2-way synchronisation with Google Contacts
Currently the Capsule integration with Google Contacts is one-way. Capsule is the master and any changes in Capsule are pushed down to your Google Contacts.
2-way synchronisation would allow changes inside Google Contacts to be synced back to Capsule.
AdminDuncan Stockdill
(Admin, Capsule)
shared this idea
AdminDuncan Stockdill
(Admin, Capsule)
responded
May 2011
We don’t have any plans to implement 2-way synchronization of Google Contacts at this stage.
The current 1-way from Capsule to Google works well for keeping your contacts and email addresses up-to-date inside Google Apps.
I understand some users have requested the 2-way sync so they can tie in with Google’s mobile sync allowing them to update contact details on their phone and have those changes sync’d back to Capsule via Google contacts. However this creates a complex and potentially unreliable chain. We have since released a mobile phone app which provides a better solution for accessing and updating contacts while on the move.
We’ve also recently released a gmail gadget that makes it easy to see details about your contacts right inside Gmail.
If you are voting this up, please let us know more about why 2-way synchronisation is important to you and how you would use it.
Thanks.
58 comments
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Tom Gaynor
commented
I run my business using my iPhone. When a customer calls me, I need to see their name come up with the Caller ID info. Using the one way sync helps with this, but we also use the Apple Contacts app on all our computers as the main contact list. We do this because we exclusively use Apple products and syncing contacts is easiest with Google Apps. We find it very difficult to use Capsule as our go to contact database.
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Roel De Meester
commented
Also, a competing product PipeDrive, has this ability for half year already.
http://blog.pipedrive.com/2012/11/pipedrive-google-apps-integration/I understand that's it is important to keep focus on your initial business model, but at the same time it's also important to keep a tap on the competition.
So please, reconsider this request. And i you like, contact me privately to discuss the matter
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Roel De Meester
commented
Our current flow is.
Contact is added to CRM from GMail using the Gmail widget.
Contact is than automatically available in Google Contacts using the 1-way 'sync' which is currently standard in Capsule.Updating Contact info is more easily done from within Google Contacts by
* Google Contacts online interface (which allows for merging multiple different contact info, and is easily accesible from the gmail interface)
* Mobile (android/iphone), most often to connect a new mobile number to an existing new prospect.
* 3th party tools like https://www.writethat.name/ etc, which inspects signature and adds new info to Google contact.Adding this new information to Capsule is HARD because.
* Importing updated contacts is not accpetible since CapsuleCRM does not allow for easily removing of duplicates (have a look how easy google contacts does this for us).
* manually editing the contact form is tedious, resulting in incomplete cvontact information.I understand that handling 2-way sync is one of the most difficult problems in IT (due to collision of data), but most syncing systems try to solve that by keeping track of the data collisions and asking a manual decision only for these items.
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Andrew Beeman
commented
The primary reason that I want a 2 way sync is that Capsule is not the central contact storage of my business systems, Google is. I have other apps that also use google contacts.
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Elliot
commented
Just as Paul suggests below. Currently I am using Nimble CRM which allows one-click contact add from an email address.
I would like to use Mac Mail.app to add contacts to google contacts and then add to capsule.
Noone wants to manually enter details like this.
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Andrew
commented
This is obviously a highly sort after feature for Capsule customers (including me). Are Capsule going to continue to push back on it, or are they going to listen to their customers and develop the feature.
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Rory Breen
commented
I just wanted to add you can gain syncing using a free service called Zapier https://zapier.com
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Paul
commented
Hello, here's my use case:
1) I read an email on my iPad, iPhone, or Mac mail
2) I right-click on the phone number, and choose "create new contact"
3) Info is added to contacts on the device
4) Info is sync'd to google contacts
5) Info is sync'd to all devices and lists which can sync with google contactsI would love for capsule to be one of those things in step 5 because there are too many useful entry points for google contacts. Capsule is by far and away better to manage lists and organize related communications, but it is not the best solution for data entry and update.
Thanks.
-Paul -
Michael
commented
I've just disconnected Capsule completely from Google contacts. Whilst I understand Capsule's design intention it is clearly not how many people want to use Capsule as noted from the comments below.
My issue is simply that Google is a superset of my contacts. It contains friends, family, coworkers and prospects/clients. Capsule is only relevant for prospects/clients and therefore is a limited subset of my contacts. The problem is when someone updates their number I need to have a look to see if they are a Google contact or a capsule contact, after all some clients are also friends. Then I have to go into the appropriate app to update them.
Despite your wish for Capsule to be the mother of all contact databases it simply cannot be as it will only ever tackle a portion of my contacts. As such I will always end up flicking between two applications trying to keep things updated. God forbid I accidentally update a Capsule contact via Google......now I have two records pointing to the same thing but showing different data.
A 2-way sync solves these issues. Without this you effectively say that we should manage every single contact via Capsule, this is really not practical, after all why would I want my wife on my CRM? Alternatively you are saying that we need to determine where a contact lives on a case by case basis and update accordingly. However Google is already the superset so leave it be and let it do its job and pick up the updates from there. Hell I would much rather that if, when enabling Google sync, you disabled the contact from editing in Capsule. I'm quite happy to jump to Google when core contact details are updated and to be honest its what most people here seem to be doing anyway.
