2nd November 2010 - Hedgehog Lab In Efforts To Boost Small Business Recovery

A Newcastle software developer is set to put small businesses all over the world on a level playing field with their big rivals, as it launches an innovative software tool to help them manage customer relationships.

Experts at hedgehog lab, which develops web, software and mobile applications whose clients include companies like Starbucks and AXA, believe their new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system – solomon – has the same growth potential as Sage’s market leading ACT software.

hedgehog lab’s co-founder Sarat Pediredla says solomon has been designed around a low-cost, easy to use, ‘buy and go’ principle specifically for small and micro businesses such as freelancers.

“solomon was created through my own experience of working within the IT industry on big software development projects,” said Sarat.

“Small and micro businesses have the same needs as big businesses to be able to manage customer relationships and keep track of information. However what they don’t have is a big budget, plus the time for meetings with sales consultants, demonstrations and advanced training sessions where they struggle to get to grips with the system.

“Far too many software solutions are marketed as easy to use, but the reality is that so few of them really are. We designed solomon so that customers literally pay, download the software and go. They can have everything up and running within just one hour. Whether you are in the office, at home, or on the road, solomon allows you to access your customer data through the web or your mobile phone.

“For around £30 per user, they get access to all the enterprise functionality that a top of the range software solution would give them, but at a fraction of the cost. We provide total support completely free of charge, and we are even giving away a free trial version so people can try before they buy.

“solomon gives SMEs a leg up and a chance to compete against bigger rivals. They have all the benefits that big companies enjoy but at an SME price tag, and we think it fills a much-needed gap in the market that no other product is addressing.

“Having a very cost effective but feature-rich CRM system in place means business owners can spend their time managing their company and helping it to grow. We are already selling to customers in the USA and Europe and sales are really taking off.

“Here in the UK, SMEs are recognised as being key to economic recovery, and we think solomon can play a big part in supporting the sector.”