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Thread: Lon: Have you given up on Act! 2007?

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Lon: Have you given up on Act! 2007?
Ed Marmon <unlisted[ at ].com.com> 5/18/2007 3:12:19 PM
Or are you just adding BCM to your bag of supported software?

I ask because I'm trialling Act! 2007, which I never thought I would after
the ACt 2005 debacle, and I actually like it...

Thoughts?

And nore importantly, do you know of a 3rd party chat forum other than the
one hosted by Act! ( which is anemic ) where I can read some poop about the
product and tips & tricks?

Thanks
Re: Have you given up on Act! 2007?
"Lon Orenstein" <Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com> 5/18/2007 11:19:52 PM
Well, that's a tough question. I've not given up on ACT! -- our pinpoint
Marketing tool works with it just fine. ACT! wants to sell 25-50 user deals
and we have thousands of users in the 1-10 user market who are left without
a good option, so I migrated our customized pinpoint Solutions to BCM.

Our experience is that ACT! 2005-2007 is too hard for many small businesses
to make work correctly without using a Certified Consultant. That's an
added cost on top of the cost of the software which is an added cost
compared to BCM.

There is an ACT! forum on Yahoo that you might check out... BTW, you won't
be able to use Office 2007 or Vista with ACT! 2007 -- that may come in
2008...

HTH,
Lon

___________________________________________________________
Lon Orenstein
pinpointtools, llc
Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com
Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
www.pinpointtools.com


"Ed Marmon" <unlisted[ at ].com.com> wrote in message
news:Xns993471FBD6DAFedmarmailcom[ at ]207.46.248.16...
[Quoted Text]
> Or are you just adding BCM to your bag of supported software?
>
> I ask because I'm trialling Act! 2007, which I never thought I would after
> the ACt 2005 debacle, and I actually like it...
>
> Thoughts?
>
> And nore importantly, do you know of a 3rd party chat forum other than the
> one hosted by Act! ( which is anemic ) where I can read some poop about
> the
> product and tips & tricks?
>
> Thanks

Re: Have you given up on Act! 2007?
Ed Marmon <unlisted[ at ].com.com> 5/19/2007 8:44:01 PM
Hmm... Too hard... Of course, you know better than I how Act! is and was
marketed as the "easy" solution! ...And you'll find people pooh-poohing
other CRM's such as Goldmine as being difficult compared to Act!...
That's why it's interesting you put it the way you did.

Have you any unofficial thoughts as to when the BCM people will get
themselves together and release BCM 3.1 to fix many of the strange
workflow-decelerating nonfeatures of BCM, so as to really make it a
nobrainer in terms of viabilty? ( 2-3 click single-letter mail merge
comes to mind ).

I bought and may return Act! 2007 due to it's clunkiness, 1997-style
email integration, fumbling spell checker, and other quirkiness.

Thanks


"Lon Orenstein" <Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com> wrote in
news:uj3rAMamHHA.2596[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl:

[Quoted Text]
> Well, that's a tough question. I've not given up on ACT! -- our
> pinpoint Marketing tool works with it just fine. ACT! wants to sell
> 25-50 user deals and we have thousands of users in the 1-10 user
> market who are left without a good option, so I migrated our
> customized pinpoint Solutions to BCM.
>
> Our experience is that ACT! 2005-2007 is too hard for many small
> businesses to make work correctly without using a Certified
> Consultant. That's an added cost on top of the cost of the software
> which is an added cost compared to BCM.
>
> There is an ACT! forum on Yahoo that you might check out... BTW, you
> won't be able to use Office 2007 or Vista with ACT! 2007 -- that may
> come in 2008...
>
> HTH,
> Lon
>
> ___________________________________________________________
> Lon Orenstein
> pinpointtools, llc
> Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com
> Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
> Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
> 800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
> www.pinpointtools.com
>
>
> "Ed Marmon" <unlisted[ at ].com.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns993471FBD6DAFedmarmailcom[ at ]207.46.248.16...
>> Or are you just adding BCM to your bag of supported software?
>>
>> I ask because I'm trialling Act! 2007, which I never thought I would
>> after the ACt 2005 debacle, and I actually like it...
>>
>> Thoughts?
>>
>> And nore importantly, do you know of a 3rd party chat forum other
>> than the one hosted by Act! ( which is anemic ) where I can read some
>> poop about the
>> product and tips & tricks?
>>
>> Thanks
>
>

