CRM Software Industry News

Partners leverage new ACT! architecture and .NET tools to create applications that help diverse base of registered ACT! users extend product’s functionality

Scottsdale, AZ; April 19, 2005?est Software, maker of the market leading ACT!?2005 contact and customer management product family, today detailed the early success of its ACT! Add-on Partner Program. The ACT! software development kit (SDK), used to build the new ACT! 2005 product architecture, provides independent software vendors with a robust set of .NET programming tools that simplify the development of add-on productivity solutions, and allow users to further extend their ACT! functionality. Developers using the ACT! SDK cite application development cycles as short as one week to update add-on products and less than 12 weeks to create new add-on products.

“Best Software modernized the ACT! architecture with the release of ACT! 2005, introducing a robust SDK that enables partners to build add-on products faster, with more features, and with the same ease of use for which ACT! is famous,” said Joe Bergera, senior vice president and general manager for Best Software Contact Management Solutions. “We are excited about the strong adoption of the new ACT! architecture by add-on partners, who recognize the significant business opportunity to design innovative solutions for the large ACT! user base.”

Since the release of ACT! 2005, independent software vendors have announced new ACT! add-ons at a rate of almost one per week. Today, there are 32 official ACT! Add-on Solutions. Add-on solutions complement and expand the ACT! 2005 user experience. These include innovative productivity tools addressing marketing, data management, shipping and reporting, among other business productivity extensions. Developers within the ACT! Add-on Partner Program receive product development guidance from Best Software and have the opportunity to participate in product marketing programs. Best Software reviews all ACT! add-on solutions to ensure they integrate with ACT! and enhance the ACT! user experience.

Several program members, including new partner Durkin Computing and long-time developer Stonefield Software Inc., have used the ACT! SDK’s expansive tool set to quickly design and introduce ACT! 2005 add-ons.

Contact List Plus for ACT! conceived, designed and delivered in 12 weeks
Contact List Plus from Durkin Computing, LLC is an ACT! add-on solution that enriches the ACT! contact list view with editing, color coding, column formatting and calculation features to expand a user’s contact grouping and organization options. “Developing with the ACT! SDK is a much shorter and more cost-effective process than our traditional model for creating applications,” explained Jim Durkin, president of Durkin Computing. “With all of its .NET tools, the sky is really the limit for ACT! because we can integrate with virtually any event that occurs in ACT! and decide from there how we want to make the features associated with it even more productive for users.”

Durkin Computing developed Contact List Plus from concept-to-market in approximately 12 weeks and anticipates that future solutions the company creates for ACT! will take half the time, due to its programming team’s growing familiarity with the ACT! SDK and the reusable code already generated. “When we created our first ACT! add-on, we spent less time as actual software developers and more time considering the marketing possibilities made available through the ACT! Add-on Partner Program. ACT! has an extraordinarily large base of users who we can assist and we look forward to continuing to build applications for this extensive, yet easy to use platform.”

Stonefield Query?features seamlessly enhanced in one week using ACT! SDK
Stonefield Software Inc., develops Stonefield Query for ACT!, a tool that enables users to further enhance the robust reporting tools within ACT! and create additional ad-hoc reports without complex programming. Stonefield used the ACT! SDK to update its popular add-on solution for ACT! 2005 in one week.

“The ACT! SDK provides a complete tool set that lets us tap into nearly any native ACT! function and easily integrate our query and reporting features,” said Rob Eisler, developer for Stonefield Software. “Through the ACT! 2005 SDK, we can directly access the SQL server and more tightly couple Stonefield products with ACT! to easily provide ad-hoc query and reporting features for the legions of productivity seeking ACT! users.”

ACT! Add-on Partner program
From front-office marketing solutions to back-office integration with other productivity solutions, ACT! add-on products help users integrate needed business functionality with ACT! so they can be more productive and run their businesses more cost efficiently.

ACT! add-on partners design solutions that help further extend the functionality of ACT! for individual users and members of ACT! workgroups. A complete list of ACT! add-on solutions and pricing is available at www.actsolutions.com. Developers interested in the ACT! Add-on Partner Program are encouraged to visit www.act.com/partners/addons.

ACT! 2005 From Best Software
Best Software offers two versions of its market-leading ACT! 2005 contact and customer manager: ACT! 2005 for individuals and small teams of up to ten users, and ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups, supporting powerful database collaboration for workgroups of up to 50 users.1 Both products deliver the same ACT! user experience with a fast return on investment and up to 50% lower total cost of ownership than hosted alternatives.

ACT! 2005 retails for $229.99 (upgrade $149.95 MSRP) and ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups retails for $399.99 (upgrade $259.95 MSRP). Both products are available at www.act.com/estore or by calling 866-333-0988.

ACT! 2005 can also be purchased from popular software retailers, e-tailers and direct resellers including Office Deport, CompUSA, Staples, Best Buy, OfficeMax, Fry’s and Micro Center.

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Nextel is first wireless service provider to offer ACT! mobile sales and productivity solution as direct-bill service to its customers

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. and RESTON, Va; May 16, 2005—Best Software, maker of the market leading ACT! 2005 contact and customer management product line, and Nextel Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXTL) today announced the launch of Handheld Contact™, an ACT! add-on solution for BlackBerry® 7520™ users. Nextel is the first wireless service provider to offer the combined ACT! and BlackBerry functionality as a Handheld Contact direct-bill service to its customers. The new solution allows users to access and manage their complete ACT! databases remotely using wireless synchronization and one-click drop-down menus that simplify data entry and editing, and automates sales management tasks for on-the-go professionals. The product will be featured at the Best Software Insights 2005 partner conference May 17-20 in Grapevine (Dallas), Texas.

