Integrating ISPConfig into 1CRM Customer Management System

How to save time by integrating ISPConfig into your customer management system

If you set up many web services for your customers, you probably handle lots of sensitive customer data like usernames and passwords. On top of that, you have to copy and paste that data from ISPConfig to your customer database. That copy and pasting is pretty annoying.

At least that was what we felt. So we dug into the ISPConfig API and synchronized ISPConfig with our customer management system 1CRM.

This was the result:

  • All login details (SSH, FTP, user) are now created and saved through the password manager in 1CRM. Login details are synchronized with ISPConfig.
  • All authorized team members have access to the login details through 1CRM and can change them if needed.
  • We set up a new customer system much faster – setting up a CRM system with ISPConfig takes us now about half an hour. With no copy and pasting. Yes!

ISPConfig 1CRM integration

How we used the ISPConfig API to synchronize the two systems

As a digital agency, we manage multiple servers and set up over 40 websites and CRM systems with ISPConfig each month. Our customer data is stored in a single software system that we connect with third party software such as ISPConfig. This way we break down or avoid data silos altogether.

ISPConfig has a great API that we used to get the server data from ISPConfig and create ISPConfig customer accounts and websites through 1CRM.

This is our process now (without having to log in personally to ISPConfig):

  1. Through the ISPConfig API, we get the server and website data from ISPConfig.
  2. In 1CRM we choose a server and type in the requested domain.
  3. With the click of a button, we then create the database as well as the database and shell users.
  4. As the ISPConfig API is very flexible, we can also configure the PHP version, SSL, cronjobs, ssh keys, quota, backups as well as Apache or NGINX directly through our customer management system.
  5. All login details from database to ssh users are safely stored in the 1CRM Password Manager. This way all developers that need access can get access very easily.

As the synchronization is also bidirectional changes made through ISPConfig are send back to 1CRM (except password changes). By the way: the API is very allowing. So you can get nearly every relevant information from ISPConfig and display it in your customer management system. It’s fun to play around with all the possibilities that the ISPConfig API gives you.

Next step: For us the next step towards more time efficient processes is automating WordPress installations on ISPConfig servers through 1CRM.

Download ISPConfig synchronization plugin for 1CRM from GitHub

If you’d like to have a look at what we’ve done, you can download the plugin at GitHub for free:

https://github.com/visual4/1crmISPConfig

1CRM is a commercial open source CRM software. There is also a free edition of 1CRM if you would like to see the plugin in action: 1CRM Startup Edition (freeware)