ACT Software Still The System Of Choice For Small Businesses?

ACT! Software is the World's largest selling contact management system, used by over 4 million small businesses worldwide; this software is widely regarded as the best CRM package in the small business sector. However, with businesses demanding more and more from their contact management systems, and the CRM market getting ever more competitive, is ACT! still able to hold its own?

ACT! 2008 was launched in August 2008, after a lengthy research and development process from its father company Sage UK. The new ACT! Software boasts some significant improvements over its predecessors. The inclusion of a sales dashboard and facilities to integrate with accountancy systems where significant improvements and saw ACT! bridge the gap from content manager to fully functional CRM system. Compatibility with Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 has made this software a much more rounded package. Despite these improvements, some have questioned whether it is still really the system of choice for the small business.

There is no definitive answer. While ACT! still provides more than enough functionality for the majority of businesses, there may be some places where it is not suitable. Differing business needs makes pre sales consultancy important, doing your research before you buy is vital as this software may not be of use for your business. Many businesses who originally believe that a system such as ACT! will meet their requirements eventually chose something more advanced such as Sage CRM Software or SalesLogix, as these may have been more suitable for their business needs.

ACT! Software is still as good if not better than it always was. Small businesses will find that its ease of use, functionality and excellent contact management abilities will more then meet their requirements. Coupled with expansive add-ons for e marketing, report writing and accounts integration, ACT! is an accomplished tool. In the small business market and there is little doubt that its dominance will remain.

However there are superior alternatives available in the mid market arena, alternatives that can outperform ACT! in many areas. These superior alternatives have already been identified to be more effective and have seen some businesses choose to use those other software's over ACT!. Like other content management software, ACT! is constantly updated and renewed so as to keep ahead of newer more advanced software's. However, there can be little doubt that ACT! will remain the system of choice for smaller businesses, but others with larger budgets will probably look at something more complex.