Austin, Tex.-based CloudFixer has launched Common Ground Analyzer specifically for the non-profit marketplace.
With this product release, CloudFixer is taking advantage of those non-profit organizations who invested in Blackbaud Inc. Common Ground CRM product, which according to the CloudFixer is being discontinued.
Blackbaud’s Web site revealed that indeed the company retired its mid-market fundraising management software Common Ground this summer. The Web site added that Blackbaud’s eTapestry and Raiser’s Edge products will now be its CRM offering going forward. The Charleston, S.C.-based Blackbaud will continue to support Common Ground customers in the next 18-24 months.
Common Ground CRM was acquired by Blackbaud in January of this year as part of its acquisition of Convio Inc., which is also based in Austin. CloudFixer’s product will evaluate a non-profit’s objectives and usage of the Common Ground platform to helping determine the best replacement CRM platform.
Ehren Foss, founder of CloudFixer, said the company’s goal is to inexpensively and efficiently help non-profits who are scrambling in light of Common Ground’s discontinuation. The CloudFixer tool helps them choose the best new CRM platform and aid in what could be a very expensive, frustrating and time-consuming process.
Blackbaud made the announcement in September and says Common Ground will be supported through March 2014, but all customers must transition by then. CloudFixer’s new product has specifically been developed to help these nonprofits with this transition, Foss added.
The Common Ground Analyzer is designed for SMB organizations who do not have a full-time Salesforce administrator or cannot afford continuous consulting services. The tool works by accessing Salesforce platform APIs to analyze existing organizational data, configuration settings, and customized or installed objects and fields. The output of this tool is delivered as a set of HTML pages with bundled HTML, PDF and CSV downloads.
Foss went on to say that while there can be good outcomes from CRM migrations – the process is usually expensive and disruptive. Many non-profit organizations have only recently completed their migration into Common Ground, or were not planning or budgeting for this change in 2013 or 2014.