How much do I have to pay and to whom to get 37signals to make it easy for me to use more than one of their tools in sync with each other?

Should I really have to update a contact or a due date in more than none place or have ot open three different windows to see everything about one project? Not to mention address book and calendar synchronization!

This could be a great service for a small organization like mine but instead we are spread out across 10 different services including Basecamp, Google docs, Google Calendar, Campfire, private wiki, Harvest, AIM, Highrise, etc. What a mess!

PS: I hope some of the interface improvements of Highrise make their way back to Basecamp and others.

Hi Ruby,

We’re looking at a number of options for better integration between the applications this year. We hear that this is something a lot of our customers want and we’ll think hard about how we can give them just that.

We’re certainly also going to take the lessons from building Highrise and apply them to the rest of our applications. Especially Basecamp.

+1

We would really love an integration between Highrise and Basecamp at the contact level.

We’re currently trialling Highrise as an Active Contact Manager and would really benefit from having these contacts available from within Basecamp when you add a new Company or Person.

I think Integration of this kind would be majorly beneficial, almost to the same point that 37 Signals release a suite like Microsoft Office (for use of a better example).

I think integration between Basecamp and Highrise is going to be the make or break for me as to whether I subscribe to the system. At the moment I use Solve360 which has good contact/company management (with the opportunity of linking a person to more than one company/organisations! not possible in Highrise, I believe) and includes a diary/calendar, to-do list, notes, email client, bookmarks …. all linked to the contact. However, the design and interface, and sheer common sense usability, is nowhere near as good as the 37 signals products.

I’ve just signed up and I’m really struggling to understand how to use Basecamp and Highrise together… it seems very cumbersome and awkward at present. Two excellent products, hardly any links between them. Such a pity and so frustrating! (I’ve tried adding a third party product, Sproutit, to manage my emails so that I can get rid of Solve360 altogether, but so far it’s not working very well and I’m too busy to spend hours trying to get it right!)

Also, I think I have read in one of the forums that you can’t export your contacts out of Highrise. I’d be very worried about putting them all in, tidying them up, and then not being able to get hold of them, or print them out cleanly.

I don’t want to sound as if I’m complaining. These products are excellent … but they urgently need additional functionality and integration. If they had them, I’d sign up like a shot and be one of your most loyal customers!

Absolutely agree.

HAVE to get data export out of Highrise, and the lack of integration between the products is nuts. I realize 37Signals’ development paradigm is to kick stuff out and then gather feedback and react. I just hope they realize that integration between these apps isn’t a nice to have thing for sometime down the road. They have brought themselves to a pivotal crossroads here. If they don’t properly integrate these apps, and soon, they will lose a tremendous amount of potential new customers.

Rick, slow down man ;)

We understand integration is important to people and we will be working on it this year. It’s a tricky thing to add real value with integration. It takes time to do right. If we could flip the integration switch we would, but unfortunately it doesn’t work like that.

Valuable optional integration is an especially difficult challenge. Basecamp can’t rely on Highrise and Highrise can’t rely on Basecamp as we don’t want to force anyone to have to use both tools. This means things need to work smoothly with or without integration. That’s a lot of work to get right. There are plenty of examples out there of getting it wrong. We intend to get it right, but it’s going to take some time.

We could have 1. Postponed Highrise for 3-6 more months while we worked on integration that we thought people wanted or, 2. Released Highrise as we did, collect feedback from people, better understand how people envision integration working, and then started working on it.

We chose option 2. People can have value now in Highrise as is and we can learn how to make Highrise and Basecamp work better together based on real customer’s feedback.

We have been using your ‘secure’ Backpack product for the writeboards (to communicate with outside professionals) and the to-do lists (for small projects… 10 items or less). The to-do lists within Backpack are perfect. Very simple. Decent enough looking when printed out, and with our field staff having access to these lists, it been great!

I REALLY like the ‘task’ aspect of HR as it keeps a very clean, organized list of tasks for use by our administrative staff and myself. I was hoping that you might consider some sort of integration within Highrise… with maybe a family discount for using both services???