Please if I am missing something here in your design intentions or expected use case please let me know. For now I've simply disabled the sync and if a personal contact is or becomes a prospect/client then I add them to Capsule.
Regards,
Michael
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Klaus
commented
I add data e.g. after iPhone calls, e-mails from the Mac mail inbox or Gmail inbox to contacts using integrated features of these apps and want these changes to be reflected in my Capsule details
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Dave Shire
commented
I scan business cards I collect at business events into my Galaxy phone, which automatically adds to my google contacts list. I need a way to easily transfer the new contacts to CapsuleCRM without having to renter all the data... And I would prefer to not have to export and import... Surely there must be something that can be done here...
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SAMUEL SOLOMON
commented
duncan:
i think this is the way to respond to your comment on 2-way synch with contacts. the problem I have is that I am not using CRM exclusively and what I end up with are two contacts. one being updated by CRM and one being updated in Google contacts. this is an untenable situation because sooner or later the data gets old and which record is correct? it gets more and more out of synch. what i want is a way to "merge" my google contact with my CRM contact so one contact is maintained. it's less about 2-way and more about keeping data integrity. i hope this makes sense and you can write me at sam@arizal.biz if you want more direct communications on this issue. sam:
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AdminDuncan Stockdill
(Admin, Capsule)
commented
@Adrian, @Alex
It sounds like you might want to use Capsule in a different way to how it was intended. While it sounds feasible for Google Contacts to be the "hub" for contact data, we don't intend to do implement this approach because it would result in a much weaker contact database for CRM use. Capsule has a richer datamodel along with powerful, but simple customisation capabilities. In our approach Capsule is, and will remain the hub/master for contact information.
Capsule already provides a one-way push to Google Contacts so that Capsule keeps your Google Contacts up-to-date. We are considering a 2-way integration so that updates to Google Contacts (e.g. via a mobile phone) will be pushed to Capsule. However is a time-consuming and difficult development to get working well, so before undertaking this work I'd like to understand more about the specific usages our customers have in mind. e.g. Is to enable update of contacts on mobile phones (and if so, why not use our Mobile Application instead), or are there other systems that update Google Contacts that are important across our customer base? I'd love to hear more about the systems you are using to update contacts which integrate back to Google Contacts.
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Adrian Kingwell
commented
Dear Capsule, you HAVE to get this sorted. It's a show stopper for so many of your prospects. You simply cannot expect your customers to use Capsule as the hub for all client data. Come on, guys, if you have ever actually used a CRM for sales and marketing, you'll now that 2-way sync is a MUST-HAVE feature.
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Niall Connellan commented
I think was a great way to explain it:
"Alex Oldroyd commented · August 27, 2012 11:09 a.m.
Said more simply, Capsule is trying to keep Google Apps from doing what it was designed to do. The magic of Google Apps is its ability to be the central repository. All "Apps" (which Capsule claims to be) are spokes originating from this hub.Capsule is trying to make its contact feature the hub. But everything else we all do uses Google as the hub, and that's never going to change"
It's true. I have also found that the mobile app, is really not very efficient. I am using an HTC EVO 4G LTE and the app never shows accurate data. I never know if changes I make on the app are actually going to upload to the site.
It would be great to just easily update contact information on my phone on the go knowing that it would then sync back up to capsule. It saves a significant amount of time.
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Alex Oldroyd
commented
Said more simply, Capsule is trying to keep Google Apps from doing what it was designed to do. The magic of Google Apps is its ability to be the central repository. All "Apps" (which Capsule claims to be) are spokes originating from this hub.
Capsule is trying to make its contact feature the hub. But everything else we all do uses Google as the hub, and that's never going to change.
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Nick Dorogavtsev
commented
It's too difficult to have multiple systems. I need ability to have at lease one folder synced two ways.
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Alex Oldroyd
commented
I agree with several of the other comments here. If 2-way sync is too difficult, allow an option to push certain contacts (like a defined Capsule group) to Capsule. Anybody who is using Google Apps is keeping Google Contacts as their repository. It's too difficult to have multiple systems.
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SAMUEL SOLOMON
commented
duncan. as a start, it would be VERY HELPFUL if we can, at least, pick a contact with gmails contacts and say "that is a CRM contact" and assign to this company. if you did that, then most of the synching would be gone since when i update in gmail, it is the same record as CRM. this is very important for anywone with large contact databases in place, like i do (4,000 records)
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Adrianne Roach
commented
Two-way sync is essential for those of us who place Google Apps as the "hub" and all other integrated services (like Capsule) as "spokes." With Google Apps as hub, I add/modify contacts in Google Apps, Outlook, my Android phone and tablet--all of these devices sync up to Google Apps and remain up to date.
If I decide to make Capsule the "hub," then I can no longer make any changes to contacts in Outlook or Android devices.
If two-way sync is too perilous to consider, perhaps Capsule can offer a choice: push to Google or pull from Google.
