Really Simple Systems unveils "free CRM"

Really Simple Systems is making a two-seat version of its Cloud-based sales force automation offering available for small businesses free in perpetuity in a bid to become the "largest global CRM vendor in terms of users in the next three years".

Free Edition, which includes contact and opportunity management, sales forecasting and reporting software as well as support for up to 100 accounts, provides 100Mb of document storage, but customers can add more users and storage from £5 per month.

John Paterson, the firm’s chief executive, said: "If you’ve ever been put off CRM systems because of the cost or complexity, this is the system for you. Cloud computing offers customers a radical new way to buy sophisticated applications at a low cost. By making CRM really easy to use, we can deliver it without the expense of a high-touch sales and support process, passing this saving to the customer."

The vendor currently has more than 2,000 customers and hopes to sign 10,000 more up to Free Edition over the next 12 months. Of the 10,000, it expects only about 1,000 to upgrade to the firm’s paid-for Enterprise Edition for marketing, customer service and support, which was launched in August.

"We’re going to make life tough, not just for conventional CRM vendors, but for cloud vendors with high prices and high cost bases," Paterson claimed.