We’re 100% on board with you guys and Highrise (today we decided to upgrade to a full feature plan). Thank you for such an AWESOME product and thank you for your consideration.

-Patrick

Jason, Lol. Your rationale makes perfect sense.

As I said on another thread, it’s the dance we do together. I understand why you went the road you went and it’s a perfectly valid development and deployment strategy.

In the meantime, while I wait to see where you guys take this I gotta run my business today. I need more project management functionality and I like what I see with Basecamp enough to be willing to take it for a test drive, but entering contacts into yet another system is simply something I can’t do. So in the meantime I’m looking at various options. If I find something I settle on before the integration reaches critical mass, then perhaps I switch back to your offerings or perhaps I decide to stay with what I’m using at that time. It’s simply the risk this strategy incurs.

Technically, I get your challenges. I used to work in software development in a previous life and it’s very easier for customers to under-appreciate the complexities of seemingly simple tasks. That said, even if we could get some kind of batch sync functionality that we can run on command to populate contacts in one app from the other, that alone would put Basecamp on the table for our business.

I have no doubt whatsoever that you guys will make the right choices and develop this suite of great apps in a timely fashion.

Ok,

here i am a new guy knows little about 37 signals and less about the ins and outs of managing projects and CRM. what i do know is that i am looking for tools to use to establish working policies for my start-up company. basecamp and Hirise offer most of the tools that i am looking for and integration is a question that came to mind straight away.

but here is how i look at it now: *basecamp deals with a project from a collaborative angle hoping to clean up lines of communication between contributors to a job. *Hirise intends to make your sales and support less flaky dealing mostly keeping up with people that are likely not contributing to getting the job done. instead asking demanding or more importantly showing purchase potential.

integrating seems important but the truth is that the products take on completely different groups of people. teaching the users of 37signals products to look at things in a new way may be more the way to go. when a contact is utilize with these products it is like calling that number or filing out an invoice. you are using the information contained in the black book to get something done.

dumping your whole address book into both applications is the wrong way to look at it and integrating just so you don’t have to do it twice is doubly out of character with what i see in these products.

instead 37signals may add a simple check-box to each program that allows a contact to undergo the following: a lead in hirise turns out to be a gateway to a whole new market. by checking a box with a few options beneath, this persons name is added to a current project in basecamp that deals with expanding markets.

the same could be done in base camp when a collaborator becomes a buyer or person to be followed up with.

what i hope is that 37 signals keeps the target rolls clear. those rolls are what make the products great instead of just easy to use and good looking.

i hope that im not totally off her. i just stated looking at this stuff so let me know how you feel about what i said.

One more thing, the dark box around the reply window sure did a # on my eyes. like wearing dark framed glasses for years.

Are you saying it hurt your eyes or you though it was hard to use?

When I discovered Highrise I was kind of surprised that it doesn’t already integrate with Basecamp. Seems like there should be a prepackaged product with Basecam and Highrise already integrated (“Highcamp”? haha) and for other users, an option to integrate one with another if they initially signed up for just Basecamp or just Highrise.

Jason,

Are you guys still thinking of integrating Highrise and Basecamp?

Duncan

+1 for Highcamp at least shared contacts and tags. As I see it right now Highrise is dethroning Basecamp.

As I see it right now Highrise is dethroning Basecamp.

I doubt there’s consensus on that. I’m still using Basecamp whereas Highrise realized the swirling waters months ago.

:P

I’m with Michael, if we were to drop anything it would be HR.

Duncan (and everyone): We don’t comment on specific future plans, but we continue to consider points of integration that make sense from an experience and technical standpoint.

If/when we do this we want to do it right and make it valuable. There are a lot of moving parts involved so it’s a pretty big undertaking.

All I can say is what we’ve said before: We’re continue to consider points of integration between our products. That’s as specific as I can get at this time.

