For quite a few years ACT! by Sage has released a new version of its software around September 1st, and they always promote their new tools and features. I am often asked by my clients if they should upgrade to the latest and greatest version of ACT! and quite often that isn’t an easy question to answer.
I know some people are early adopters and just have to have the latest and greatest. I’m not one of those people. Sometimes you have to upgrade just to make other software work properly with ACT!. Sometimes it’s a cost issue. But many times it just comes down to the new features and how they will make your ACT! experience better.
Assuming you don’t have to upgrade, I’d urge you to consider sidegrading. Let me explain what I mean by sidegrading.
Imagine for a moment that you are a software developer who works for ACT! and your goal is to make ACT! the perfect software program for the way you use it on a daily basis. What does it lack? What would make it perfect? What tools and features would you develop? Next, ask yourself the following question: are those tools and features already available to me?
There is a large community of ACT! software developers that have created ACT! add-on products that can help you take ACT! to another level. One example of this is Swiftpage, which adds Constant Contact like e-mail features to ACT!. One of my favorite developers is Jim Durkin of Durkin Computing (www.DurkinComputing.com) because he makes tools that extend the value of ACT!. I also like the products offered by Gilles Cavin at Exponenciel (www.exponenciel.com) because they are also very practical. I’d also urge you to visit the AddOn Store (www.actaddons.com) to see a large variety of products and services.
To take this a step further, have you ever considered what add-on products might be available for other software programs that you use?
The bottom line is simple, we all want to work as efficiently and effectively as possible as long as it doesn’t break the bank; and sometimes sidegrading is better than upgrading.
