Act! CRM

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 Act! and has a user base of over 3.8 million registered users.[2]

Act!
Developer(s)Act!
Initial releaseApril 1, 1987 (1987-04-01)
Stable release
Act! v22 – Nov 2019[1]
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
Platform • Microsoft SQL Server
 • .NET Framework
Available inEnglish, French, German
Type • CRM software
 • Contact management software
Websiteact.com

Act! is available in English (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand), French, and German, and is sold through international resellers and Act! Certified Consultants.[3]

Software

As of 2016, there were three editions of Act!:

  • Act! Pro, which is limited to five active users and uses Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Express.
  • Act! Premium (access via Windows or Web browser) is designed for small to medium-sized businesses, can handle much larger user numbers and can use more scalable editions of SQL.
  • Act! 365, a hosted version of Act! designed for smaller businesses with lighter CRM needs[4]

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.[3] A number of third-party companies develop add-on products using Act!'s software development kit that expands the functionality of the software.[5]

Act! can be accessed from Windows desktops (Win7 and later)[6] 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]

History

The company Conductor Software was founded 1986 in Dallas, Texas, by Pat Sullivan[8] and Mike Muhney.[9] 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,[10] 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! 21. Development now happens in Scottsdale, Arizona, with regional offices in several countries.

In 2018, Swiftpage made the decision to discontinue the embedded process that facilitates licensing services at the end of 2018. As of January 1, 2019, certain common actions you may take that interact with the current licensing component will cause Act! to fail and you will no longer be able to access your database. Examples of these common actions include but are not limited to attempting to install Act! on new hardware, modifying existing hardware, and modifying your user count. This forces anyone using the ACT! product to purchase the new updated software.

In 2020, Swiftpage changed its name to Act! LLC.

gollark: Why would you want *that*?
gollark: NoooooOO! I missed an AP nebula!
gollark: Yay, an AP hatchling and I got it!
gollark: I don't know which spriters have which alts, and some may not want to be bothered.
gollark: Well, probably, it's a chicken with a slightly rude code.

See also

References
  1. "What's new by version"
  2. "Sage ACT! CRM Updates" Archived 4 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. "Act! Certified Consultants".
  4. "Swiftpage ACT Product Compare page". Swiftpage.com. Swiftpage. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  5. "Act! Addon Store" Archived 4 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. "Act! Compatibility Matrix"
  7. "Mobile Solutions Comparison for ACT!" Archived 12 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. "Early historical Comments".
  9. Mike Muhney
  10. Greenman, Catherine. "Sage buys Interact Commerce". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
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