Well I’m new to this forum but I’m going to say a very biased point anyway. Basecamp is good as it is as Michael and Oscar said undroppable, Highrise on the other point has tremendous potential we’re not talking about website development gigs here or any other software development that persuises a Milestone, code copy, primitive document collaboration and easy to use simplistic extranet, WOW factor when clients logs in and sees milestones and documents. After all barely CEO’s would log to it, it’s only techy people CEO has appointed to take care of Project X. No flames here but Basecamp is perfect as it is, and has touched it’s maximum I think, it’s good for whoever loves milestones and WOW factors and will deliver for at least a couple of years. On the other hand :) Highrise users make business, manage clients or prospects, people who give decisions, above mentionned CEO’s that appoints H1B guys (well I’m on L1) to administer projects. We Highrise peolpe are trust sellers, we go out and meet people, we sell out selves, we cold call or have a team that does for us and when we do performance reviews see how fu*g hard it’s to cold call just to get a minute speech, we get past admin asssistants, we at some extent crash into charities and alike A-level (C-Level if others want) partys just to plug it for 20 second, after that we call, we email, we turn we don’t use milestones we close sales or at least try to get the closest. We email people (not spam) we call people, we make them laugh, we hurt our backs and shoulder in golf that we hate until we make enough $$$ and then we start loving (it generally goes with one ability to golf and especially make other A&C&F Level laugh) we make everything happen in the front end, we don’t have WOW factors from websites or Basecamps (although like I said I think it’s perfect and you guys need to focus on Highrise) We need support from within the backend. Highrise is astonoshing yet alone for the tags that experience (personal and common) have showed that it surpasses directories, categories, subcategories filing and all binary hierarchy (remember 2 base n).

I personally would love 37 Signals to allocate more resources to Highrise, go ahead guys rise the prices but get us something better than salesforce, act, netsuite, ms bcm and all others. I’ve been, well company’s been paying and is still paying $15K+ for netsuite, for renewal we got to poker bluff them so that our rate doesn’t increase. I still got sales reps using combined id-passwd to enter their sales, their product is rock solid but too much, too much for everyone out there doing business and then whoever new sales recruit we roll in needs to get through training (unless he’s smart enough and he’s getting high enough commission to read the help files and get along by himself)

Business is not milestones, it’s probably projects but not all world is dealing with building ruby on rail apps, business is still selling products and services, getting to know how to penetrate a corporation, how to get allies from within, how to get to the decision makers. Business is all the journey to closing including the latter.

Well sorry for my rant, but I would like Highrise to be the (THE) reference in contact relationship management and I’ve read your book and I’m sure you can do it! I can do it but it’s not my vocation, I’m here to take care of my clients and I need Highrise. You can keep a simple Highrise version (defaulted upon sign in) and then add a check box that would unlock reporting, tags among everything, marketing campaigns, reports of users and sales people (although I don’t personally need users except my assistant who could share my id), groups of contacts, better file management (not that important), some sales funnel display with interaction (like some milestones etc.), extranet, reports on actions (say my sales rep scheduled meeting with Joe, i’d like him to report on that task. or I had a demo with Larry, I’d be able to report on how demo went, what Larry said, what did he want more, what did he tell me about Jason my competitor that demoed a three days ago), if you want to get close to perfection add expense reporting, mass mailing, marketing campaign with budget management, graphs, reports and all that. I don’t need all that I certainly can work with the API and get by as my projects right now are low volume high return p* in the a. I’m just saying think about it 37 Signals, think about it. I know you might not process the experience and development intelligence to tackle such sophisticated sales RFDs but knowing you guys mainly through your products and your exceptional book I’m sure you can do it especially adding the candids or what other say extras to it because you are not being from the field. You guys are the outsiders, you guys are very smart so for the sake of it do it! I want everyone in the next 2 years to forget about act, salesforce, netsuite CRM (we can keep accounting, financials, production) and especially outlook BCM that I hate.

