Bitrix Software, a specialist in the development of highly secure content management systems and intranet solutions, recently introduced a significant upgrade to its beta Bitrix24 social intranet service. Specifically, this upgrade adds Google Docs integration, mobile CRM and multiple CRM enhancements, as well as support for WebRTC-based video chat.
It seems that the service's new video chat capabilities are limited to the desktop for now, but its WebRTC base suggests that mobile support could easily be introduced in the future. The introduction of CRM to the Bitrix24 iOS and Android apps also indicates Bitrix's willingness to extend features to mobile.
Alongside Bitrix24's new features, a new desktop app called Bitrix24.Disk was released for Windows and Mac that enables syncing documents between computers and the cloud.
Bitrix24 is a service that combines e-commerce with CRM by automatically bringing website orders and generated leads into its CRM — which features a full array of business automation and collaboration tools — by way of a smart connection. Users have a great deal of control over the importing process, synchronization frequency and handling rules for incoming customer data.
According to Bitrix president Dmitry Valyanov, Bitrix24 has gathered a user base of almost 60,000 small businesses in the year since its launch — and it's still in beta. Valyanov attributes this to the service's range of functions and options, which he says is broader than established competitors such as Yammer, Chatter, Podio and Tibbr.
Although Bitrix24 is largely aimed at small businesses, it has apparently received a lot of interest from enterprises, leading Bitrix to introduce self-hosted versions.
"Even though we initially intended Bitrix24 to be a tool for small businesses, we’ve had several enterprise clients who wanted to use Bitrix24 on their own servers and customize it to better meet their needs," said Valyanov in a statement. "So we are announcing that we have self-hosted versions that support Active Directory, SSO, MS Exchange, Sharepoint Sync, include learning management, and come with API and source code."
Edited by
Alisen Downey
