Project of the Month - December 2008

InetProcess iNETDocs

Description of project

The iNETDocs module, developed by iNET Process, offers the power of the KnowledgeTree Document Management System into SugarCRM. The objective of this module is to replace the document module of Sugar with a new one, based on KnowledgeTree structure.

Trove Info

Why are you a leading contributor in the SugarCRM community? What are the benefits that you experience from your involvement?

SugarCRM is a great product but as with any product it can't meet every customer need. As a Sugar reseller, we are working hand-in-hand with SugarCRM to deliver a wider range of solutions to meet any client need. For some of our projects, we have used some plug-ins that are available on SugarForge. So we asked ourselves, "why shouldn't we give our work back to the community if we are using the work of others?" SugarCRM will be improved only if everybody shares their experiences and efforts. We are a community after all! We also want to focus on KnowledgeTree. It's a great Document Management System (DMS) and we want people to benefit from both SugarCRM and KnowledgeTree

What other projects have you been involved with on SugarForge.org?

We started with two small projects which we were working on for our clients: a quota module which displays the used and free space of the current UNIX user and a repair language module to synchronize the variables of all the language files of SugarCRM. After that, we decided to release some new functionality such as a more powerful DMS and a geolocalization system, directly integrated into the account and contact details view with Google Maps (iNETGoogleMap).

What inspired you to create this project?

SugarCRM's Documents module didn't meet the needs of our customers. Instead of only storing their notes, quotes and other documents in a CRM system and having another system for documents, we wanted to combine two very good open source products which could work together. Others in the Sugar Community confirmed this notion.

What business pain points were you solving specifically?

We solved the need to have a DMS which can be used by other departments of a company which don't have the need for CRM. We also solved the pain of versioning and security management. As a sales manager, you create your contract, and then upload it into your application (SugarCRM). Is there a workflow for this document type? If there is one, the accountant will be automatically warned that he has to do something!

Is there anything that the users should know about? Something hidden/new in this project? Think of this as an opportunity to describe how it works to a user.

Installing this software will only benefit you if one takes the time to work with KnowledgeTree. For example, you can setup workflows and custom rights based on metadata with KnowledgeTree. These functionalities are implemented into iNETDocs but the administration is done in KnowledgeTree. Also, by implementing the DMS we don't want people to see iNETDocs as a warehouse. We want them to take time to organize their folders, groups and rights by thinking of the future of their company.

What would you say to encourage additional community participation?

It's pleasant to develop a plug-in for SugarCRM and as we said in the first question, we are a community. We have to work together to beat the competition! Also, if you are good in a field, don't be afraid to share your experiences. The Sugar Community is very active and we are here to help you to find bugs, improve, etc... By the way, we want to thank all the community members who helped us to improve our product.

What do you want to build next for Sugar Suite?

We would like to build a powerful products module and we hope to improve the iNETDocs module too.