J2X Technologies Inc., an ACT! Add-on technology partner developed the Handheld Contact solution in collaboration with Best Software to enable wireless syncing of contact and customer data between a user’s ACT! 2005 desktop software and BlackBerry device. Handheld Contact helps ACT! and BlackBerry users to:

Track and manage complete prospect and customer information including name, company, phone numbers, address, Web site, e-mail address and more;
Collaborate and share data with team members via two-way wireless synchronization inside and outside of wireless coverage areas;
Organize calendars with day/week/month views, schedule activities and tasks, and log notes and histories for calls and emails with automatic time-stamping;
Call or email ACT! contacts from BlackBerry phones;
Synchronize up to 26 pre-defined contact fields and 50 user-defined fields.
“Mobile access to customer and prospect information is essential for today’s business professionals, sales teams and larger workgroups,” explained Joe Bergera, senior vice president and general manager for ACT!, Best Software. “This solution, designed for ACT! and BlackBerry 7520 users, provides mobile professionals with the full-featured contact and sales management tools they need to stay connected and on top of their business.”

“Nextel is focused on offering our customers the power of wireless mobility, and the applications provided by Best Software coupled with our BlackBerry 7520 allow them to stay connected and not miss a beat while away from the office,” said Henry Stoever, senior director of industry marketing for Nextel. “Nextel is committed to helping people get business done. We are excited about our partnership with Best Software, giving us yet another opportunity to show how Nextel can assist mobile professionals in increasing their responsiveness to clients and bringing new value and insight into the client relationship.”

ACT! 2005 From Best Software
Best Software offers two versions of its market leading ACT! 2005 contact and customer manager: ACT! 2005 for individuals and small teams of up to ten users, and ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups, supporting powerful database collaboration for workgroups of up to 50 users.1 Both products deliver the same ACT! user experience with a fast return on investment and up to 50% lower total cost of ownership than hosted alternatives.

ACT! Add-on Solutions
From front-office marketing solutions to back-office integration with other productivity software, ACT! Add-on solutions help individual users and workgroups extend the functionality of ACT! and integrate needed business applications so they can be more productive and run their businesses more cost efficiently. A complete list of ACT! Add-on solutions and pricing is available at www.actsolutions.com. Developers interested in the ACT! Add-on Partner Program are encouraged to visit www.act.com/partners/addons.

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Palm OS?Garnet 5.4 optimizes contact and customer management data synchronization and productivity for on-the-go professionals using ACT! on leading-edge Palm Powered?mobile devices

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.; June 1, 2005—Sage Software, maker of the market leading ACT! 2005 contact and customer management product family, today announced an updated version of ACT! 2005 Link for the Palm OS platform providing two-way data synchronization compatible with the Palm OS Garnet 5.4 from PalmSource, Inc. and many popular mobile devices from palmOne, Inc. including the Treo™ 650 and Tugsten™ T5 models. Synchronization for the devices are part of the latest ACT! 2005 product update now available as a free download from www.act.com for registered users of ACT! 2005 and ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups.

“We believe that ACT! extends the powerful simplicity of the Palm OS platform by making one of the most widely used and intuitive contact management toolsets available to over 38 million Palm Powered mobile and wireless device users,” explained Patrick McVeigh, senior vice president of worldwide licensing and product marketing for PalmSource. “By optimizing ACT! data synchronization for Palm Powered devices, Sage Software shares our dedication to fulfill the need for people to access their critical business information anytime, anywhere.”

The ACT! two-way synchronization features integrate ACT! contact data seamlessly with Palm Powered devices so users can:

Synchronize an ACT! database, including contacts, activities, and to-do items to their mobile device – using all contacts or only those selected by specific criteria such as ZIP/Postal Code or ID/Status;
Synchronize up to 20 ACT! notes and history items for each contact – choosing which history types to sync;
Map ACT! contact data fields and synchronize them directly to Palm OS address book data fields;
View daily, weekly, and monthly calendars on their mobile device to display ACT! activities by type including calls, meetings and to-do items;
Create and edit contacts in ACT! or on their handheld device – having those records added during the next data synchronization;
Set contact access permissions using ACT! workgroup security features.
“ACT! is designed to give people command of their essential prospect and customer data so they can efficiently manage all of the activities that build profitable business relationships,” said Joe Bergera, senior vice president and general manager for Sage Software Contact Management Solutions. “Supporting Palm Powered devices provides ACT! users the ability to stay on top of their schedules and sales opportunities whether they are in the office or on the road.”

ACT! support for the latest devices from palmOne expands the mobile contact and customer management options already available to the professionals, sales teams and members of larger workgroups who use ACT! 2005. These include ACT! Link for Pocket PC, included free, as is ACT! Link for Palm OS, with licensed copies of ACT! 2005 and ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups, and Handheld Contact™, an ACT! add-on product enabling ACT! features for Blackberry device users available at www.actsolutions.com.

ACT! 2005 From Sage Software
ACT! created the contact and customer management software category in 1987, becoming the defacto standard for helping people organize, access and manage their comprehensive customer details in a single, integrated solution. Today, ACT! has over 2.3 Million registered users.

ACT! 2005 for individuals and small teams of up to ten users retails for $229.99 (upgrade $149.95 MSRP). ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups providing database collaboration for workgroups of up to 501 users retails for $399.99 (upgrade $259.95 MSRP). For more information, please visit www.act.com/estore or call 866-333-0988.

