Forte CRM Ltd releases free 'Solo' CRM tool

Forte CRM Ltd is pleased to announce the release Forte CRM Solo, their free standalone CRM tool. As the first in the range of Forte CRM versions, Forte CRM Solo is targeted at small businesses that require centralized relationship knowledge and management, without the immediate need to manage accounts or customize extensively.

Dr Jonathan Robinson, Director of Development at Forte CRM Ltd outlines :
“Forte CRM Solo was the result of our desire to offer something back for the many excellent open source tools that have gone into our product range, from Firebird to PostgreSQL, PHP to Apache among others.

Our customers had a number of competing requirements that simply didn't exist : ease of use with great power and low cost, a true internet application with the richness of a Windows application, pre-integrated office components with fail-safe data centralization, and one product that can scale from 1 user to hundreds cost-effectively.

We chose to develop a hybrid internet application, combining the best of open source internet products at the backend, combined with the best possible Windows user experience at the the user end. This allows us to deliver powerful features to our clients - for example the ability for users to operate independently if connectivity is interrupted. Solo and Pro can be thought of 'permanently' disconnected versions of Forte CRM.”

The Forte CRM products were developed by FAB Software Ltd, which whollly owns the Forte CRM Ltd operation. FAB Software Ltd has a 12 year track record of developing custom solutions for the New Zealand and international financial services industries. Forte CRM product development started almost 5 years ago, and FAB has had customers assisting with product development for the last 3 years.

One of the challenging product areas was the requirement to give clients a range of customization options, so that CRM can coexist in the middle of a number of software solutions, or be grown to handle large parts of a businesses operation. Solutions to these requirements include the Forte Data Translation Engine for database migration and integration, internal eventing and scripting for custom workflow, and an internal API to allow modules to snap in using a Service Oriented Architecture for complete custom extension.

Forte CRM Solo can be easily upgraded or merged into other versions in the range, allowing Solo users to protect their investment in time if their requirements grow. The rest of the product range is scheduled to be released over the next few months, followed by specific vertical versions.

To learn more about Forte CRM Solo, visit our website at http://www.fortecrm.net