Editing SugarCRM

{{Short description|American software company}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox company
| logo = 
| logo_caption = 
| name = SugarCRM Inc.
| type = Private
| foundation = California 2004
| founder = Clint Oram, John Roberts,
Jacob Taylor
| key_people = [[David T. Roberts]] (CEO)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2019/02/14/sugarcrm-appoints-new-pe-backed-ceo-for-growth/|title=SugarCRM appoints new PE backed CEO for growth|last=Brooks|first=Steve|date=14 February 2019}}</ref>

Matt Quilter (CFO)

Claire Dorrian (CMO)

Paul Farrell (CPO)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-19 |title=SugarCRM Appoints Industry Veteran Paul Farrell to the Role of Chief Product Officer |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sugarcrm-appoints-industry-veteran-paul-120000228.html |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=Yahoo Finance |language=en-US}}</ref>
| location = [[San Francisco, California]]
| industry = CRM Software
| products = {{Unbulleted list| Sugar Enterprise| Sugar Market| Sugar Sell| Sugar Serve}}
| revenue = 
| num_employees = 600+
| homepage = {{URL|www.sugarcrm.com}}
}}

'''SugarCRM''' is a software company based in [[Silicon Valley]]. It produces the on-premises and cloud-based [[web application]] '''Sugar''', a [[customer relationship management]] (CRM) system.

SugarCRM's functionality includes [[sales force automation|sales-force automation]], [[marketing campaign]]s, [[customer support]], [[collaborative software|collaboration]], Mobile CRM, [[Social CRM]] and reporting.

The company operates a number of websites, including its commercial website Sugarcrm.com and Sugar Outfitters (for third-party extensions), and an online user forum called SugarClub.

In February 2014, in a blog post that provoked a strong reaction from the development community, SugarCRM announced that they would no longer be releasing new open-source versions of their Community Edition application; from now on this would be a bug-fix-only application.<ref name=prop>{{cite web |url=https://community.sugarcrm.com/thread/18434|title=SugarCRM in the Next 10 Years|work=SugarCRM® Community|accessdate=July 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224192704/https://community.sugarcrm.com/thread/18434|archive-date=February 24, 2016}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:SugarCRM-Founders.png|thumb|right|From left to right, Jacob Taylor, John Roberts and Clint Oram in 2004]]
John Roberts conceived of the idea and name of SugarCRM while riding his mountain bike named Sugar in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Clint Oram, John Roberts, and Jacob Taylor started full-time work on the SugarCRM [[Open-source model|open source]] project in April 2004, and incorporated the company in [[California]] in June 2004. Roberts served as the CEO from 2004 to 2009, Oram was the vice president, and Taylor was the CTO & vice president of engineering.

In June 2004, [[Josh B. Stein]] of DFJ invested $2 million into the startup and became a board member. With the help of this investment, Sugar expanded quickly and by September 2004, potential users had downloaded 25,000 copies of the application, then named Sugar Open Source. In October 2004, the company was named "Project of the Month" on SourceForge.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sourceforge.net/potm/potm-2004-10.php |title=SourceForge.net: Project of the Month|date=October 2004|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529173535/http://sourceforge.net/potm/potm-2004-10.php|archivedate=May 29, 2007}}</ref>

The popularity of this project allowed the company to raise $86 million of venture capital from [[Draper Fisher Jurvetson]], [[Walden International]], [[New Enterprise Associates]] and [[Goldman Sachs]].<ref>
{{Cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/02/07/sugarcrm-raises-20m-more-for-open-source-crm/|title=SugarCRM raises $20M more for open source CRM|date=2008-02-07|website=VentureBeat|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-10}}
</ref>

In 2006, SugarCRM launched SugarCon, a conference for Sugar customers, users and developers. It has since become an annual conference, held in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crm-reviews.com/news/sugarcrm-announces-sugarcon-2009|title=SugarCRM Announces SugarCon 2009|publisher=|accessdate=July 25, 2015}}</ref> to begin with but in 2018 the conference was moved to Las Vegas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sugarcrm.com/blog/2018/04/30/vegas-anyone/|title=SugarCRM Announces SugarCon 2018|date=April 30, 2018 |publisher=|accessdate=December 12, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ron |first=Miller |date=September 10, 2018 |title=Zendesk expands into CRM with Base acquisition |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/10/zendesk-expands-into-crm-with-base-acquisition/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEHbcKav2npd7Qof1bD-vmKuqrR-vJT-hgTufRKHND82rZD16T3BictKuwOx2792yxYkrwilC4XwZU1CMX4bNlnEwF_8rA7xNvLXD0DsGYcuVZy4LNrkYkZgSGEDeFVL5eHMxLAl4n8zaSQM_t5Gl_YJtcbXANzugjGMuHe9BKeY |access-date=July 1, 2023 |website=[[TechCrunch]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Schubarth |first=Cromwell |date=August 15, 2018 |title=Accel-KKR buys majority stake in SugarCRM with 9-figure investment |website=Silicon Valley Business Journal |publisher=[[American City Business Journals]] |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2018/08/15/sugarcrm-funding-investment-growth-accel-kkr.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 1, 2023}}</ref>

