Authors: Rohan D’Souza
Abstract: Legacy CRM systems, typically built on proprietary architectures, have long constrained enterprises with licensing costs, scalability limitations, and rigid integration pathways. As digital transformation accelerates, organizations are increasingly transitioning toward open source CRM platforms hosted on lightweight, modular Linux infrastructures. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of the technical, operational, and strategic advantages of Linux-based CRM architectures, emphasizing their cost-effectiveness, performance optimizations, and automation compatibility. The paper explores key components such as containerization, DevOps integration, security hardening, and compliance adherence, drawing comparisons between traditional CRM stacks and modern open source alternatives like SuiteCRM, EspoCRM, and OroCRM. Detailed performance benchmarks and migration strategies are examined, along with real-world case studies from financial services, healthcare, telecom, and retail sectors. Additionally, the review addresses common challenges including skill gaps, performance tuning, and support structures and proposes mitigation strategies rooted in automation, training, and architectural best practices. Future-oriented insights are provided on AI/ML integration, edge deployment scenarios, and evolving DevSecOps methodologies. Ultimately, this paper positions Linux-based open source CRM platforms as sustainable, agile, and scalable foundations for next-generation customer engagement.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16881066
