CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management.  It is a term that refers to practices, strategies  and technologies that companies use to manage and analyze customer  interactions and data throughout the sales cycle.  The goal of using a CRM is to improve business relationships,  retain customers and increase sales.

There are several CRM's available but all have the same basic work flow:

• Use multiple methods to attract Leads for both new and repeat business
• Funnel all Leads into the system and evaluate potential for sales
• Work the Lead with Calls,  Notes until they are ready for a meeting
• Convert the Lead into an Account,  Opportunity and Contact
• Work the Opportunity with Calls,  Quotes,  Meetings until a Contract
• Track the metrics of Leads that get converted (or lost) and their source
• Track the metrics of Opportunities Won  (or Lost)
• Repeat the cycle to keep filling the "sales pipeline"

SuiteCRM is one of several CRM's  applications available to help any business track the information needed to generate and grow sales.   The most popular CRM's are Salesforce and NetSuite,  which also carries the highest price tag.

SuiteCRM is a web-based system which means it is available wherever and whenever you have an internet connection.  

SuiteCRM was created using the original  SugarCRM.  SugarCRM started several years ago as a community project and was used by hundreds of thousand of people because it was free.   A few years ago SugarCRM decided to start selling monthly subscriptions and gave the "free version" to a British company that released it as SuiteCRM.   They have improved the application and continue to make it available for free.