By 2008, SugarCRM employed over 150 people.<ref>
[http://www.crn.com/software/206106218 SugarCRM Nets $20 Million Investment – Software – IT Channel News by CRN and VARBusiness<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209101714/http://www.crn.com/software/206106218 |date=February 9, 2008 }}
</ref>

In June 2008, co-founder Taylor left the company, during what technology website ''[[The Register]]'' called "a mysterious exodus of senior and experienced business staff" from SugarCRM.<ref name="sudden exit">[https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/07/john_roberts_sugarcrm/ Sudden exit for SugarCRM co-founder and CEO], Gavin Clarke, ''[[The Register]]'', May 7, 2009</ref> Clint Oram replaced him as the CTO.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SugarCRM is a software company based in Cupertino, California. It produces the web application Sugar, a customer relationship management system. SugarCRMs funct|url=https://amp.ww.en.freejournal.org/1588264/1/sugarcrm.html|access-date=2021-05-21|website=ww.en.freejournal.org|language=en}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

In May 2009, co-founder and CEO Roberts left the company. He was replaced as CEO by SugarCRM board member [[Larry Augustin]], who had previously founded and served as the CEO of VA Linux (now known as [[Geeknet]]).<ref name="sudden exit" />

In June 2010, Sugar launched Sugar 6, a major upgrade emphasizing ease of use and introducing a complete UI overhaul of Sugar Professional and Sugar Enterprise.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/sugar-6-offers-simplified-ui-and-information-access/6844|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717121310/http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/sugar-6-offers-simplified-ui-and-information-access/6844|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 17, 2010|title=Sugar 6 offers simplified UI and information access|first=Paula|last=Rooney|work=ZDNet|accessdate=July 25, 2015}}</ref>

In June 2017, SugarCRM released SugarCRM Hint, a new product<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.martechadvisor.com/news/crm/sugarcrm-releases-relationship-intelligence-service-hint/|title=SugarCRM Releases Relationship Intelligence Service, Hint|access-date=2018-07-02|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.crmbuyer.com/story/84642.html|title=SugarCRM Launches Hint, 1st in Relationship Intelligence Line {{!}} Products {{!}} CRM Buyer|website=www.crmbuyer.com|date=June 28, 2017 |language=en|access-date=2018-07-02}}</ref> which searches the web for additional information on users in SugarCRM.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://martechtoday.com/sugarcrm-launches-first-product-help-provide-full-view-customer-200188|title=SugarCRM launches first product to help provide a 'full view of customer' - MarTech Today|date=2017-06-27|work=MarTech Today|access-date=2018-07-02|language=en-US}}</ref>

Private equity firm Accel-KKR became a single investor in August 2018, describing the investment as being "nine figures".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/645383/software-vendor-sugarcrm-has-new-single-investor/|title=Software vendor SugarCRM has a new, single investor|date=2017-06-27|work=MarTech Today|access-date=2018-12-12|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Editions ==

SugarCRM sells CRM software in on-premises and Cloud variants:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crmsearch.com/sugarcrm-products.php|title=SugarCRM Product Reviews and Pricing|website=www.crmsearch.com|access-date=2020-03-10}}</ref>

Sales force automation includes: 
* Sugar Sell (available in Essentials, Advanced, and Premier editions) 
* Sugar Enterprise on-premises (available in Enterprise and Enterprise+ editions)

Sugar Market (marketing automation) and Sugar Serve (customer service software) are also offered, along with several additional optional capabilities. 

=== Community edition ===

SugarCRM provided a community edition, Sugar CE, previously known as Sugar Open Source.  It was available free of charge alongside paid editions until version 6.5.

In 2013, Sugar version 7 was announced but was only released in Sugar's hosted paid environment.  No update to the community edition was announced with it.  SugarCRM's community support team have stated that 7.0 will not be available in a community edition, and that no release date for an updated community edition was known.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forums.sugarcrm.com/f22/whats-going-community-edition-88583/|title=What's going on with Community Edition? — SugarCRM Forums}}</ref> After that SugarCRM released a notice saying that they "have no plans" to release 7 to Open Source.

