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Big Mac · Mar 17, 2009, 05:42 PM

The organization I work for has to deal with a lot of email. I'm looking for a database solution that can work with incoming (IMAP) mail, assign it some sort of tracking number, and make it easier to track the status of correspondence. Are there any reasonably priced software packages that can do any of those tasks?

besson3c · Mar 17, 2009, 05:52 PM

I use RT (Request Tracker). It is open source, and works well as essentially a supplement to email. Let me know if you have any questions about it, I'd be happy to answer them as best as I can. Several departments where I work use it as well, I would definitely give it a look before looking at any commercial offerings.

Big Mac · Mar 18, 2009, 12:32 AM

Incredible response time! Thank you very much, besson, I'll have to check RT out.

besson3c · Mar 18, 2009, 12:45 AM

Since you seem interested, let me tell you a little bit about RT that might not be obvious...

RT is essentially a mail gateway, a way of sort of attaching metadata to emails. RT includes a web interface, but you can actually do all of your correspondence via email using a little plug that allows you to send RT commands via email by inserting a little header such as "Status: resolved" at the top of your email.

Aside from all of this, RT is what you would expect from a ticketing system - you can give people access to various queues, various tasks, assign tasks, "steal" tasks, track time spent, mark a task as open/closed/etc. It sounds like what you might be looking for is a CRM, but I think you could actually use RT as a CRM if you wanted to. I like the fact that RT is a flexible, opened ended sort of tool that is designed around email, rather than being this sort of monolithic web app.

RT uses MySQL and is written in Perl.

Big Mac · 05:21 AM

Could I run it on a shared hosting package? And does it have a GUI?

I truthfully didn't know what I was looking for is termed CRM, but now I do. And you're right, it does sound like RT is essentially what I'm looking for in terms of features.

Have done some preliminary reading on RT and CRM packages. Very interesting stuff. I have the answer to the two questions I posted above. Now I know what Salesforce.com is all about (was wondering about that). I'll have to look into the best strategies for implementing what we need. I'll be sure to ask if I have specific questions.

besson3c · Mar 18, 2009, 08:18 AM

RT needs a VPS or dedicated server to control the mail gateway, and to install prereqs such as FastCGI. It has a web based interface.