JonZack

The tablet and mobile will be the so-called last mile for the web Ludites. The net book brought a huge influx of seniors to the web because they wanted to connect with their kids and grand kids. Verizon noted them as their biggest buyers of net books. Why? because they did not have to install or connect anything. It just worked..for the most part.. and it was affordable. They used it like an appliance, for one or two main things. Tablets and mobile are going to fill in the rest of the gaps and bring the rest, happily onto the web as long as we keep it simple. Apps should be short for Appliance. Think about Apps as a solution to this market. Apps are 1.0 right now, 2.0 is coming soon. Huge opportunity for the greater masses with Apps.

My best answer is "why do you want a CRM?". If it is to manage sales people now or in the near future then Salesforce is good if you can afford it, it is also good to grow into if you plan to have customer service people. Plus I hear they have a free version for small companies - not sure. If it is just for yourself, then the question is how many prospects are you managing. If it is a lot (over 200) then SugarCRM or Highrise is best suited. If less than 200, Google docs spread sheet is good to start with unless you need to track a lot of data/ prospect interactions, then use one of the former. If you have never done this before I suggest starting out with a spread sheet and keeping it simple since you will inevitably be making changes to it regarding what you will track and how you will use it to make more sales. This approach will help you refine your immediate and possibly long term needs, and what product is best suited for you. I personally always start with a spread sheet before making a commitment to any system until I know what I/we need. Zoho is a good happy medium between these two choices.