Act! CRM

Act!
Developer(s) Swiftpage
Initial release April 1, 1987 (1987-04-01)
Stable release
Act! 17.1 – March 2015
Operating system Microsoft Windows
Platform  • Microsoft SQL Server
 • .NET Framework
Available in English, French, German
Type  • CRM software
 • Contact management software
License Proprietary
Website act.com

Act! (previously known as Sage ACT! 2010–2013) is a customer relationship management (CRM) software application which is used to keep track of client and prospect details in a single database that can be shared by multiple users. It integrates with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Google Contacts, Gmail and other popular applications in order to generate and track communications with the contacts maintained in ACT!. It is developed by Swiftpage and has a user base of over 2.8 million registered users.[1]

According to a 2013 CRM Switch survey,[2] Act! was the fifth-most-popular CRM software application amongst US businesses, and the fourth-most-popular amongst companies with less than 100 employees. It was also ranked as the second-most-popular CRM solution in Capterra's 2013 Top CRM Software Infographic.[3]

Act! is available in English (US, UK, Canada and Australia), French, and German, and is sold through international resellers and ACT! Certified Consultants.[4]

Software

As of 2015, there were three editions of Act!:

Act! Pro is no longer available for sale on the Swiftpage website, and references to Act! Pro have been removed from Swiftpage's other support and product pages, but the product is available upon request[5] and for sale through consultants and resellers.

Act! Features include contact, company and opportunity management, a calendar, communication tools, the ability to track prospective customers, "dashboards", reports, and the ability to synchronize data from other applications or other Act! users over the web. The software allows multiple users to access the same data simultaneously and can interface with popular word processing, spreadsheet, and email software. It features a variety of "dashboards" which are graphical representations of key activity that allows users to spot new business opportunities, and can generate a wide variety of statistical reports.

Act! has hundreds of active certified consultants globally.[4] A number of third-party companies develop add-on products using Act!'s software development kit that expands the functionality of the software.[6]

Act! can be accessed from Windows desktops (XP and later) with local or network shared database; synchronized to laptops or remote officers; Citrix or Remote Desktop; Web browsers (Premium only) with self or SaaS hosting; smartphones and tablets via HTML5 Web (Premium only); smartphones and tablets via sync with Handheld Contact[7][8]

History

The company Conductor Software was founded 1986 in Dallas, Texas, by Pat Sullivan[9] and Mike Muhney.[10] Its product, ACT!, was released in 1987. The original name for the software was Activity Control Technology then Automated Contact Tracking before finally just using the acronym.

The name of the company was changed to Contact Software International, and the company moved out of its original office in the "mustang building" in Las Colinas to a building off Freeport Parkway near DFW Airport. Contact Software International was then sold to Symantec Corporation in 1993, who then sold it to SalesLogix (later renamed to Interact Commerce) in 1999. Sage purchased Interact Commerce in 2001,[11] through Best Software, then its North American software division.

Beginning with the 2006 version, the name was revised to ACT! by Sage and later changed to Sage ACT!. In 2013, Swiftpage took ownership and re-branded it as Act! The current release is Act! 18. Development now happens in Scottsdale, Arizona, with regional offices in several countries.

Timeline

1986
1987

ACT! was also originally an acronym – first for "Activity Control Technology" and later "Automated Contact Tracking", before becoming just "ACT!"

1988
1989
1990
1992
1993
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008

New Dashboard. Significantly improved Outlook integration and major improvements in stability, reliability, ease of install and speed. Added Vista x64 support and Safari for Mac users. Also free plug-in to provide links to social media such as LinkedIn.[21]

2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

Act! v17 – new timeline feature introduced, fresh look with updated icons, lead capture from web forms and unlimited Browse users

2015

Act! v18 – compatibility with Windows 10 and Office 2016, new e-marketing administrative features, and a new web API platform

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sage ACT! CRM Updates".
  2. ↑ U.S. CRM Market Share 2013
  3. ↑ "Top Customer Relationship Management Software | 2014 Reviews of the Best Systems".
  4. 1 2 "Act! Certified Consultants".
  5. 1 2 "Swiftpage ACT Product Compare page". Swiftpage.com. Swiftpage. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Act! Addon Store" Archived 4 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine..
  7. 1 2 "Handheld Contact".
  8. ↑ "Mobile Solutions Comparison for ACT!" Archived 12 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine..
  9. ↑ "Early historical Comments".
  10. ↑ Mike Muhney
  11. ↑ Greenman, Catherine. "Sage buys Interact Commerce". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  12. ↑ "Symantec Expands Family of ACT! Platforms with Availability of ACT! for Newton".
  13. ↑ Symantec Brings the Power of ACT! to the Notes Collaborative Environment
  14. ↑ "Symantec Continues Tradition of Excellence in Contact Management with ACT! 3.0 for Windows 95 and NT".
  15. ↑ "Symantec WinFax PRO 8.0 Update Available to Customers".
  16. ↑ "Symantec Establishes Link with PalmPilot for Mobile ACT! Users".
  17. ↑ "Symantec Introduces ACT! for the Windows CE Platform".
  18. ↑ "Symantec Announces Completion of SalesLogix Acquisition of ACT!" Archived 27 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine..
  19. ↑ "Best Software's ACT! for Palm OS Wins 2002 Product of the Year Award From Planet PDA Magazine".
  20. ↑ "Identifying specific areas where improvement is necessary".
  21. ↑ "Display LinkedIN, Google Maps and others in Tabs or Outlook in Dashboard".
  22. ↑ "Sage repositions ACT! to value group".
  23. ↑ "What Changes Were Made in ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.1)".
  24. ↑ "ACT! 2010 new Features and Comparison to older versions".
  25. ↑ "What's new in Sage ACT! 2013" Archived 21 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine.

External links

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