Earlier this fall, CRM Magazine announced SugarCRM received their Top Open Source Technology Market Award for the second consecutive year. Given that the economy has left companies rethinking their CRM investments—thereby pushing more CRM providers toward open source and helping open source find a niche—it is a definite feat that SugarCRM not only swept the category but was deemed “head-and-shoulders above the rest.”

SugarCRM’s cloud-based platform is known for being easy to use, and for its adaptability to unique business requirements. Open source helps with this, as current CEO Larry Augustin notes that developers use the code to ease integrations rather to actually modify it. It also gives people a better understanding of the inner workings of the platform, and this comprehension is at a higher level than if it’s a SaaS-only or proprietary closed-source model.

Another indication of SugarCRM’s superior open source offering is their incorporation into Microsoft’s web platform. Microsoft is another strong platform in the open source community, and their application installer platform allows people running on MS OS to install SugarCRM through the installer for open source.

It is of note that while SugarCRM was far above the competition, CRM Magazine does note that their score from this year had dropped a couple tenths of a point. This isn’t necessarily a testament to any lacking in SugarCRM’s open source technology, but it is an indication that more CRM providers are entering the field and advancing their products.

After an impressive Series C round of funding late last month, Marketo has bolstered its position as a major player in the marketing automation industry. Venture capital firm Mayfield Fund made the significant investment, as they were impressed with Marketo’s recent customer success and revenue growth. Mayfield’s admiration comes as no surprise, as Marketo’s B2B on-demand lead generation application garnered them a 30% growth rate last November, when most companies were hard-pressed to hold on to existing clients.

Marketing automation is a fast-growing market, presenting a space that many companies are anxious to fill. As Vasan points out, many organizations use Google Analytics for tracking their site visitors, and use a more traditional CRM provider like Salesforce.com for customer management. Marketo bridges the gap between these two offerings, providing revenue-centered marketing and sales solutions for companies of all sizes, and offering a lead management application, as well as Sales Insight, a product helping sales representatives to prioritize leads and opportunities. Mayfield strongly believes they have the ability to change the market dynamics of the marketing automation.

Mayfield is a top VC firm in the Silicon Valley, managing over $2.8 billion, and they have successfully invested in companies like Atari, Genetech, and security software developer Webroot. A provision of the funding will place Mayfield’s managing director, Robin Vasan, on Marketo’s board of directors.

After vetting over 10 CRM providers for a system, Chicago’s United Center selected a Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution delivered by Sonoma Partners. Sonoma Partners is a leading provider of MS Dynamics CRM within the US, and this latest coup represents the fourth phase of a CRM project for the sports arena that hosts the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks.

The first phase began in 2008, when Sonoma deployed MS Dynamics CRM to the United Center’s Prospecting and Premium Seating departments (where it replaced several Goldmine products). The United Center sought xRM deployments, as they wanted to consolidate their multiple and disparate sales systems. They considered MS Dynamics was the best for the job because it allows users to reuse and update existing components between organizations, and therefore provides a cost-effective and time-efficient procedure. The Bulls and the Blackhawks were both reportedly looking to put forth an aggressive call-center effort—another area in which MS Dynamics came out in front.

Robert Gorman, Director of Information Systems at the United Center, says they chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM for its scalability, as well as its automated workflows and integration with Office, SharePoint 2007, and other vertical market apps. Within the Prospecting and Seating departments, some 30 sales representatives will use the platform to manage customer and prospect lists, track inventory data, manage contracts, and follow up on activities. This CRM system will also be extended to the Corporate Sponsorship and Marketing departments to manage various advertising campaigns, from concourse signs to radio spots.

The next step will be to integrate the Levy dining and catering businesses within the arena, as well as the Community Relations department.

Though NetSuite’s iPhone application was officially announced two weeks ago, it has been available at the iTunes App Store for about a month, and in that time has been downloaded over 1,000 times and received positive reviews.

The application is targeted at salespeople and managers, and has been praised for its user interface—even customizations made to a user’s desktop NetSuite account will translate. Currently, the biggest issue with the app is that it is only for viewing and not for editing—users can accept and decline events, but lead data and other information cannot be added via mobile. To allow editing capabilities, businesses with on-premise ERP and CRM solutions need middleware to synchronize data added by mobile with their backend servers. This synchronization is currently unavailable for the iPhone app. However, it’s worth noting that NetSuite already has mobile applications for the BlackBerry and Google-based smartphones that do have this functionality, so the editing issue will probably be resolved when the next edition is released.

Synchronization headaches aside, the app is fast becoming an asset to NetSuite, and is the first SaaS ERP application for the iPhone. In addition, its release and reception indicate the iPhone is getting more widespread use within the business world.

Social networking have given rise to a new phase in business software, dubbed Enterprise 2.0, and many tech pundits say that with its emergence will come the need for insightful community management. Communities and forums are expanding within enterprise solutions, as they offer key customer insight and accelerate customer service. Enterprise strategists Dion Hinchcliffe and Dennis Howlett are two experts encouraging companies moving into the 2.0 space to pay appropriate attention to community management.

Hinchcliffe argues that community managers must be dedicated to the post—not volunteers within the company who are splitting their time between it and another task—and thinks they must be a jack of all trades, versed in the corporate culture from HR to IT help desk practices. Howlett, on the other hand, does not think community managers need to be so widely versed, but he does acknowledge the asset they are to companies wanting the greatest ROI from implementing forums. Howlett’s argument comes as a slight surprise, as he has written of “Enterprise 2.0” as a space that only deserves a fraction of the consideration it has lately received. Still, the two both agree that community managers are a must.

Both Hinchcliffe and Howlett suggest a few guidelines for selecting a community manager, but perhaps more importantly urge employers to remember that these people will be the public face of their corporate culture. These ambassadors will need to be versed in social networking mediums, and naturally be very good with people. On this note, Howlett rightly points out that employers shouldn’t assume that community management is a simple task just because the tools of Enterprise 2.0 are pervasive and cheap. The extent of the community manager’s role will be better articulated with time, and according to the dictates of a company’s culture. The underlying message is to have one—from the very beginning if possible—to fully exercise what could be an extremely useful tool.

Yesterday, Salesforce.com and CODA announced that they would be joining together to create a new financial software company, FinancialForce.com. Unit 4 Agresso, which owns CODA, will be the majority shareholder in the company, and it is currently unknown what Salesforce’s stake will be.

We do know a few specifics, however. First, FinancialForce will incorporate the on-demand application Coda2go. Coda2go is based on the development platform of Salesforce’s “platform-as-a-service,” Force.com, and it can thus be assumed that Salesforce will provide support for the new application, even though it will technically be a separate entity.

Support aside, the new company will reap the marketing benefits of the –Force suffix. The company’s CEO, former CODA CEO Jeremy Roche, calls FinancialForce an extension of the Salesforce data model, and also praised the application’s myriad integration abilities. Some, like 451 Group analyst China Martens, consider the application as a solution for companies looking for a step up from Excel or Quicken. Others don’t think of it as a threat within the financial software market and consider other products to be more mature than Coda2go. Still, FinancialForce is a smart addition to the Salesforce gallery. And despite Coda2go’s relative immaturity, it is hard to argue the benefit—regarding visibility and development—that FinancialForce will receive from being under the Salesforce umbrella.