Beta Etelos tool links its CRM software to Google apps

Etelos Systems Inc. today announced  the release of a beta version of a tool that can link its hosted CRM application into the Web-based applications of search engine giant Google Inc.

Etelos, based in Renton, Wash., said the beta tool, called CRMforGoogle, can be used to access a user's personalized Google home page, as well as some pieces of the Google's business applications suite.

Etelos unveiled the beta just days after Google unveiled a new version of its application suite.  The updated Google Apps Premier Edition is a set of communication and collaboration apps targeted at enterprise customers.

A spokesman for Etelos contended that the company's CRM application is the first tweaked specifically to work with Google. "The intent is to give any size business the ability to automate e-mail campaigns, make appointments, and keep track of incoming and outgoing phone calls," he said. "All the sorts of things that are vital to keeping on top of potential clients."

Etelos said it used Google's own open applications interface to create limited integration with the Google calendar tool. This will allow a user to create a task, such as a customer appointment, through the CRMforGoogle screen. The beta release also offers limited integration with Google's spreadsheet application. Future versions will add links to more Google applications, including the Gmail e-mail service, the company said.

The hosted application is currently available in a beta version via invitation only.  The company did not disclose when it expects the beta test period to end. The company said that following the test period, will offer a free Personal edition; a Professional edition priced at $25 per user per month, and an Enterprise edition with a monthly cost of  $50 per user.