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What is open source CRM?
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Open source software generally refers to software where the actually raw code is made available to people without charge for use or modification. Generally speaking open source software ends up evolving and developing in a community setting, often with the involvement of unpaid people working on it for fun or reputation.
Typically open source software is distributed and available free of charge on the Internet, which brings us to open source CRM. You may be able to find free alternatives to using proprietary CRM software.
However, you should know that you may face issues such as lack of support, intermittent or non-existent updates and security fixes and so on. You have to weight the many pro's and con's of an open source software solution and a proprietary one, where, in the latter case, your supplier/retailer will offer long term support.
For more positives and negatives about open source crm try
The open source waiting game -- pros & cons
Robert Bacal is the author of two books on customer service: Perfect Phrases for Customer Service: Hundreds of Tools, Techniques, and Scripts for Handling Any Situation, and Defusing Hostile Customers Workbook. Most of the questions and answers in the Customer Service Knowledgebase (which you are reading now) is based on the material in these books.