Book Image

Implementing SugarCRM 5.x

Book Image

Implementing SugarCRM 5.x

Overview of this book

SugarCRM is a popular customer relationship management system. It is an ideal way for small-medium business to try out a CRM system without committing large sums of money. Although SugarCRM is carefully designed for ease of use, attaining measurable business gains requires careful planning and research. This book will give you all the information you need to start using this powerful CRM system. It is the definitive guide to implementing SugarCRM. Whether you are wondering exactly what benefits CRM can bring or you have already learned about CRM systems but have yet to implement one or you're working with SugarCRM already, this book will show you how to get maximum benefit from this exciting product. It demonstrates how to install SugarCRM and also how to get the most out of it by customizing it and integrating CRM into your organization as per your needs. Focused on the needs of the enterprise, this book provides a solution-driven approach for both business and IT specialists to get the most from this powerful and popular Open Source application. It begins with a general discussion about CRM. You will then learn the benefits of such systems, and then explore SugarCRM and its unique value. You will then go through the guidelines for installing and making deployment selections that are set out alongside information for identifying, planning, and applying customizations. Training guidelines and ongoing administrative tasks will be discussed as you progress further into the book. A brief overview of SugarCRM 6.0 is provided at the end of the book.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Implementing SugarCRM 5.x
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewer
Preface

Appendix D. The System Administrator Role

This section is intended for system administrators of SugarCRM Community Edition. Administrators access an additional system administration control panel by clicking on the Admin link at the top right corner of the SugarCRM screen. Note that the Admin link is only displayed for users who have been given administrator access privileges.

Every shared business system needs a system administrator to perform system-wide housekeeping tasks. SugarCRM is no different in this regard.

Some of these duties occur around the time of initial system installation and set up. Others are general maintenance activities that are performed when new users join the system, or other users leave. In this appendix we will deal with topics such as the following:

  • What are the system administration requirements during initial system setup?

  • What are the ongoing responsibilities of the system administrator?

  • Who should be the system administrator?

  • Should more than one person have administrative access?

System administration duties

System administration duties fall into two categories. Those to be performed at the time of system installation and those that will need to be performed on a regular or ad hoc basis for the duration of the system's time in service.

During system installation, system administration duties include the following:

  • Adding all the necessary users to the system, including their first and last names, username and password, and other user settings or preferences

  • Sending users their respective username and password, and other login information

  • Providing users with instructions for configuring their e-mail accounts and options

  • Defining security roles and assigning users to them

  • Using the configure tabs or configure tab groups feature to suppress and organize the navigation tabs

  • Utilizing the rename tabs feature to change the name of any of the tabs as desired

  • Using the system settings feature to change the system logo and define other system defaults

  • Using Studio to apply module customizations, such as adding custom fields or changing field labels

  • Defining system currencies and exchange rates

  • Configuring system e-mail settings

  • Using the Module loader tool to install system enhancements or additional modules

  • Defining recurring system tasks (that is, crontab on Linux-based servers, or using the scheduler on Windows servers) in order to enable the system scheduler, which is used for e-mail marketing campaigns, running scheduled reports, and other scheduled system activities

After the system is installed and running, system administrators may periodically need to perform the following tasks:

  • Add new users or deactivate the credentials of users who have left the organization

  • Reset passwords for users who forget them

  • Update currency rates

  • Maintain role settings

  • Check for SugarCRM updates

  • Use the Upgrade Wizard to manage system upgrades when SugarCRM releases new versions of their software

  • Create system backups of the SugarCRM program files and customizations

  • Use MySQL administration tools, such as phpMyAdmin or SQLyog to back up the SugarCRM database

  • Monitor disk space usage on the SugarCRM server