DALE Murray joined SalesAgility, a tech firm specialising in open source Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, in 2011 as an unpaid intern. He took over as CEO in 2017 and has expanded the firm’s flagship product, SuiteCRM, as well as its international presence.

Name: Dale Murray

Age: 29

Position: CEO

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS CALLED?

SalesAgility

WHERE IS IT BASED?

Stirling

WHY WAS THE BUSINESS SET UP?

I AM the second CEO. I took over from the original founder in 2017. I have a passion for open source software and helping businesses. The original CEO thought he could make a difference and improve CRM software.

When I started there were only four of us so it was a real startup feel. Ten years later the aim remains the same – to transform the CRM market.

I started as an unpaid intern. I did a software engineering degree. I initially ran a sports club. I wanted to grow my career and I didn’t have being a CEO in my sights but I wanted to work in consultancy which led me to gain experience in a short space of time. We haven’t received any funding and the growth is all self-made.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

CRM can store the information of customers and people who interact with the business. It has profile information – name, address, etc – but also customer satisfaction and complaints. Businesses can use data for the sales process. It’s about allowing organisations to market to the customer professionally.

WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?

BUSINESSES globally of all shapes and sizes. Every organisation needs CRM even if, like a charity or public body, they aren’t selling anything. The flexibility of location can be in any industry. Next year we want to grow more in the US. US clients have had more exposure to open source so it’s popular over there.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?

OPEN source stands us apart from competitors. With open source software you can edit the code used to build the software which means companies can control what it does and it reduces the cost of ownership. It’s paying to make the software bespoke to the business instead of licence fees.

The software can be scaled through the business rather than only being able to afford to have five people on it.

The side effect of the open source model is that we really put the customer in control. A big thing right now is data protection – it has to be a cloud solution from a GDPR point of view but some organisations are reluctant to do this.

We’ve generally had very positive feedback from people who have used the system.

IS SCOTLAND A GOOD PLACE FOR THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS?

YES, being a Scottish success story is our focus. The Scottish tech scene is very vibrant at the moment. We’re trying to build the digital economy in Stirling. It’s good because you can collaborate with companies.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

OUR business strategy and client base is continually evolving which is a challenge. I come from a projects background where everything had a start and an end. Being in open source is very unique and a different way to develop software.

We have internal stakeholders, customers and external people as well – they use the software and also have a say in the future of the product.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

THE challenges make a dynamic business environment that operates globally. We have a strong company culture which makes running a business very enjoyable.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS’ TIME?

I HOPE SuiteCRM will be the world’s most used CRM. I would like to see SalesAgility grow with a network of global offices. We’ve had one million downloads of the product and anyone can download it – they don’t have to be customers.

It’s our 10-year anniversary this year. We’re about to launch Suite 8 which is our biggest product launch since Suite was created – it has a new user experience and interface.