It won’t be prohibitive to new users if it’s only optional (and with premium fees) if it only relies on a checkbox in the settings (x2), so don’t tell me you guys philosophy implies simplicity… simplicity when it’s very simple doesn’t work in business. We as sales somehow enrolled and engaged people need the best tool that would help us initiate, track, innovate, close and report on our sales! And contacts are worthless unless for their sales (or $ return) potential (well take out the italians where you can get really good food :)

Anyway I love Highrise and I so love it that I want you to allocate more resources to it. I don’t want to say this but it’s true you won’t become the project management folks, many are better than you. You found a niche (you being in the niche) and that’s good but understand that’s a very limited niche, the sky is out there, aim high aim for the sky. The sky is sales, money, sales organization and anything that runs in capitalism. The potential left on CRM and Sales is tremendous. Business is Marketing and Marketing is SALES!

I’m sure you got the idea and I’m looking forward to AHHHHs not client Wows, I want to wow when I close my sales! (and my client would wow from the product or service not the extranet and milestones :)

ps. sorry for the spelling mistakes, I’m missing Ispell. sorry it’s a long rant. sorry Basecamp even if i thought you were going to help us, i think Highrise is better. but again you are not bad, you are perfect for what you are, so stay there and let 37 Signals best developers focus on Highrise :)

Okay, friendly people at 37Signals….....like many who use both Basecamp and Highrise I am practically BEGGING you guys for some sort of integration. It is pretty much a deal breaker for me. As SVP of new media at a medium-sized record company, I have championed the need for better contact integration via CRM for a long time. I was a bee’s dick away from signing off on a major Microsoft Dynamic CRM investment when I stumbled upon Highrise. It’s a great product, for sure, but I can’t see it working for my company in the long run.

Here are my issues: why are you guys seemingly separating two great products that have features that if combined would make the whole thing a kind of ‘1 + 1 = 3’ scenario??? If Basecamp had a proper calendar that you could email tasks to, and have those individual tasks drop into your calendar with a precise time it’d be brilliant. If both products shared the same contact base. If Basecamp had the tagging functionality that Highrise has….the list goes on. And it is so desperately frustrating as I would LOVE to flick the switch tomorrow for a supercharged Highrise and get my 120+ user base on board pronto if 37Signals created ‘HighCamp’ (as another forum participant suggested).

Can’t you please (at least) throw us all some crumbs and give us a peek at the roadmap for the Highrise & Basecamp products? If I thought that you guys were definitely launching some kind of integrative processes or a hybrid in 3-6 months I reckon I would hang in there and wait. But with no real signals from you….let alone 37…..I am kind of ready to split…...

I must agree with Satterley here. But this can be done as well with somekind of nice intergration between the applications, so you are able to switch back and forth.

I’m sure that you are fully aware of the rabid desire amongst your customer base for integration of your products. I’m sure that you’re aware that you are poised to break into the large scale enterprise market if you offer an integrated product suite. I hear you saying over and over again, “This is a huge undertaking, it has to be done right and is going to take a long time.” while your users beg for something, anything, right now.

You made a post awhile back about your attempt to create one true CSV importer, and the lessons you learned. I think it might be advisable to apply those lessons to integration. Don’t try to implement fully-featured integration all at once. Listen to what your customers want most, and start offering the integration bit by bit from the top of the request list on down.

Honestly—the lack of integration is a little ridiculous.

I think the opportunities for value (“points for integration”) are pretty obvious:

I am working on a project with multiple todos and milestones. This project involves a bunch of internal and external people, with phonecalls and emails flying around.

Wouldn’t it make perfect sense to integrate the CRM functionality of Highrise into Basecamp so that I can see calls and emails (HR) related to a (BC) milestone????

I would prefer bulk tagging & editing, automatic handling of duplicates on import and a more comprehensive search function before any type of integration is considered.

I’m also a little unsure of what “integration” people are talking about. Our only gripe is not being able to access our Highrise contacts when adding a new user to Basecamp. Other than that, what needs to integrate?