Impel CRM is an integrated CRM solution that offers SaaS based CRM solution to Indian SMEs. Impel CRM offers several levels of configurability, dramatically reducing or eliminating customization. Users can personalize screen layouts, default views and sort orders.
One of my 2008 prediction was that SalesForce will help grow SaaS industry in India and am glad to see Impelcrm taking on SF head to head (see this comparison chart)
If you are wondering how is it different from Salesforce, here is reply from the founding team:
Impel is targeted to the Indian SMB segment. Our sweet spot seems to be in the 20 – 200 user space. We have a completely integrated product, in addition to the regular CRM suspects of Sales Force Automation, Marketing Automation and Customer support, includes inventory control, simple sales order and quote management. So for a company in the service sector, we provide pretty much all the functionality that they need, other than financial accounting. What I would say is that we are the right choice for a company that needs more than just CRM and for whom ERP is too complex. That is the hole that we plug.
We understand that the Indian marketplace is different and that companies need to see a live person before they decide on a purchase. What we plan to do is to build a strong partner network across the country. We are already in advanced talks with about a dozen partners and have signed up about 5 in Bangalore, Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai.
As far as salesforce is concerned, the product that they are aggressively pushing in India is priced at Rs 1.5 lakhs per year for 5 users. This is for the professional edition of the product. Like you would have seen from the chart, we actually offer a much wider range of functionality at a much lower price point. If you look at the mind-set of an Indian SMB, the SFDC pricing is way too high for most of them to deal with. Also, the SFDC partners are large companies like Wipro. To the average Indian SMB, this again smacks of high-price. We are partnering with mid-level SIs who are already working in the target SMB space. We think it’s actually good that SFDC is making a big play in the market, because it not only validates the space, but also they spend the money on user education and we also stand to reap the rewards 
What’s your opinion?
There is also Kallos Systems which is in the same space.
http://www.kallossystems.com/serveitcrm/index.html
Dear Ashish,
Thanks for writing about ImpelCRM. In the 6 weeks that we’ve had Impel online, we’ve seen a tremendous amount of interest from Indian SMEs across all verticals. We are introducing SMS and GPRS integration as well. (should be out by end of this month). We are probably the only CRM offering an integrated inbound SMS solution. With this, users can access their CRM data through the low-cost SMS route, which is a terrific deal for SMEs.
Will keep you posted on how things progress with Impel.
Surekha
Hi,
Looking for a basic CRM in which we can:
a) Export the current Excel sheet where we’ve maintained our Client Info
b) Ability to send email directly from CRM — so that we don’t have to do double entry. Similarly–NewsLetter etc can be send directly from CRM. Copy of the mail send and client response can come to our normal inbox as well.
c) Generate a daily MIS report and that to be mailed to the supervisor so that he knows that what activity has been done by the team-member during the day.
As there is only “one” person in the sales team–any idea which is the most cost effective CRM.
Shash
Hi Ashish,
The article is really good and the USP of Impel is also clear…low cost. But one ponderable is still there what about quality. Its good to say it has sales, marketing etc…
What about features which are rich in other applications even to pick Sales force dot com.
Does this product have CTI integration ?
Does it support intergation with SAP/Oracle Apps etc..?
How complex are the migration procedures etc..?
Unless customers have these answers clearly the task for any SaaS vendor is still cut out to convince people.
But one thing is for sure, in India Siebel and SAP CRM might be confined to the biggies only ! For the SME/SMB the viable solution would be either On-Demand or hosted solution.
Next 2-3 years should see a real war starting up as per my assumption which is not based on any concrete evidence just a gut feel !
Hi Amit,
I believe SalesBabu CRM (www.salesbabu.com) addresses most of the quries. It operates in S-a-a-S domain & has a very strong presence in Indian Market.
There are many SUCCESSFUL implementation of SalesBabu CRM and the Support System is remarkable.
Many of my clients are successfully using it.
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Thanks for sharing the information it is really helpful to all who are new to ERP.
I wanted to share about one such Ondemand ERP service prvider who are forusing on all the above mentioned verticales for the small and medium size business’s. Ramco OnDemand ERP is an upcoming ERP service provider offering a free trial for SME’s. See more information from the link below.
http://www.ramcoondemand.com/campaign/