Authors: Naveen Kannan
Abstract: As customer engagement demands evolve, traditional CRM systems often monolithic and proprietary struggle to keep pace with the need for agility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. This review explores how Linux serves as the foundational enabler for next-generation CRM platforms that are cloud-native, open source, and DevOps-driven. We examine the technical and architectural limitations of legacy CRMs and illustrate how Linux-based infrastructures overcome these challenges through modularity, containerization, and automation. By leveraging lightweight distributions such as Alpine and Debian, businesses can deploy CRMs with reduced resource overhead and enhanced security. Open source CRM solutions like SuiteCRM, EspoCRM, and OroCRM, when deployed on Linux, offer extensibility, transparency, and freedom from vendor lock-in. The review further analyzes how Linux integrates with Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and observability tools to manage CRM lifecycles efficiently. Real-world case studies in telecommunications, finance, healthcare, and retail demonstrate measurable gains in performance, security, and cost reduction. Finally, the paper presents a forward-looking perspective on integrating AI, edge computing, and DevSecOps into Linux-based CRM architectures, emphasizing the strategic role of Linux in driving CRM innovation.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16881203
