November 26, 2013
By Sarah Sluis,

Cirrus Insight Launches Mobile App to Bring Salesforce.com into Inbox

Mobile users will be able to hit "Send and add to Salesforce" with the new mobile app from Cirrus Insight. The app allows users to set reminders, create leads, and close opportunities while checking their email on the go. People on the sales and service side are the target audience for the app, according to Cirrus Insight COO and cofounder Brandon Bruce.

Currently in beta, the app will work for Gmail users, as well as IMAP, the most common protocol for non Web–based email clients. Integration with Microsoft Exchange is also in the works. The fuller compatibility stands in contrast to Cirrus Insight's Web product, which works only with Gmail.

The mobile app is designed to increase the amount of information a user logs into Salesforce, and save time in the process. "It's hard to switch between Salesforce and email," Bruce says. "Even to do something simple like log an email would be time-consuming."

The iOS version, which will be the first to launch, has a top bar with four icons that bring in Salesforce.com functionality. While looking at an email, a user can tap to add in a meeting, update deal information, or call a contact. After making a phone call, for example, the app will ask the user if he wants to log the call in Salesforce.com. It also offers the option to "Send" and email or "Send and add to Salesforce." The clean interface is designed to be quick to learn even for those who aren't particularly tech-savvy.

While Salesforce1, announced at Dreamforce, brings much of Salesforce.com's capability into the mobile device, Bruce stands behind the value of the app, which targets "all the intelligence that is locked up in the inbox," he observes. With the app, that information can easily be brought into Salesforce.com. He envisions people using the main Salesforce.com app for a "deep dive" into its functionality, and Cirrus Insight's app for their regular looks at their email.

Cirrus Insight was founded in 2011. It has received roughly $600,000 from angel investors, but Bruce is optimistic about the young company's growth, noting it has 30,000 users and a run rate of $3 million a year based on current subscriptions.