ACT! 2005 can also be purchased from popular software retailers, e-tailers and direct resellers including Office Deport, CompUSA, Staples, Best Buy, OfficeMax, Fry’s and Micro Center.

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Business productivity choice of millions now enables secure, real-time Web access to centralized data with industry’s most flexible deployment and administration options

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.; June 28, 2005—Sage Software, maker of market leading ACT! contact and customer management products, today introduced ACT! Premium for Web 2005, to provide real-time online access to centralized customer data for remote, traveling and onsite sales professionals and workgroups. ACT! Premium for Web 2005 leverages the feature-rich toolset that has made ACT! the preferred choice of over 2.3 million users since 1987. Users can now run ACT! Premium for Web for online access and ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005 as a full-featured offline client. Combined, the products create the first and only contact and customer management solution to provide a seamless online and offline user experience with Web, desktop or mixed deployment.

“We developed ACT! Premium for Web 2005 to deliver greater deployment flexibility and user productivity at the lowest total cost of ownership when compared head-to-head with hosted alternatives,” said Joe Bergera, senior vice president and general manager for Sage Software Contact Management Solutions. “Our philosophy of real-time, centralized customer data lets users access information however they wish, whether they’re running ACT! on the Web, their desktops or from remote locations, allowing a true work-as-desired environment.”1

Organizations using ACT! Premium for Web 2005 can realize up to 60% lower total cost of ownership over alternatives such as Salesforce.com Professional edition, while keeping complete ownership of their valuable customer data, avoiding ongoing subscription fees and benefiting from the ability to add users, capacity and storage as needed to optimize their business.2

“Sage has delivered an interesting contact management solution for users who are still wary of storing their data with hosted solutions providers,” said Denis Pombriant, managing principal of Beagle Research Group. “Sales force automation and CRM solutions that have a feature-rich heritage and can leverage centralized data sources via the Web to keep data assets in-house and easily accessible provide another option for companies of all sizes that are becoming involved in CRM.”

Anytime, anywhere access to customer data
ACT! helps sales and marketing professionals track opportunities, close sales, and manage customer relationships by streamlining the communications and tasks required for successful relationship selling.

ACT! Premium for Web 2005 expands the reach and simplicity of the feature-rich ACT! toolset with Web-based access so sales professionals and corporate workgroups in any location, at any time can:

Work with easy-to-use and time-tested features that can be customized for individual and industry-specific preferences;
Increase productivity by efficiently managing appointments, activities, documents, customer communications and campaigns and notes/histories;
Improve bottom-line results by automating and customizing key aspects of the sales cycle to provide better forecasting and opportunity tracking;
Access data quickly using keyword searches, detailed views and list sorting;
Organize data efficiently using group, sub-group and company categories;
Collaborate with team members using Web or Windows permission-based access to customer information, team calendars and company resources.
Most flexible deployment and security options
ACT! Premium for Web 2005 is built on the ACT! 2005 framework, developed using .NET, and uses a centrally administered server that resides securely behind a company’s firewall and updates customer data in real time - eliminating the need for remote synchronization and end-user software installation. The product can be deployed easily in single-server, dual-server or multiple architecture scenarios to support an organization’s precise performance and security preferences.

ACT! Premium for Web 2005 works in conjunction with ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005 and, combined, the products function as the industry’s only contact and customer management solution that lets users work online and offline seamlessly without sacrificing features, performance and security. With ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005, users can also synchronize their contact data with many Palm, Pocket PC and BlackBerry handheld devices.

Simple administration
ACT! Premium for Web 2005 servers allow administrators to quickly and easily add new users and set individual and group data access permissions. The system also provides an automatic software update option, so end users can receive new features instantly.

Administrators can customize screen layouts and reports easily by creating customizations once and rolling them out seamlessly to all desired users.

Synergy between the ACT! Web and Windows products helps reduce training and support time for new users, as many Windows users can adapt quickly to the familiar ACT! environment online and the products’ similar and intuitive interfaces help new users quickly learn how to use features and embrace the ACT! experience.

ACT! from Sage Software
ACT! Premium for Web 2005 further expands the Sage Software portfolio of easy-to-use, flexible and affordable customer relationship management solutions for small and medium-sized businesses that also includes ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005, Sage CRM and the SalesLogix CRM Suite.

ACT! Premium for Web 2005 is available through the ACT! Corporate Licensing Team for $399.99 (upgrade licenses $259.95) by phoning 888-855-5222, and from more than 400 ACT! Certified Consultants located at www.act.com/certifiedconsultants.

ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005 is available for $399.99 (upgrade $259.95).

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Sales team and corporate workgroup demand for online, offline and mobile capabilities propels ACT! over 30,000 corporate accounts, significantly outpacing market alternatives

Scottsdale, AZ; July 11, 2005—Sage Software today announced that more than 30,000 corporate accounts have selected its ACT! contact and customer management product in a five-year period ended March 31st 2005. The latest ACT! corporate account figure nearly doubles the 15,500 corporate account total currently listed by salesforce.com.1 Sage Software attributes its significant advantage over market alternatives in part to strong adoption of ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005, released August 24th 2004, to enable powerful collaboration tools for sales teams and corporate workgroups. ACT! Premium for Web 2005, released June 28th 2005, further extends this functionality while offering users seamless online/offline access to centralized and secure data.

