What do you get when you put Java, the most popular computer language on the planet and SugarCRM a leading CRM package together? Cream, a snappy new and agile application, is what you get.

Introduction

Today customer relationship management (CRM) plays a major role in helping businesses manage the task of interacting with their customers. As the instant world of the internet shortens attention spans and hastens an already frenetic world, customers demand instant access to information. CRM puts vital information about customers at the fingertips of busy sales and business people.

What then if your server goes down, what if you are off-line or out of the office? Does your world stop? Traditionally CRM has been the realm of the big, centralized company but today this is rarely a perfect fit for the way businesses are run. Any outages just compound the problems associated with such centralization. Cream is a new solution for the SugarCRM platform that enables off-line usage and feature-rich interactivity above and beyond what is possible with the basic web hosted application.

SugarCRM itself already provides many answers by offering hosted services so that companies do not need to worry about management of an on-line application. Being web based means that you can access customer information wherever you get an Internet connection. The major downside though is what happens if you can't get connectivity or sufficent connectivity for good access and this is where Cream comes in.

	Figure 1 - SugarCRM running within the Firefox 1.5 browser

Cream is a Java enabled extension to the SugarCRM platform that makes use of untapped desktop computing power to cut down on the Internet chatter, to the point where Cream enabled CRM can be used off-line. This is good news for the likes of sales people and road warriors like service and support staff and not just the paranoid office user. Should you loose connectivity Cream will continue to function, not just by allowing you to use existing information but also allowing you to enter new information, new prospects and new sales opportunities., and when connectivity is restored all your data is once again stored safely on the central servers.

	Figure 2 - The Cream Application

Behind the steam

Under the hood, Cream is a Java enabled application, it can be accessed via the web and following the first access an icon appears on the desktop just like an installed application (but without the need for CDs or other installations). Once launched you to your SugarCRM system using the normal username and password and begin work. The application itself is organized along much the same lines as SugarCRM so users will be instantly familiar with the features and capabilities.

Behind the scenes the Cream application stores data downloaded from the server so that it does not need to go back to the server each time you move around within the application. Not only does this caching of data mean that off-line usage is possible but it also means an instant speed up of the data retrieval. Combine this with the sleek user interface and you have a nice performance boost.

	Figure 3 - Your choice of traditional or Rich Client

Possibilities abound

With Oracle buying up CRM vendors like Siebel, CRM is one of the hottest topics in business and computing. Legions of value added resllers (VARs) and consultants are offiering support for CRM systems and customization is here a major factor. SugarCRM is a PHP based application and for some, specially for those in the business community PHP may not always be the preferred server technology. SugarCRM is a very attractive platform, but rightly or wrongly, this perception of PHP may hinder adoption and reduce the amount of customizations being carried out by VARs. Java on the other hand is the number one programming language and the cornerstone of the biggest on-line businesses, so businesses will feel at home using Java.

Cream offers VARs and consultants ample opportunity to integrate and enhance business savvy solutions, making them look good and in-turn keeping their customers smiling. Java as the lingua franca of business computing means that integration with both legacy systems and desktop systems will be eminently feasible.

Helping the helper

Cream is based on the Carousel platform from Xoetrope, a Dublin based ISV. The Carousel platform allows software developers to craft custom solutions with ease. Much of the framework involves the use of XML files that will be at home to the average web developer so the framework opens the door to a wide range of CRM extensions. The flexibility of this platform also means that reusable solutions can prediatably be built and rapidly customized.

The Carousel platform also leverages some of the most advanced developer tools in the market to provide state of the art capabilities which ultimately lead to developer productivity and rapid turn around of projects.

Hitching a ride

The final Cream application is not yet shipping but a preview release demonstrating a subset of the final feature set is available. Xoetrope have are calling for beta testers and partners to test later version prior to the full release. The completed software will be offered on a commercial basis with per seat costs expected to be in the region of $100.

For a more techinical overview of how the Sugar Rich Client application has been developed have a look the article, Get Rich quick with XUI and SugarCRM

Now that you've read all about the application you might want to give it a try. You will need to have the java runtime environment on your computer so if you don't already have it you can be install it from the following link...

The application will start with Java WebStart and you will be prompted to accept the certificate which is signed by Xoetrope. This will allow the application to access your hard disk. If you do not wish to allow this access then the application cannot be run.

When you launch the application for the first time you will have to specify the directory which you want to use to cache your account information and you will then need to logon on to the server in order to retrive user ids from the database. The server which is being connected to is java.xoetrope.com If you go to this site you will be presented with the browser based SugarCRM application so you can work with the browser version alongside the XUI version to see how changes are being made. The following usernames and passwords can be used in either version of the application...

Xoetrope are launching a beta and testing program which will see the development of a commercial version of this application.

Click here if you wish to sign up for the beta and pilot programs