ntelestream, which sells consulting services for SugarCRM (News - Alert) applications, has announced today the release of the Sugar Theme Club, a nonprofit online portal where users of the Sugar Suite line of products can "download and share custom background themes to compliment their CRM experience at no cost."

 

The concept for a theme club was developed by the Intelestreamers, who thought the growing demand for new Sugar background themes could be fueled by graphic designers seeking a forum to showcase their talents to potential clients.

 

"We believe the Sugar Theme Club will make CRM fun to use while putting graphic designers in touch with CRM users interested in services such as logo and Web site design," states Jason Green, founder and CEO of Intelestream.

 

Introductory themes now available for download include designs inspired by automobiles, baseball, scuba diving, night clubbing, and the mountains of New Zealand. Users can download themes for immediate use by registering for a free membership at www.sugarthemeclub.org.

 

Earlier this month Q-Industries, a Web site and business application developer, has implemented a CRM system for Odell, Simms & Associates combining "the best of an open-source CRM platform with the insight provided by social network analysis," according to the Q-Industrialists.

 

By consolidating several disparate contact systems into SugarCRM and applying principles of social network analysis, Odell, Simms & Associates, a fundraising and economic development firm, hopes to be able to map and identify webs of relationships and how they connect. This view of relationships "often goes unseen in conventional CRM systems," Q-Industries officials explain.

 

The firm uses its executive database to raise funds for various causes, and to attract businesses to development zones around the world. In an industry that relies on access and influence, the social network analysis tool allows Odell, Simms & Associates to graphically chart how individuals and organizations are connected based on shared or common characteristics, even several degrees removed from each other.

 

Network maps, using nodes and links, illustrate the type and strength of relationships based on contacts' activities, affiliations, board memberships, hobbies, schools, and other defined traits.