“We have seen especially strong adoption of ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005 since introducing the product late last year,” said Joe Bergera, senior vice president and general manager for Sage Software Contact Management Solutions. “This momentum has helped to drive the addition of over 14,000 new corporate accounts in less than two years. Our easy-to-use feature set, expanding mobility options, low total cost of ownership, and expert certified consultant network all combine to make ACT! the true market leader.”

ACT! created the contact and customer management software category in 1987 and today is the preferred choice of over 2.3 million users to organize, access and manage their comprehensive customer details in a single, integrated solution.

Powerful toolset helps workgroups improve productivity and increase sales
The feature-rich ACT! toolset allows professionals, sales teams and corporate workgroups to:

Work with easy-to-use and time-tested features that can be customized for individual and industry-specific preferences;
Increase productivity by efficiently managing appointments, activities, documents, customer communications and campaigns and notes/histories;
Improve bottom-line results by automating and customizing key aspects of the sales cycle to provide better forecasting and opportunity tracking;
Access data quickly using keyword searches, detailed views and list sorting;
Organize data efficiently using group, sub-group and company categories;
Collaborate with team members using Web or Windows permission-based access to customer information, team calendars and company resources.
ACT! by Sage Software
Sage Software offers three versions of its market-leading ACT! 2005 contact and customer manager.

ACT! 2005 - for individuals and small teams of up to ten users, available at popular software retailers, e-tailers and direct resellers or by contacting Sage Software at 877-ACT-2005 or www.act.com/estore ($229.99 MSRP, upgrade $149.95 MSRP)

ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005 - for workgroups of up to 50 users2 available by contacting ACT! Corporate Licensing at 888-855-5222 and from more than 400 ACT! Certified Consultants located at www.act.com/certifiedconsultants ($399.99 MSRP, upgrade $259.95 MSRP)

ACT! Premium for Web 2005 - available as a standalone solution or in combination with ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005 to enable seamless online/offline access to centralized data by contacting ACT! Corporate Licensing at 888-855-5222 and from more than 400 ACT! Certified Consultants located at www.act.com/certifiedconsultants ($399.99 MSRP, upgrade $259.95 MSRP)

ACT! 2005 and ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005 each include ACT! Link for Peachtree providing users with the option to view and update accounting data within ACT!, as well as ACT! Link for Palm and ACT! Link for Pocket PC so users can synchronize data with many popular handheld devices. ACT! Premium for Web 2005 users can enable ACT! Link features using a combined solution that includes ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2005.

Handheld Contact™, an ACT! add-on solution for BlackBerry® 7520™ users, is available as a $19.95 monthly service and is featured, along with over 30 additional ACT! add-on products, at www.actsolutions.com.

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San Francisco, Calif. And Scottsdale, Ariz. - August 24, 2005 —

Sage Software and Visa U.S.A., Inc. announced today that Visa cardholders will be offered product rebates for online purchases of the market leading ACT! contact and customer management and Peachtree Accounting software applications. Consumer, small business and corporate cardholders can receive a $50 instant rebate on ACT! purchases. Cardholders can save 20% instantly when purchasing Peachtree Complete, Peachtree Premium, or any of the specialty editions of Peachtree: for Accountants, Construction, Distribution, Manufacturing and Nonprofit organizations. Products can be purchased now through October 31st 2005 using the cardholder’s Visa card at www.visa.com/discounts.

“Sage Software offers the broadest selection of business management software for small and mid-size businesses and organizations,” said Doug Meyer, president, Sage Software small business division. “Our commitment to serve customers with a range of solutions for the life of their businesses mirrors Visa’s vision for universal convenience and value. Combining Sage Software product value with Visa purchasing efficiency is an important step in expanding the benefits we offer our mutual customers.”

With 1.3 billion cards in circulation and unsurpassed acceptance in more than 150 countries, Visa-branded cards are nearly universal and give users the ability to make purchases conveniently, safely, and in the way they want.

ACT! created the contact and customer management software category in 1987 and today is the preferred choice of over 2.5 million users to help increase productivity by managing appointments, activities, documents and notes/histories required for effective customer communications. ACT! helps individuals, small business and corporate workgroups improve bottom-line results by automating and customizing key aspects of the sales cycle to provide better forecasting and opportunity tracking. For more information call 888-855-5222 or visit www.act.com/visaoffer.

For nearly 30 years, Peachtree accounting products have served the needs of growing small businesses who rely on their accounting to give them the insight they need to make better business decisions. Peachtree helps small businesses efficiently manage and streamline their accounting and business management operations by providing powerful accounting with strong analysis tools and operations management features including tight integration with Microsoft Excel and comprehensive reporting functionality. For more information call 800-228-0068 or visit www.peachtree.com/visaoffer

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Sage Software certified consultant network aligned to offer business development tools, support and training to over 1.3 million small business entrepreneurs

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - August 31, 2005?age Software today announced a nationwide strategic partnership with the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC). The partnership aligns Sage Software certified consultants with Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) nationwide to offer start-ups and growing businesses the management tools, training and support services that aid efficient business operations. The partnership also makes free 30-day trial CDs of Sage Software products including ACT! by Sage contact and customer management and Peachtree by Sage accounting solutions available for nearly 1,000 regional SBDCs providing assistance to over 1.3 million small business entrepreneurs annually.

“Small business is the engine of economic growth,” said Don Wilson, president and CEO for the Association of Small Business Development Centers. “Growth requires nurturing and coordinated management. By partnering with organizations like Sage Software that have the management and operational needs of small businesses as its core focus, we significantly increase our ability to help lead SBDC clients to sustained success.”

