Portfolio

Sunbelt Networks

Project

Web platform and open source software as a service development

Business broker Sunbelt Networks approached Icreon because they wanted to become an independent software vendor (ISV). As an ISV, they would provide software to other companies in the Sunbelt Networks franchise, using a software as a service (SaaS) model that would enable the franchisees to buy and sell businesses more efficiently.

Technology

SugarCRM Community Edition

Project requirements

As well as the software itself, Sunbelt Networks required a web platform from which it could be licensed to more than 300 brokerage partners in the franchise. The software was essentially a ‘business in a box’ that would enable new brokerages, typically with ten members of staff, to set themselves up as quickly as possible. It would also allow existing brokerages in the franchise to operate more efficiently. As a result, the software needed to:

• Handle all aspects of customer relationship management, processing information and communications from initial leads to sales closures
• Help brokers to match buyers to sellers more easily by providing the details of previous deals and highlighting the clients’ particular requirements
• Integrate with partners’ websites so they could publish information and photos online
• Generate sales documents and contracts
• Share data between offices that have a common owner

Our solution

Icreon designed and developed Sunbelt Networks’ new software package using SugarCRM’s open source Community Edition, which has no licence fees – ensuring that all the subsequent set up and operating costs could be kept to a minimum. SugarCRM’s Community Edition also allowed us to create a scalable framework from which to build a highly customised solution for our client with a wide range of bespoke modules and integrations.

Following the successful launch of Sunbelt Network’s SaaS software and web platform, Icreon continues to provide ongoing support and maintenance, adding new features on an Agile (incremental) basis as the business continues to evolve, and helping to integrate new partners’ websites into the software as they come on board.

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