It's been 5-months since the release of Act! v19 in January, and many users are still taking a wait-and-see approach to the question of whether it's worth the plunge. While I understand the hesitation, a lot has changed this year that should weight into that decision.
- In February we saw the release of Service Pack #1 (v19.1),
- In March we saw changes to update entitlements, which better defined who were eligible to receive Act! Premium product updates and when.
- In April Handheld Contact became available for bundling with Act! on www.Act.com, allowing users to align their subscriptions of Act! and the #1 mobile solution for Act! into one easy annual bill.
- Also in April we also celebrated the 30th birthday of Act!, the #1 Contact & Customer Manager in the world for more than a generation, and one of the pioneers in the CRM industry.
- In May, existing Act! subscribers saw a small 6% increase in their fees, while those not on subscription faced a much higher increase with the elimination of the monthly payment plans. Loyalty definitely had it's privileges for many Act! users.
- Also in May, we have the imminent release of 19.2, which at time of publishing this article, has completed the beta process (details on this update at the bottom of this article).
While updating can be a disruptive process, Swiftpage has addressed numerous bugs in the initial release, and at present is a very stable process. If you're still cautious about cost, Act! remains an excellent value at $25/month (paid annually), and certainly on the lower end of the CRM price scale, but we understand that when it comes to change, users still need to be convinced of value. It's for that reason we thought we'd review the many new features, updates, and benefits users can expect with an upgrade to Act! v19.
New Act! features include the following:
* Available with Premium Subscription Only
Compatible with 64-bit versions of Microsoft Office |
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Handheld Contact available on Act.com |
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Act! Companion mobile app*
With Act! 19.1 (February 2017), capture details on the spot and easily associate history to Act! Premium contacts and other users with @ mentions. |
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Act! Premium Contact Link for use with Outlook* |
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Web API-based connections available through Act! Connect Link* (Available on Act! Premium Subscription only) |
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Act! Emarketing performance improvements
Act! Emarketing performance improvements - including campaigns send up to 5 times faster and additional campaign management enhancements.
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30+ refreshed standard reports
Now with more relevant fields, plus improved default filters and sort orders to help you get the information you need quickly. |
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Enhanced parity between Act for Windows & Act for Web
The feature gap between the Web and Windows versions of Act! continues to shrink as now new features previously only available in Windows®, now are in the Cloud version, including scan for Duplicates, formatting toolbar in layout designer, and Opportunity enhancements like the ability to manage products and processes are now available through the Cloud version of Act!. |
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Additional Updates UX/Functionality Compatibility |