According to ASBDC, small business accounts for 99% of all U.S. businesses and employs 53% of the private work force to contribute over half of the nation’s private gross domestic product. As an advocate for America’s small business community, ASBDC offers one-on-one counseling to its member clients at no charge.

“Sage Software is all about helping people successfully manage their businesses during every phase of growth,” stated Doug Meyer, president for Sage Software, Small Business Division. “Partnering with ASBDC is a natural. We share a commitment to support the hopes and dreams of entrepreneurs and small business teams with training, business management tools and localized consulting expertise, thereby encouraging local, state and national economic growth.”

Sage Software is scheduled to conduct ACT! and Peachtree product demonstrations at ASBDC’s 25th Anniversary Annual Conference September 6th through 9th at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Maryland.

“It is so easy to work with my local SBDC,” noted Jennifer O’Brien of JCS Computer Resource, a Sage Software Certified Consultant. “They do the marketing, organize the students and set up training rooms. I use Sage Software user guides for training material and take along other Sage Software products, such as ACT! and Peachtree, that I believe will help students do more in less time. Recently, one student using QuickBooks switched to Peachtree because she found it provides better business information and is easier to use. Four other students also chose Peachtree. It turned out to be a winning partnership for everyone involved.”

ACT! created the contact and customer management software category in 1987. Today, ACT! is the preferred choice of over 2.5 million users and more than 30,000 corporate license customers to help increase productivity by managing the appointments, activities, documents and notes/histories required for effective customer communications. ACT! helps individuals, small business and corporate workgroups improve bottom-line results by automating and customizing key aspects of the sales cycle to provide better forecasting and opportunity tracking. For more information call 888-855-5222 or visit www.act.com.

For nearly 30 years, Peachtree accounting products have served the needs of growing small businesses who rely on their accounting to give them the insight they need to make better business decisions. Peachtree helps small businesses efficiently manage and streamline their accounting and business management operations by providing powerful accounting with strong analysis tools and operations management features including tight integration with Microsoft Excel and comprehensive reporting functionality. For more information call 800-228-0068 or visit www.peachtree.com.

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Comprehensive spectrum of Add-on applications extend ACT! functionality with unique sales, marketing, mapping, shipping and user productivity applications

Scottsdale, Ariz. ?September 6, 2005?/strong> Sage Software today announced over 40 new ACT! Add-on solutions compatible with the new ACT! by Sage 2006 and ACT! by Sage Premium for Workgroups 2006 contact and customer management solutions. The new add-on products further enhance individual productivity and team collaboration for ACT! users by offering a broad range of communications, sales, marketing, mapping, help desk, synchronization, administrative and productivity features.

?CT! offers a robust business productivity platform that many leading technology partners are eager to build on and further extend,?explained Joe Bergera, senior vice president and general manager for ACT! at Sage Software. ?hether it? BlackBerry?mobility, enhanced visual contact and task management capabilities, or a spectrum of marketing and administrative functions, ACT! add-on solutions deliver a breadth of capabilities that our millions of individual, team and corporate workgroup users can benefit from.?/p>

ACT! is used worldwide by over 2.5 million users and more than 30,000 corporate accounts to help sales teams and workgroups collaborate efficiently and build profitable customer relationships.

Sage Software today also announced availability of ACT! 2006 for one to ten networked users and ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 for sales teams and corporate workgroups. (See today? individual ACT! 2006 and ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 press releases for further details.)

Each ACT! add-on solution has been reviewed by Sage Software and works easily within or alongside the new ACT! 2006 product family. ACT! 2006 Add-on product solutions are available at www.actsolutions.com and include:

AddressGrabber Business by eGrabber, Inc. ?/strong> single-click data entry that automatically extracts contact details from Web sites, emails and documents and enters them into ACT!; also schedules calls, meetings and to-do? for incoming leads.

AddressGrabber Standard by eGrabber, Inc. ?/strong> single-click data entry that automatically extracts contact details from Web sites, emails and documents and enters them into ACT!

AdjustAbility by CompanionLink Software, Inc. ? view and modify ACT! tables and fields and set controls to automatically revise dates or incorrect records; includes ReportAbility for enhanced reporting and data export.

AutoAdmin III by ASDS Computer Company ? automatically backs up and maintains ACT! data to save users time and guard against data loss.

BusinessMap by ESRI, Inc. ?/strong> mapping software for U.S. and Canada creates custom maps from ACT! database with color-coding and drive time, among other features.

CardScan Executive for ACT! 2006 by CardScan, Inc. ?/strong> business card reader with drag-and-drop accuracy imports business card information into ACT!.

CardScan Pro for ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 by CardScan, Inc. ?/strong> business card reader with drag-and-drop accuracy imports business card information into ACT! Premium for Workgroups.

CashRush by Z-Firm, LLC ?/strong> runs credit card charge approvals from within ACT! (for up to three ACT! users).

CompanionLink Express by CompanionLink Software, Inc. ?/strong> synchronizes ACT! contact data with PDAs and Smartphones.

Contact List Plus by Durkin Computing ?/strong> enriches ACT! contact list view with color-coded organization and editing and transforms contact list into a personalized color-coded data view; advanced contact retrieval using data and color rules.

dbLink for ACT! by Windswept Software LLC ?/strong> links to and manages Microsoft Access (and other) databases inside ACT!.

DigitalNotes by ASDS Computer Company ?/strong> records and converts handwritten notes into searchable text in ACT! in one step without retyping or scanning.

