CRM on the Fly: Page 3 of 4

My testing went well except I had no customers in my newly created databases--no products either. Given the richness of features and amount of data managed by the product, it's no surprise that you cannot simply insert data into the Clientele tables. The interconnectedness of the product means there are myriad constraints and complicated relationships between each table in the database. Epicor needs to address the migration of existing data to Clientele's system. Professional services are available to assist. According to Epicor, small-to-midsize organizations with data-integration experience, primarily through DTS, will need less than a week to complete the migration.

I spent time in the client creating customers, organizations and groups. The user interface is fresh and provides entry points to related concepts at every turn. You can easily jump from a customer to his or her organization or group, view or create support calls and manage return authorizations and service agreements--complete customer and product information is a click away at all times.

From an end-user perspective, Clientele kicks ass: It is easy to use, pleasant to navigate and quick to respond. From an administrative viewpoint, though, things are hairier. Although not impossible to overcome, some data and configuration problems make implementation difficult. Still, the fullness of the product and potential benefits to end users make it worthwhile to trudge through the process.