In April 2018, Clint Oram, CMO & Founder of SugarCRM, Inc., posted to the company's community blog that the Community Edition open source project had officially ended.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://community.sugarcrm.com/community/news/blog/2018/04/06/sugar-community-edition-open-source-project-ends|title=Sugar Community Edition open source project ends {{!}} SugarCRM Community|website=community.sugarcrm.com|access-date=2020-03-10}}</ref>

=== Deployment options ===

Sugar is a [[software as a service]] (SaaS) product.  As of Sugar 7, customers can opt to use an on-premises product, SugarCRM's Sugar Cloud, one of SugarCRM's partners, or public cloud services (such as [[Amazon Web Services]], [[Microsoft Azure]], [[Rackspace Cloud]] or [[IBM SmartCloud]]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tales of SugarCRM Security Horrors {{!}} Karma(In)Security|url=http://karmainsecurity.com/tales-of-sugarcrm-security-horrors|access-date=2021-05-21|website=karmainsecurity.com}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

==License==
SugarCRM initially licensed Sugar Open Source under the SugarCRM Public License (based on the [[Mozilla Public License]] and the Attribution Assurance License). While users could freely redistribute Sugar and the license allowed for the inspection and modification of the source code and for the creation of derived works, critics, including Dan Farber, editor in chief at CNET, expressed some concern over SugarCRM's use of the term "commercial open source" to describe its products.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/commercial-open-source-a-misnomer/|title=Commercial Open Source, A Misnomer?|first=Dan|last=Farber|work=ZDNet Magazine|date=August 29, 2005|access-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>

On July 25, 2007, SugarCRM announced the adoption of the [[GNU General Public License#Version 3|GNU General Public License (version 3)]] for Sugar Community Edition, the offering previously known as Sugar Open Source.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/190961/user_pressure_leads_sugarcrm_adopt_gplv3 |title=User pressure leads SugarCRM to adopt GPLv3 |author=Martens, China |publisher=Computerworld |date=July 26, 2007 |accessdate=March 11, 2012}}</ref> This license took effect with the release of Sugar Community Edition 5.0.

On April 11, 2010, SugarCRM announced that starting with version 6.0.0, the Sugar Community Edition would be licensed under the [[GNU Affero General Public License|GNU Affero General Public License version 3]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://developers.sugarcrm.com/wordpress/2010/04/11/moving-to-the-agplv3-for-sugar-6/|title=Moving to the AGPLv3 for Sugar 6|author=Clint|publisher=SugarCRM Developer Blog|date=April 11, 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305213808/http://developers.sugarcrm.com/wordpress/2010/04/11/moving-to-the-agplv3-for-sugar-6/|archivedate=March 5, 2012}}
</ref> The charts module, customer portal, mobile support, some SOAP functions and most of the default theme templates were removed from the AGPLv3 licensed Sugar Community Edition 6.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1. What is SugarCRM? - Building on SugarCRM [Book]|url=https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/building-on-sugarcrm/9781449311292/ch01.html|access-date=2021-05-21|website=www.oreilly.com|language=en}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=March 2012|reason=I've looked but can't find a source to verify what was removed from 6.0.0 CE. I found a reference to a forum thread in the comments here: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/sugar-6-offers-simplified-ui-and-information-access/6844?tag=mantle_skin;content but I can't find that thread.}}

In 2014 the project announced there would only be proprietary licenses starting at Sugar 7.<ref name=prop/>

In 2020, a statement SugarCRM updated is license management support for it licensed products and could be found on SugarCRMs website.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://support.sugarcrm.com/knowledge_base/license/user_types_and_sugar_licenses/ | title=Understanding User Types, License Types, and Sugar Licenses - Sugar Support }}</ref>

== Open source forks of community edition ==

* [[Vtiger|Vtiger CRM]], 2004 fork of V1.0 of SugarCRM
* SarvCRM, 2012 fork of Community Edition 5.5.4
* [[SuiteCRM]], 2013 fork of SugarCRM Community Edition 6.5
* SpiceCRM, 2016 fork of SugarCRM Community Edition adding an Angular-based UI leveraging Lightning Design from Salesforce

== See also ==
{{Portal|Companies|San Francisco Bay Area}}
* [[Comparison of CRM systems]]
* [[Customer relationship management]]
* [[Odoo]], open source CRM
* [[SplendidCRM]] was inspired by SugarCRM but developed using Microsoft technology stack (C#, ASP.NET, SQL Server).
* [[List of free and open-source software packages|List of free and open source software packages]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|SugarCRM}}
* {{Official website|www.sugarcrm.com}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Business software for Linux]]
[[Category:Business software for macOS]]
[[Category:Business software for Windows]]
[[Category:Companies based in Cupertino, California]]
[[Category:Software companies established in 2004]]
[[Category:Customer relationship management software companies]]
[[Category:Customer relationship management software]]
[[Category:PHP software]]
[[Category:Software companies based in California]]
[[Category:Software using the GNU Affero General Public License]]
[[Category:Software companies of the United States]]