DocAdmin by ASDS Computer Company ?/strong> scans documents into ACT! Document tab in a single mouse click; stored in PDF format so users can open, print, email, etc.

Do It! Bill It! by Datastream Consulting Services ?/strong> creates work item deliverables for clients and schedules as ACT! activities with due dates and billable/non-billable hours.

DoubleLook by CompanionLink Software, Inc. ?/strong> automatic settings to synchronize contacts and activities between ACT! and Outlook.

EmailRush by Z-Firm, LLC ?/strong> attaches and/or merges multiple files and converts them to PDF automatically for emailing from ACT! (for up to three ACT! users).

FaxAdmin by ASDS Computer Company ?/strong> sends faxes from within ACT!; with quick fax and mail-merge fax features.

FaxRush by Z-Firm, LLC ?/strong> one-click faxing from ACT!; logs fax status automatically (for up to three ACT! users).

Handheld Contact by J2X Technologies Inc. ?/strong> wireless service synchronizes ACT! features on BlackBerry devices.

Home Page Plus by Durkin Computing ?/strong> creates new tab in ACT! contact detail view for navigating to and viewing a contact? Web site.

InfoOptics - Universal Data Translator by Information Optics ?/strong> integrates ACT! with order entry, e-commerce, loan processing and accounting systems.

IOC Campaign by Information Optics ?/strong> generates follow-up emails, faxes and letters to prospects and customers from ACT! database.

Link Point 360 by Link Point 360 ?/strong> logs inbound and outbound e-mail, including attachments, to ACT! activity history.

ListGrabber by eGrabber, Inc. ?/strong> captures lists of contacts from Web sites and documents and transfers them into ACT!.

Macro Magic by iolo technologies, LLC ?/strong> reduces repetitive ACT! actions and simplifies complex tasks into a single step.

MedleyAdmin by ASDS Computer Company ?/strong> collection of productivity tools for ACT! including advanced picture field and time zone control options.

MergeAdmin?by ASDS Computer Company ?/strong> updates ACT! on a field-by-field level with data from an external ASCII file.

MigrateAdmin by ASDS Computer Company ?/strong> converts GoldMine?data directly into ACT!.

Project KickStart by Experience In Software, Inc. ?/strong> project management planned and scheduled within ACT!.

Pinpoint Marketing Tool by pinpointtools ?/strong> creates marketing plans consisting of letters, emails, calls, meetings, and to-dos, in any combination, for specified delivery.

PrintRush by Z-Firm, LLC ?/strong> creates centralized document library to automate merge printing from ACT! to multiple printers and locations (for up to three ACT! users).

ReportAbility by CompanionLink Software, Inc. ?/strong> creates reports for any table or field in ACT!; supplies alias and notes/history tables for easier report writing.

ResumeGrabber by eGrabber, Inc. ?/strong> automatically creates a contact in ACT! with resume as an attachment.

Scan and Organize for ACT! by Allied Financial Software, Inc. ?/strong> scans documents and manages them within ACT!; links contact, group or company to designated folder.

ShipRush Server by Z-Firm, LLC ?/strong> automatically pulls addresses from ACT! and saves the tracking number in the history tab; includes built in e-mail notifications.

Stonefield Query for ACT! by Stonefield Software Inc. ?/strong> end-user query tool streamlines report generation from ACT! database.

SwiftPage Email by SwiftPage Email ?/strong> online e-mail system for marketing and sales that integrates with ACT!; reports who opened an e-mail and what they clicked on.

Task List Plus by Durkin Computing ?/strong> advanced ACT! task list view features help reassign multiple activities and perform calculations with a single mouse click.

Tele-Support HelpDesk by Resource Dynamics, Inc. ?/strong> customer service, help desk, call tracking and customer support tools for use within ACT!.

TopLine Dash Manager by TopLine Results Corporation ?/strong> centralizes key business intelligence in a single view to help sales teams prioritize efforts, assess performance and predict results.

TopLine Dash Personal by TopLine Results Corporation ?/strong> centralizes key business intelligence in a single view to help individuals prioritize personal sales efforts, assess performance and predict results.

ACT! created the contact and customer management software category in 1987 and today is the preferred choice of over 2.5 million users to help increase productivity by managing appointments, activities, documents and notes/histories required for effective customer communications. ACT! helps individuals, small business and corporate workgroups improve bottom-line results by automating and customizing key aspects of the sales cycle to provide better forecasting and opportunity tracking. For more information call 888-855-5222 or visit www.act.com.

ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 ? for workgroups of up to 50 networked users is available by contacting ACT! Corporate Licensing at 888-855-5222 and from more than 600 ACT! Certified Consultants located at www.act.com/certifiedconsultants ($399.99 MSRP, upgrade $259.95 MSRP).

ACT! 2006 ? for individuals and small teams of up to ten networked users, available at popular software retailers, e-tailers and direct resellers or by contacting Sage Software at 888-ACT-2006 or www.act.com/estore ($229.99 MSRP, upgrade $149.95 MSRP).

Developers interested in the ACT! Add-on Partner Program are encouraged to visit www.act.com/partners/addonpartners.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Blog

Contact and customer management toolset tailored for team and corporate workgroup productivity, delivered as a cost-effective, secure and easy to administer solution

Scottsdale, Ariz. ?September 6, 2005?/strong> Sage Software today introduced the new ACT! by Sage Premium for Workgroups 2006 solution, delivering robust contact and customer management tools for sales teams and corporate workgroups. New functionality for user and workgroup productivity includes advanced company and group tree-view, customized opportunity fields, enhanced attachment synchronization and additional email integration options. New features for deployment, administration and security include silent installation, automatic database back-up and sync, and custom user permissions. ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 is available for $399.99 MSRP per new users, and $259.95 MSRP for existing ACT! users.

