Sage have today proudly announced the general release of a beta iPhone client for their popular CRM system. For users of Sage CRM version 6.2 or 7 and who already own a mobile license, the new iPhone component can be downloaded from the Sage CRM Community website.

Somewhat miseleadingly however, instead of a specialised iPhone app Sage have chosen to release a component which needs to be installed on the CRM webserver and which applies an iPhone-browser friendly skin for access via Mobile Safari. Instructions are supplied for creating an iPhone homescreen shortcut to the Sage CRM webpage, but this still remains a stylesheet implementation rather than an iPhone app proper. Users are also warned that the component does not work with custom entities.

Upon successful installation and configuration of the component, iPhone users are now able to log into their corporate CRM system and access their Company and Contact records, Cases, Opportunities and Leads whilst on the go. Depending on the configuration applied by the system administrator, users are also able to add and amend the information stored in the system helping to ensure that data is always up-to-date and accurate.

Some of the nice touches provided in the new component are:

• Thanks to some clever hyperlinking, users are also able to dial clients directly from the CRM record simply by pressing the phone number on the chosen record.
• Users are able to record Communications or review the history immediately
• Appointments or "To Dos" can be created in the Personal or Team Calendars
• New Leads can be created at the point of contact
• Dashboard charts are still available in the mobile view.

In essence, Sage have done a reasonable job with the iPhone beta despite not being a true app. It will be interesting to see how the component develops as it undergoes beta testing and whether a "true" iPhone app is developed in time.