SugarCRM Inc., a provider of commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM) software, has announced the opening of Sugar Europe in Dublin.

Some guys get all the luck… hey Rich, if you're looking to open a TMC (News - Alert) Europe office in Dublin we volunteer.

Based on growing demand across Europe, Sugar officials say, the new office will "foster close relationships with SugarCRM's customers, partners and user communities across the continent." Clint Oram, a co-founder of SugarCRM, will serve as General Manager of Sugar Europe and will lead the European team from Dublin.

Over the last three years, company officials say, SugarCRM has seen "widespread adoption across Europe," with its strongest growth in France, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Currently, about one-quarter of SugarCRM's commercial customers are located in Europe and more than 30 percent of Sugar Open Source downloads take place in Europe.

Commercial open source CRM provider SugarCRM, "not necessarily viewed on par with salesforce.com, yet," according to company officials, nevertheless sees itself "on a similar growth path."

The company has announced a new client in Starbucks Corporation. Starbucks is using Sugar Professional On-Demand to manage the front-end of their HR applicant-tracking process. SugarCRM officials say. Feel free to insert your own "cream or sugar?" joke here.

Sugar CRM says Sterling PCU, provider of specialized equipment for the appliance and automotive industry, switched from salesforce.com to SugarCRM after getting fed up with hidden costs. Sterling expects to save $18,000 annually, paying $239 per user with Sugar instead of $780 per user with salesforce.com.

David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles please visit David Sims' columnist page.