ACT! is used worldwide by over 2.5 million users and more than 30,000 corporate accounts to help sales teams and workgroups collaborate efficiently and build profitable customer relationships.

?CT! has long been recognized as the leading contact and customer management tool for individuals and, with our Premium edition, this same functionality is extended for front-line sales teams and corporate workgroups,?said Joe Bergera, ACT! general manager for Sage Software. ?arger organizations that have historically only considered expensive systems with features beyond their needs can now leverage ACT! as the tool best suited to their direct business requirements. ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 builds on the strength of a leading-edge database architecture to enable scalable and secure features for corporate IT environments.?/p>

ACT! Premium for Workgroups functions as an organization? central repository for critical customer information. High-impact sales professionals, who manage high-value customer relationships requiring personalized attention, can track opportunities from initial prospecting through closed sale using standard or customized processes.

?he CRM and sales automation requirements of large sales teams continue to define unique market segments, including one focused on corporate workgroups with specific contact management needs,?said Sheryl Kingstone, CRM research director for Yankee Group. ?CT! Premium for Workgroups, with its strong heritage and new architecture, is well suited for this growing segment.?/p>

Organizations using ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 benefit from a perpetual licensing model that can realize up to 60% lower total cost of ownership when compared with market alternatives.

Enhanced user productivity features include:

Advanced Company and Group ?ree?View to easily visualize group and company relationships and their hierarchy within subgroups and divisions;
Customizable Opportunity fields and drop-down lists allowing currency, decimal or number fields, mandatory fields, easy-select field values and disabled editing;
Enhanced attachment synchronization and database memory optimization;
En masse contact access granted from contact list view to easily make contacts public, private or limited to specific users or workgroups;
Lotus Notes?IMG src=http://www.shanghaining.com/gate58/category/crm/act/”/images/footnote_1_content.gif”> integration to perform ACT! functions from email and track history;
Expanded accounting capabilities including Sage BusinessWorks 50 Accounting, Peachtree by Sage, Simply Accounting by Sage and QuickBooks 2005 Pro/Premier integration.
New administration, deployment and security features include:

Automatic database sync and backup enabling scheduled sync times for remote databases and scheduled backups; once set up, no user involvement is required;
Silent installation enables ACT! to be pushed to users in different locations using existing software distribution methods from a central network server, with pre-defined user preferences;
Custom user permissions to allow or restrict deletions and export to excel;
Easy-view team membership allowing administrators, managers and individuals to right click a team name to see members of that team;
Contact Lookup by access to see which contacts specific users or teams can access, including quick access assignment for new employees and workgroups;
Terminal services/Citrix support to leverage existing infrastructure and allow users from different locations to access the same ACT! database without the need for VPN access.
The feature-rich ACT! toolset allows sales teams and corporate workgroups to:

Increase productivity by organizing data in group, sub-group and company categories, and managing opportunities, notes/histories and appointments;

Access data quickly using keyword searches, detailed views and list sorting;
Increase sales by automating and customizing key aspects of the sales cycle to provide better forecasting and opportunity tracking;

Collaborate with team members using permission-based access to customer information, team calendars and company resources;
Customize data fields, views, calendar options and sales processes for specific industry and individual business requirements;
Integrate ACT! with common business applications including Microsoft?Office, Lotus Notes, and popular Palm OS?and Pocket PC handheld devices.
Sage Software today also announced over 40 new ACT! add-on solutions now available to help teams further extend their ACT! database functionality with marketing, shipping, mapping and synchronization capabilities, among others. (See today? ?age Software Highlights Over 40 New Add-on Partner Solutions For Its New ACT! by Sage 2006 Product Family?press release for further details).

ACT! by Sage Premium for Workgroups 2006 ? for workgroups of up to 50 networked users is available by contacting ACT! Corporate Licensing at 888-855-5222 and from more than 600 ACT! Certified Consultants located at www.act.com/certifiedconsultants

($399.99 MSRP, upgrade $259.95 MSRP)

ACT! by Sage 2006 ? for individuals and small teams of up to ten networked users, available at popular software retailers, e-tailers and direct resellers or by contacting Sage Software at 888-ACT-2006 or www.act.com/estore ($229.99 MSRP, upgrade $149.95 MSRP)

ACT! Handheld Links ?/strong> ACT! 2006 and ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 each include ACT! Link for Palm OS and ACT! Link for Pocket PC to synchronize data with many popular handheld devices.

ACT! Add-on Solutions ? ACT! Add-on solutions extend database functionality to help businesses run more cost efficiently. A complete list of ACT! Add-on solutions and pricing is available at www.actsolutions.com . Developers interested in the ACT! Add-on Partner Program are encouraged to visit www.act.com/partners/addonpartners.

