As we head into the final weeks of 2021, it’s fitting that we reflect on the year that passed. We ended 2020 with so much hope for brighter days, however, most would agree 2021 felt like an extension of the year we all wanted to forget.
The Act! world certainly saw a number of changes, as well. In the spring they released Act! v23 (the last 32-bit edition), and later in the fall the first 64-bit edition was released in Act! v24. Not to be outdone, we were also quite busy this year developing new products and acquiring others. In fact, this year saw us acquire all the add-on products of three separate companies, including TopLine Results, QsalesData, and finally ASDS products.
Here is a chronological breakdown of 2021, the year that was…
January
- Celebrated the end of 2020, only to realize 2021 was just a continuation of the same
- Keystroke launched a fund-raising drive to help feed Canadians affected by the Pandemic
- Keystroke added Free custom tables with all Orange Care Support Plans
- January marked the end of Act! Emarketing (AEM)
February
- Keystroke released “QuickTasks”, a popular task management solution for Act! users
- Handheld Contact introduced fifteen major new features to their API product, along with the release of a new API “Basic” product
- Keystroke introduced Act! Pro hosting service
- Act! discontinues the sale of perpetual Premium licenses
March
- Act! Premium v23 released
- AMA Basic was introduced as a new FREE feature with an Act! subscription
- Changes to AMA make it easier to use 3rd party designed templates in your campaigns
- Keystroke acquires all add-ons from TopLine Results. Rebrands Keystroke Designer, Keystroke Dash, and Keystroke Alerts as TopSuite Products
- Link2calendar launches with a new modern responsive look
- Handheld Contact introduces big savings with their support plans
April
- Keystroke releases its own API called K-API, and API purpose-built for add-ons
- Keystroke introduces online license updater for TopSuite products
May
- Keystroke acquires QsalesData from Effective Solutions
- Keystroke introduces big changes to our MailMerge products
June
- Keystroke releases our first major update to Qsales (12.2), as well as a Winback promotion to invite past Qsales customers to test drive the new version
- QuickTasks improved to support Webplanner.com integration and mobile clients for both IOS and Android
- The Keystroke Account Manager (KAM) was updated to include customer transaction history
- Handheld Contact update to support easy accounting integration
July
- Handheld Contact Classic introduces easy mail merging from your device
- Keystroke introduces a desktop version of custom tables with a perpetual license
August
September
- Keystroke introduces a free birthday gift feature with KAM
- Handheld Contact releases first-ever Mac version
- Act! v24 released as the first-ever 64-bit version of Act!
- Handheld Contact introduces VOIP calling, resend all activities, and daily summary email, as well as new products, pricing, and payment plans
October
- Actoberfest 2021 – our Annual Salebration
- Act! launches 50% off AMA promotion for Q4
- Keystroke updates all TopSuite products to support 64-bit version of Act!
November
- Keystroke acquires all ASDS add-ons, and promptly launches a WinBack campaign
- Qsales v13 launched as the biggest update in the product’s history
December
- AMA 50% off promo concludes
- WinBack promo for ASDS, TopSuite, and Qsales customers all end on December 17th
- Keystroke releases ListMax, a powerful add-on to add many customer-requested features to Act! (in progress)
Summary
We may have occasion to add to this list in the coming weeks, but the slowing pace of business during the holiday season makes this unlikely. No matter, it's been an exciting year to be sure. And based on the acquisitions we've made the past 12-months, we can look ahead to 2022 with much greater optimism. Stay tuned.
