Last week my phone started ringing off the hook; Swiftpage had sent out an email announcing the release of Act v24 and the demise of Act v22. The message started, “As you’ve likely heard, Act! v24 was released last fall, and as an Act! subscriber, you have access to all new versions released, including v24! To ensure you benefit from important updates and enhancements, we strongly recommend being on the latest version of Act!.”
The message went on to say that “Act! Premium v22 will be retired on March 31, 2022. After this date, users on Act! Premium v22 will no longer receive critical updates that ensure uninterrupted use of Act! or be eligible for technical support. Act! v24 delivers turbocharged performance via a 64-bit native architecture, while user-driven Office integration enhancements bring optimized usability. New marketing automation capabilities enable greater collaboration and drive dynamic marketing outreach with intelligent follow-up.”
You gotta love marketing people! Small wonder my phone was ringing. Allow me to translate.
- Act! v24 was released last fall. Translation: Many of us don’t like to install the latest and greatest software; it is now safe to install Act! v24 as most of the bugs have been fixed.
- Act! Premium v22 will be retired. Translation: Swiftpage will no longer be offering support services or providing software patches. However, if you software is working for you and you are not experiencing any issues feel free to stick with Act! Premium 22.
- Act! v24 delivers turbocharged performance via a 64-bit native architecture. Translation: 64-bit hardware has been around since the turn of the century. However, not all software is designed to make use of this increased performance. At long last Act! is now capable of 64-bit performance.
- User-driven Office integration enhancements bring optimized usability. Translation: Some of the issues between Act and Office 365 have been fixed.
- New marketing automation capabilities enable greater collaboration. Translation: Swiftpage has made a few enhancements to its Act! Marketing Automation (AMA) platform. More importantly, your Act! subscription now includes a free basic eMarketing account capable of sending out 2,500 emails per month.
What they didn’t say:
- If you purchase a new computer with Windows 11 you’ll want to upgrade to Act! v24. Although you might be able to install an earlier version of Act! on Windows 11 you will most likely encounter a variety of issues.
- Office 365: the rule of thumb is to install Office prior to installing Act!. In addition, each Office version update will more than likely disable the Office/Act! integration. Do yourself a favor and turn off the auto updating feature. It is also highly recommended that you install the full version of Office rather than the “apps.”
Questions? We have the answers! Feel free to reach out to the Act! Consultants at Tech Benders!
Can you please tell me what are the upgrade options to upgrade from ACT! Pro v.21 to version 24?
Following is my scenario:
I have been a continuous user of ACT! since I started a small business in September, 1996 and only with perpetual licenses. I sold that business in 2015 and have been retired ever since. Since retirement, ACT! has served strictly as personal information management software for my wife and me. ACT! perpetual (new) was $49.95 in 1996; Our upgrade to V.21 cost $189.99 each ($379.98) for both seats. It appears that the cost has now increased to $449.99 each seat . . . ~$900 for the two of us!
I was perfectly satisfied with v.21, irrespective of warnings of security vulnerability exploitation risks. My desktop computer motherboard, however, failed. Upon receiving the repaired computer back, ACT! v.21 will not allow reactivation and ACT! Support (if you can call it that) no longer considers me a customer. Apparently, ACT! has a very different idea of the concept of perpetuity (i.e. perpetual license).
Thus, my inquiry about how I might retain functionality at the lowest cost.
I have downloaded and installed Pro v.24 but now have less than 30 days to use it.
For reference. I am a Microsoft 365 subscriber, but only use the desktop applications, including Outlook. I am not a fan of web-based applications for Windows, and likely never will be.
If, by chance, you know of any other non-web-based personal information management software that could serve as a good replacement in lieu of ACT!, I would be ever grateful if you can advise.
Hi Stephen,
Thanks for reaching out to Tech Benders!
Theoretically someone at Act! should be willing to “release” your activations. If you had purchased your software from me I’d be able to find it for you but alas, you did not so I can’t help you there. Before you shell out the $900 for Act! I’d appreciate it if you would purchase through me; I’d at least be able to help you in the future.
Unfortunately the days of $49 software that you could use for 20 years are long gone. There’s just no way a company could continue to survive with little or no revenue so no, I doubt that you will be able to find software in that price range. If you weren’t opposed to the cloud there are a couple of really low cost options for other products including one that is $7/month/user. There’s even a solution that is free but it won’t work for you as you don’t want to be in the cloud.
Personally, I think cloud solutions are safer than your personal PC. At the end of the day many users don’t like “cloud” because they don’t like monthly or yearly expenses. Again, there are some really inexpensive solutions out there so you might want to rethink your requirements.
I currently have Sage Act Pro 2011 running on an old machine, operating system Small Business Server 2012. I use it to keep an electronic version of my schedule and to keep/sort contacts, print envelopes and labels.
I do not use the application with Outlook nor any other functions (nor do I need other functions such as keeping marketing notes, etc.). I kept Office 10 on that Server 2012 in order to be able to continue to create personalized form letters.
Other than a cloud based backup system, I do not do any and do not want any cloud based computing.
Knowing that Microsoft will soon discontinue support for Small Business Server 2012, my computer technician installed a new Server with Essentials 2019 operating system.
My two questions:
1) Does Swiftpage Act! Even have a perpetual version that will work with Essentials 2019 and Windows 10?
2) Is it even possible to migrate the Sage Act Pro 2011 data on Small Business Server 2012 to the Essentials 2019 Server?
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for reaching out. I do have to warn you that you are walking a tightrope. Act! 2011 can no longer be activated so don’t attempt to install it on another machine.
In answer to your questions:
1. Does Swiftpage Act! Even have a perpetual version that will work with Essentials 2019 and Windows 10? Yes, you can purchase Act! pro v24 although I am not sure for how much longer. You can purchase it via this link; Swiftpage does not sell the product directly. The support is somewhat limited and needs to be purchased separately. I can tell you they won’t help you migrate your database. However, we can do it. I am also assuming that you will be using this product for 5 or less users.
2. Is it even possible to migrate the Sage Act Pro 2011 data on Small Business Server 2012 to the Essentials 2019 Server? Yes, here are the Act! v24 Pro system requirements
Let me know if you have additional questions.