Requires Lotus Notes version 6.5
Please check www.act.com/products/accounting for version compatibility and availability dates.
Citrix and Terminal Services require specific configurations. Citrix supported using Presentation Server V3.0 and V4.0.
Actual number of users and contacts supported will vary based on hardware and size and usage of your database. The 50 user limit is based on performance tests using minimum hardware requirements and is a recommendation. You must purchase one license of ACT! per user.
?2005 Sage Software SB, Inc. All rights reserved. The Sage Software logo and the Sage Software product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software SB, Inc., or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Blog

Enhanced productivity, simple administration and expanded accounting integration for individuals and small businesses managing high-value customer relationships

Scottsdale , Ariz. ?September 6, 2005?/strong> Sage Software today introduced ACT! by Sage 2006, the contact and customer management solution for individuals and small businesses of one to ten networked users. ACT! debuted in 1987 and today is the #1 selling contact and customer management tool of choice by over 2.5 million users worldwide. New features include advanced company and group tree-view, easy options for managing contact, group and company associations and expanded accounting link integrations. ACT! 2006 is available to new users for $229.99 MSRP, and $149.95 MSRP for existing ACT! users.

?ssisting individuals and small businesses with the vital need to manage their high-value customer relationships is the essence of ACT!,?said Joe Bergera, ACT! senior vice president and general manager for Sage Software. ?CT! 2006 delivers easy to use and intuitive features, right out of the box, to meet the needs of people who focus daily on the balance of sales, marketing and administrative tasks required to build successful businesses.?

ACT! installs quickly and easily to help users organize the contact details, notes, histories, appointments and documents required to build and sustain successful customer relationships. ACT! data fields, contact views, calendar options, sales forecasting and opportunity tracking capabilities can be used as is or easily customized to address various business requirements.

ACT! 2006 integrates with many common business applications including Microsoft?Office, Lotus Notes?IMG src=http://www.shanghaining.com/gate58/category/crm/act/”/images/footnote_1_content.gif”> and popular Palm OS?and Pocket PC handheld devices. ACT! 2006 has expanded accounting capabilities including Sage BusinessWorks 50 Accounting, Peachtree by Sage, Simply Accounting by Sage and QuickBooks 2005 Pro/Premier integration.

?mall businesses across all industry types rely on cost-effective applications that are designed to address their unique business environments,?noted Sanjeev Aggarwal, senior analyst for small and medium business strategies at the Yankee Group. ?CT! responds to these needs providing easy installation and an intuitive user interface that millions of customers value. With its proven track record, ACT! is an example of a successful user-focused small business application.?

New ACT! 2006 Features

ACT! 2006 provides new features to enrich the user experience and simplify database administration including:

Advanced Company and Group ?ree?View to easily visualize Group and Company relationships and their hierarchy within subgroups and divisions;
Add Contacts easily to multiple Groups and Companies via Contact Detail view, and create hyperlinks when linking Contacts to Companies;
Phone numbers printed on ACT! calendars for all scheduled calls, even if not originally listed by user in the appointment, for at-a-glance access;
Enhanced attachment synchronization to optimize synch time and keep all necessary documents current;
Database synchronization up to 365 days to assist remote employees with data security, expired databases can synch back to server one last time to prevent data loss;
Remote user permissions to allow database back-up, restore and maintenance functions;
Terminal services/Citrix support to leverage existing infrastructure and allow users from different locations to access the same ACT! database without the need for VPN access;
Lotus Notes integration to perform ACT! functions from email and track history.
Simple design keeps wide variety of users in command of high-value relationships

ACT! 2006 user benefits cross industries and business types to serve the needs of a wide range of users including:

Sales professionals and consultants who need to manage clients and prospects;
Real estate agents who need to maintain relationships with buyers, sellers, referrers, property owners and other agents;
Recruiters who need to track job candidates and clients to match job seekers and employers efficiently;
Seminar and training professionals who need to manage interactions with instructors, promoters, attendees, facility managers, and equipment suppliers;
Manufacturers?representatives who need to track transactions and interactions with manufacturers and customers;
Business owners and managers who need to track customers, prospects, vendors and business associates.
Sage Software also today announced ACT! by Sage Premium for Workgroups 2006 today for sales teams and corporate workgroups. ACT! Premium for Workgroups includes all ACT! 2006 features and additionally provides workgroup collaboration features, enhanced opportunity tracking, greater scalability, advanced administration and deployment. (See today? ?CT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 ?press release for details.)

Sage Software today further announced over 40 new ACT! Add-on solutions now available to help users further extend their ACT! database functionality with marketing, shipping, mapping and synchronization capabilities, among others. (See today? ?age Software Highlights Over 40 New Add-on Partner Solutions For Its New ACT! by Sage 2006 Product Family?press release for further details).

ACT! 2006 ? for individuals and small teams of up to ten networked users, available at popular software retailers, e-tailers and direct resellers or by contacting Sage Software at 888-ACT-2006 or www.act.com/estore ($229.99 MSRP, upgrade $149.95 MSRP).

ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 ? for workgroups of up to 50 networked users is available by contacting ACT! Corporate Licensing at 888-855-5222 and from more than 600 ACT! Certified Consultants located at www.act.com/certifiedconsultants ($399.99 MSRP, upgrade $259.95 MSRP)

ACT! Handheld Links ?/strong> ACT! 2006 and ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 each include ACT! Link for Palm OS and ACT! Link for Pocket PC to synchronize data with many popular handheld devices.

ACT! Add-on Solutions ? ACT! Add-on solutions extend database functionality to help businesses run more cost efficiently. A complete list of ACT! Add-on solutions and pricing is available at www.actsolutions.com . Developers interested in the ACT! Add-on Partner Program are encouraged to visit www.act.com/partners/addonpartners.

ACT! 2006 will also be available for purchase beginning in September at popular software retailers, e-tailers and direct resellers including Office Depot, CompUSA, Staples, Best Buy, OfficeMax, Fry? and Micro Center.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Blog