SageACT! Connect Cloud Service

The new release of SageACT! 2012 makes available an additional product called SageACT! Connect. This is a subscription-based product that syncs *your* individual ACT! database to a hosted site, which then makes the data available to some smartphones, or a portal accessed via a browser. I'll go over some of the basics, and show you how I use it.

What Is It?
SageACT! Connect is a subscription based product, currently at $59.95/year, which is a great price compared to other addons, and especially to cloud/subscription-based CRM systems, which can run close to that per month.

There have been addons to sync ACT to your phone for some time. CompanionLink and HandHeld Contact (HHC) are probably the two most popular. In fact, I do use HHC, as it has a native iPhone app and synchronizes custom fields (more on why that matters later).  However, I also use SageACT Connect, due to the option to access via a web portal.  This means that I can access Contacts and Calendar on any computer, including my Mac.

Example: went to the portal using my Mac, added an Event on the Calendar.  The sync service that runs on the same machine as my ACT database sync'd that event to ACT, which then sync'd it to Google Calendar, as I also have the Google Integration setup. (Yes, I could have just added it to my GCal, this is just an example).

There is support for some phones directly - mostly BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian - but not for the iPhone (or the iPad).  While I have not used it on the iPhone via Safari, I have heard people use it successfully on an iPad.

What syncs?
Basic contact data/fields, a few recent Notes and History, and Calendar Activities.  No Groups, Companies, Opportunities, or custom fields.  To be fair, HHC does not do these either, except for some custom fields.  This is not a solution for those looking for total cloud access, you want to implement ACT for Web in that case, which is real-time access anyway.

Note: This "product" is a combination of the stored cloud data and a service running locally on your machine.  The local service is connected to your database, and configured to run at scheduled intervals, sync-ing Contacts and Calendar items you specify.

Conclusion
The fact is, like Google integration, I see this as a step in the right direction and a work in progress.  The ability to get Contact and Calendar data in an ACT "format" that syncs directly to my database is what I like most.  I do have Contacts and Calendar sync with Google, so there is some redundancy (for me), but for those who do *not* use Google accounts, this is an excellent solution to get mobile access to some ACT data.

Over the past year, I've had many people call looking for alternatives to ACT because they want either web or mobile (or both) access.  The powers-that-be at ACT are recognizing the shift, and are rolling out enhancements that allow users to keep the security, familiarity, functionality, and customization of ACT - which is far and above *any* cloud based system - while providing anytime access to the users.

Please contact me with any questions or comments...