Released on: October 17, 2008, 7:03 am

Press Release Author: Apatar, Inc.

Industry: Software

Press Release Summary: New Apatar connector enables companies to integrate SugarCRM
suite with databases, flat files, other CRM/ERP applications, and top Web 2.0
destinations, all without coding.

Press Release Body: October 16, 2008, Chicopee, MA – Apatar, Inc., the leading
provider of open source software tools for the data integration market, today
officially announced connectivity to the SugarCRM open source suite. The new
SugarCRM connector is designed to integrate data between the popular customer
relation management system and a variety of 3rd-party data sources, allowing for
this data to be filtered, validated, and cleansed. Provided with Apatar’s
drag-and-drop interface, the SugarCRM connector does not require coding skills and
can be deployed by almost any business user.

Solving the biggest client data management challenge

Extracting and normalizing customer data from multiple sources is the biggest
challenge with client data management, according to the Aberdeen Group. With the new
SugarCRM connector, Apatar enables its users to easily link customer information
between databases (such as MySQL, Microsoft SQL, Oracle), files (Microsoft Excel
spreadsheets, CSV/TXT files), applications (Salesforce.com), and the top Web 2.0
destinations (Flickr, Amazon S3, RSS feeds).

“The SugarCRM connector will help us exchange data between our existing CRM
system and Zimbra open source messenger, saving thousands of dollars and reducing
implementation time,” said Mark Gordon of Sonoma Creative, a full-service Web
development company. “Upcoming Zimbra and SugarCRM integration will also allow
us to adopt new advanced capabilities into our own Zimbra-based products,” he
added.

Integrate quality data without any coding

According to Gartner, corporate developers spend approximately 65 percent of their
effort building bridges between applications. With Apatar’s visual toolset,
SugarCRM users can perform even a complex data integration job without having to
write a single line of a code. Upgraded with the new SugarCRM connector, Apatar
simplifies the integration process and allows both users and developers to
synchronize data between the SugarCRM suite and other on-premises or on-demand data
sources and applications.

While supporting SugarCRM data formats and types, the new connector does not require
any manual coding or software developer skills, enabling even a non-developer to
easily design and perform all of the required transformations. Prior to entering
into SugarCRM, data can be filtered, validated, and cleansed using Apatar’s
data quality capabilities. Apatar effectively eliminates data duplication, supports
e-mail and postal addresses verification, and more.

Both the SugarCRM system and Apatar’s new connector are distributed as open
source products. There is no doubt that many companies will significantly benefit
from downloading and using these tools for free.

Completely Open Source

In today’s enterprises, most data integration projects never get built. The
ROI (Return on Investment) on the small projects is simply too low to justify
bringing in expensive middleware. Apatar entered this market as an open source
vendor bringing the ease of drag-and-drop data integration to the companies that
previously found proprietary data integration, ETL, and EAI software tools expensive
and difficult to implement.

“The open source community provides business users with an option to avoid a
vendor lock-in,” noted Renat Khasanshyn, CEO and founder of Apatar. “But
what users of open source software really like is the total cost of ownership. When
you don’t have to pay license fees for database software, data integration,
and business intelligence software, this alone makes a healthy difference to your
bottom line.”

Apatar Open Source Data Integration features and benefits:

- No coding! Visual job designer and mapping enable non-developers to design and
perform transformations, shortening implementation time.
- Distributed under an open source model, reducing integration and maintenance costs
- Connectivity to SugarCRM, Salesforce CRM, MySQL, Oracle, MS SQL, Microsoft Excel,
Microsoft Access, GoldMine, DB2, Sybase, PostgreSQL, dBase, EnterpriseDB, Vertica
Analytic Database, vTiger, InnoDB, Openbravo ERP, Compiere ERP, .CSV, XML, RSS,
ATOM, HTTP queries, POP3, LDAP, FTP, WebDav, Autodesk Buzzsaw, any JDBC data
sources, Amazon S3, Flickr, StrikeIron and CDYNE data quality Web services, and more

- Job scheduler and synchronization automate the data integration process.
- Improves data quality with a variety of verification, filtration, and validation
features
- Platform-independent, runs from Windows, Linux, and Mac OS

Supported SugarCRM editions include version 5.0.0 or earlier for Windows, and
version 5.1 or earlier for Linux/Mac OS.

Related links

SugarCRM connector Web demo:
http://apatar.com/demo/web_demo_3/Apatar_SugarCRM_Connector.htm
Pre-built SugarCRM integrations:
http://www.apatarforge.org/datamaps/search-for-datamaps-29.html
Apatar services for SugarCRM:
http://www.sugarexchange.com/product_details.php?product=428
SugarCRM connector user guide:
http://www.apatarforge.org/wiki/display/GUI/Apatar+Connector+for+SugarCRM

About SugarCRM

SugarCRM is the world's leading provider of commercial open source customer
relationship management (CRM) software for companies of all sizes. SugarCRM easily
adapts to any business environment by offering a more flexible, cost-effective
alternative than proprietary applications. SugarCRM's open source architecture
allows companies to more easily customize and integrate customer-facing business
processes in order to build and maintain more profitable relationships. SugarCRM
offers several deployment options, including on-demand, on-premises and
appliance-based solutions to suit customers' security, integration, and
configuration needs. For more information, call (408) 454-6900 or 1-87-SUGARCRM toll
free in the US, email contact@sugarcrm.com, or visit http://www.sugarcrm.com.

About Apatar

Apatar is the leading provider of open source software tools for the data
integration market. With powerful Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) capabilities,
Apatar enables its users to easily link information between databases (such as
MySQL, Microsoft SQL, Oracle), applications (Salesforce.com, SugarCRM), and the top
Web 2.0 destinations (Flickr, Amazon S3). Apatar provides support, training, and
consulting services for its integration solutions. Headquartered in Western
Massachusetts, Apatar operates a development center in Minsk, Belarus. Apatar is
currently used by 5500+ organizations and individuals worldwide. For more on Apatar,
please visit www.apatar.com and www.apatarforge.org.

Web Site: http://apatar.com

Contact Details: Alex Khizhnyak
Chief Apatar Evangelist
Apatar, Inc.
Tel. (413) 306-4120
alexey.kh@apatar.com