit Quickbooks, and a 'default' import template.Then visit Administration -> Import Companies/Contacts, select the appropriate default values, and upload the file. You will be able to preview the upload before you actually commit to loading everything into the database.We've tried to make the import 'safe'. The import scripts run multiple checks on each record and attempts to not overwrite existing data, or create duplicate records. We make broad allowances for missing data fields: as long as you have a Company Name (and a City for addresses), things should work. If you wish to use the default template, name the columns in your .csv file as documented in the appendix of the Administrator's Guide. Don't worry if your file doesn't have all the columns, or if the columns are in a different order. The import routine uses the column names to determine which fields to map things to, but it doesn't assume 'perfect data'. Company name is required. If you want to import an address, City is required. All other data will be handled safely if it is missing (we think).You may also create your own templates, and submit them for inclusion with XRMS.If you create an import template for a third party CRM or contact management application, or if you need help creating a template, please contact the development team so that we may assist you and so that we may include the new template in the next release.
