Want to know exactly how and when SMARTCRM was developed?
Here is a brief review of our nearly 30-year history as a CRM manufacturer.
This is what SMARTCRM is all about
End of the eighties
Ralph Rastert, the CEO of our company, wrote the first version of today’s CRM software while still a student.
At that time it was called ivs (Intelligent Sales Management) and had a DOS user interface.
1992
Ralph Rastert and Hans-Joachim Baumgartner founded B&R DV-Informationssysteme GmbH with headquarters in Speyer, Germany.
That same year, ivs contact management was launched.
1999
The first 32-bit version of ivs is released with a higher level of usability. The program already supports all customer-related activities in sales, marketing and service as Customer Relationship Management.
The CRM solution has goal-oriented status control and target agreements for employees. CTI and e-mail were also integrated.
We are committed to the education of young people. For instance, in cooperation with the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW), we offer a dual degree program in computer science (B.Sc.) and business informatics (B.Sc.).
2000
In June, we signed a cooperation agreement with the ERP provider abas Software AG.
Since then, more than 100 joint installations have been completed.
2002
Together with 15 employees we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the company.
In the spring of 2002, ivs changed its name to SMARTCRM.
And we moved our headquarters to Wörth am Rhein.
2006
In the meantime, B&R has 25 employees. The company building in Wörth no longer offered enough space.
That’s why we moved to our new office in Kandel in May.
You can still find us there – right next to the train station.
2008
In the spring, we unveiled our new corporate design – a modern look with a new logo. With the slogan “relaxed relations” and its extension “smart ways to customers”, we focused on our corporate philosophy.
On September 1st, we open a subsidiary in Switzerland. From now on, B&R is also present on the Swiss market.
2011
In June, the company changed its name.
B&R DV-Informationssysteme GmbH becomes the SMARTCRM GmbH.
The name change was accompanied by a new corporate design, including a new logo and tagline, “Simply MORE success. Our corporate website was redesigned with bold colors and more information about SMARTCRM.
2012
In April, we celebrated the company’s 20th anniversary.
In July 2012, the Bundesverband IT-Mittelstand e.V. (BITMi) awarded us the “Software Made in Germany” label. The seal is awarded to software applications that combine first-class service, quality and sustainability.
In September, SMARTCRM and ERP specialist UB-Software Entwicklungs- und Vertriebs- GmbH agreed to combine their expertise in a cooperative partnership.
Our goal is to support the enterprise-wide processes of medical device companies.
2013
A further partnership is planned for the spring of 2013 with the integration of SMARTCRM with the email marketing tool Inxmail Professional.
The interface to Inxmail Professional enables the transfer of selected data for the professional dispatch of newsletters and mailings.
2014
We continue to expand our commitment to education.
We now train IT specialists in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
2015
Since the fall, it-consult GmbH, our long-time Austrian sales partner, has been operating under the name SMARTCRM GmbH Branch Salzburg.
The new subsidiary in Austria strengthens our commitment in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
2017
Together with 50 employees we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the company.
To celebrate our anniversary, we have launched a new website.
2018
New customer record: After 2017 we were able to increase the number of new customers once again.
With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), extended documentation and information obligations are mandatory for companies. With our software solution, we create the framework for data protection-compliant CRM processes for our customers.
2019
Over the summer, our colleagues in Austria were packing boxes as they moved into new offices. After a renovation of our headquarters in Kandel, our sales team also moved into new offices.
We added several e-bikes to our fleet. Colleagues from the surrounding area eagerly pedaled their new work bikes.
2020
SMARTCRM.Organizer, which is integrated with SMARTCRM.Basis, has been redesigned to provide enhanced functionality and performance in a modern layout.
We entered into a new partnership with Echobot GmbH and developed a new standard interface SMARTCRM.Echobot. It connects our CRM solution with the online media monitoring tool Echobot.
Like many others, Covid forced us to work from home. Although no software can replace face-to-face contact with the team, SMARTCRM and video conferencing tools make it easy to work from home.
To help our customers make a smooth transition from working in the office to working from home, we began helping them set up and use SMARTCRM’s mobile workforce capabilities as early as March.
2021
In times like these, when the term “online” is more important than ever, the concept of email marketing is also becoming indispensable. This is why we have intensified our partnership with Inxmail GmbH.
Our SMARTCRM Infocenter was launched this summer. Here we provide our customers with regular news about SMARTCRM.
In 22 webinars, we regularly gave our prospects and customers a live tour of our CRM system.
We have further strengthened our commitment to sustainability, including electric mobility. For example, all new purchases for our fleet are electric or hybrid vehicles. We also introduced digital invoicing.
2022
30 years of SMARTCRM! We celebrated our anniversary: three decades of software development, concentrated CRM knowledge and enormous ERP interface know-how – first in Speyer, then in Wörth and for many years now in Kandel.
This year we have entered into a new partnership with ACBIS GmbH.
We showcased our training opportunities as part of the “Zukunftsziele” online fair. Our three trainees took over our LinkedIn channel for a week as part of the fair and reported on their training at SMARTCRM.
In the spring, our team in Austria packed their boxes as our office there moved from Hallwang to Grödig.
2023
We have become a member of the Südpfalz Innovation Hub eG. This is a cooperative that aims to strengthen digital expertise in the region.
We have also decided to become a member of the Technologie-Netzwerk Südpfalz e. V. (Southern Palatinate Technology Network). The association connects technology companies from the region and makes technical expertise and needs visible.
We celebrated not only the 30th year in business of ERP provider Majesty GmbH, but also our 10th year of partnership. To mark these milestones, we held a joint webinar to show our customers how strong the connection between CRM and ERP can be.
We have deepened our partnership with Wired Minds GmbH. In a joint webinar, we showed how our connection to LeadLab and SMARTCRM can turn anonymous website traffic into promising leads and customers of tomorrow.
