6 Factors to Consider When Upgrading Act! CRM

Date Posted December 10, 2015
Written by Cate Dempsey

6 Factors to consider when upgrading Act!

The new Act! version 18 delivers a host of compatibility and productivity enhancements including new Act! emarketing administrative features and major improvements for Act! Premium for Web. Act! will keep you compatible with the latest business productivity tools like Microsoft Windows® 10, Office 2016 and browsers such as Chrome and Internet Explorer 11.

Act! Premium for Web users will experience a new simplistic and efficient design with added features to enable you to easily upload and add your own data.

Major improvements in the Act! emarketing feature now allows administrators to manage Team accounts including the ability to easily view Call Lists generated by other users. Combined with the Smart Task automation, Act! emarketing makes its easier than every to quickly follow-up hot leads.

For the techies, an all-new API platform allows for simple integration with other business tools to help streamline efficiency and extend the power of Act!. For more information on v18 see What’s New in Act!.

With these new features, it might be very enticing to upgrade immediately, especially for Act! Premium for Web users. To ensure an easy conversion however, we suggest that you consider the factors below to ensure pain-free upgrade.

Start clean To get the best conversion results, it would be prudent to have your existing database checked and cleaned prior to conversion. To get assistance with this process, please contact your Act! consultant or call us on 1300 362 046.
Check compatibility Upgrading any software can cause conflicts due to compatibility issues so we suggest checking that your that your hardware meets the minimum system requirements for the version of Act! that you are installing. Additionally, you should confirm that other office software or AddOns that you use with Act! will be compatible. Finding this out after the upgrade can cause issues and unnecessary expense for your business. View Act! v18 System Requirements
Custom Programming Any custom programming created for your current version may require upgrading which will incur additional charges. Please contact us to confirm compatibility.
Backup We strongly advise that you have at least one reliable backup of all your data prior to upgrading your database as Act! cannot convert back to a previous version. See How to back up and restore an Act! database.
Timing The time required to upgrade Act! depends on such factors as the number of users, locations and deployment methods. Ensure that you have planned the upgrade at a time to allow for any unforeseen complications arising from any of the above factors.
You don’t have to go it alone Our team of Act! Certified Consultants specialise in just Act! so they have the expertise to help you throughout the entire process – from data cleanup to training. Utilising our services will ensure that your transition to v18 is smooth in order to minimise disruption and any downtime for your business. To discuss your Act! upgrade, contact your local consultant or call us on 0800 443 163.