SugarCRM, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
company, announced that, in response to continuing success in the Asia-Pacific
region, Tony Hughes has been added to the company leadership as managing
director of SugarCRM.
A proven leader in the technology and software industries
in Australia, Tony is also recognised as the creator of the unique sales
methodology that is the subject of an acclaimed book, The Joshua Principle:
Leadership Secrets of RSVPselling.
There are growing segments of businesses in this region
that are clamouring for CRM as they add customers and seek to reduce churn.
Flexibility and affordability are watchwords, and that’s what SugarCRM delivers
along with unrivalled ease of use and business value,” said Hughes.
Hughes’ arrival coincides with another quarter of
remarkable growth for SugarCRM in the Rest of the World (ROW) segment, which is
dominated by Asia. Second quarter billings rose by 41 per cent over the first
quarter of 2011 and by 30 per cent over the same quarter in 2010.
The company’s customer numbers for ROW have ballooned by
47 per cent in a year, and the end of Q2 2011 saw Sugar with 29 per cent more
customers in the region than at the end of Q1.
The momentum in the Asia-Pacific region is clearly on
Sugar’s side, and it’s a testimony to both the completeness of the product and
its flexibility to adapt to unique local business conditions. Tony’s arrival is
only going to intensify what has gone on in the previous two quarters in APAC,”
said Larry Augustin, chief executive officer.
The numbers in the Asia-Pacific region reflect the
company’s explosive global growth, which saw billings leap 58 per cent over the
same quarter in 2010 and grow 21 per cent from the first quarter of 2011.
North American billings grew by 63 per cent over the same
quarter in 2010 and the Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA) region billings grew
by 64 per cent. It also marked the company’s third consecutive cash-positive
quarter.
To support the company’s rapid growth and help manage its
international expansion, Sugar also added Andrew Chmyz as chief financial
officer.
Another continuing pattern is the growth of SugarCRM’s
sales channel partners. In the second quarter, Sugar gained 25 new partners,
raising the total of partners worldwide to 288. That number is one-third higher
than the number of SugarCRM partners at the end of the second quarter of last
year.
Our partners create momentum for the entire SugarCRM
ecosystem,” said Doug Erickson, vice president, Asia Pacific.
Business needs are different in Asia and Australia than
they are in North America, and partners’ reach and expertise in addition to
their creativity and their ability to distil real business needs for their
end-user customers give users real competitive advantages precisely tailored to
their geographic regions.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