Re: Have you given up on Act! 2007?
"Lon Orenstein" <Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com> 5/21/2007 1:59:11 PM
Ed:

No, I don't have any official or unofficial estimates. I do know that the
BCM Team is really trying hard to make BCM a great product -- they have
great intentions. That said, they work for a large behemoth and they can't
just post a new version that fixes a few things, like we can. Their other
problem which is no small factor, is that BCM is linked to Outlook and NO
ONE screws around with Outlook. It's a huge part of Microsoft's platform
and all the other programs tiptoe around when interacting with it. So,
releasing fixes to BCM will always be slower than we'd like because of the
compatibility issues and testing required with Outlook.

HTH,
Lon

___________________________________________________________
Lon Orenstein
pinpointtools, llc
Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com
Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
www.pinpointtools.com


"Ed Marmon" <unlisted[ at ].com.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9935AA3954D6Fedmarmailcom[ at ]207.46.248.16...
[Quoted Text]
> Hmm... Too hard... Of course, you know better than I how Act! is and was
> marketed as the "easy" solution! ...And you'll find people pooh-poohing
> other CRM's such as Goldmine as being difficult compared to Act!...
> That's why it's interesting you put it the way you did.
>
> Have you any unofficial thoughts as to when the BCM people will get
> themselves together and release BCM 3.1 to fix many of the strange
> workflow-decelerating nonfeatures of BCM, so as to really make it a
> nobrainer in terms of viabilty? ( 2-3 click single-letter mail merge
> comes to mind ).
>
> I bought and may return Act! 2007 due to it's clunkiness, 1997-style
> email integration, fumbling spell checker, and other quirkiness.
>
> Thanks
>
>
> "Lon Orenstein" <Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com> wrote in
> news:uj3rAMamHHA.2596[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl:
>
>> Well, that's a tough question. I've not given up on ACT! -- our
>> pinpoint Marketing tool works with it just fine. ACT! wants to sell
>> 25-50 user deals and we have thousands of users in the 1-10 user
>> market who are left without a good option, so I migrated our
>> customized pinpoint Solutions to BCM.
>>
>> Our experience is that ACT! 2005-2007 is too hard for many small
>> businesses to make work correctly without using a Certified
>> Consultant. That's an added cost on top of the cost of the software
>> which is an added cost compared to BCM.
>>
>> There is an ACT! forum on Yahoo that you might check out... BTW, you
>> won't be able to use Office 2007 or Vista with ACT! 2007 -- that may
>> come in 2008...
>>
>> HTH,
>> Lon
>>
>> ___________________________________________________________
>> Lon Orenstein
>> pinpointtools, llc
>> Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com
>> Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
>> Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
>> 800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
>> www.pinpointtools.com
>>
>>
>> "Ed Marmon" <unlisted[ at ].com.com> wrote in message
>> news:Xns993471FBD6DAFedmarmailcom[ at ]207.46.248.16...
>>> Or are you just adding BCM to your bag of supported software?
>>>
>>> I ask because I'm trialling Act! 2007, which I never thought I would
>>> after the ACt 2005 debacle, and I actually like it...
>>>
>>> Thoughts?
>>>
>>> And nore importantly, do you know of a 3rd party chat forum other
>>> than the one hosted by Act! ( which is anemic ) where I can read some
>>> poop about the
>>> product and tips & tricks?
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>
>>
>

Re: Have you given up on Act! 2007?
Debra 5/21/2007 9:35:00 PM
to you folds: I have given up on Act! because 2007 was the last straw. I
have no problem using the product, it is just that 2005 caused me to rebuild
my system due to SQL problems, 2006 updated fine but it took the technician 3
1/2 hours today to remove 2006 and re load 2007 because of the SQL problems.
I am looking at BCM but nervous. I just want something to work that I can
rely on.


"Lon Orenstein" wrote:

[Quoted Text]
> Ed:
>
> No, I don't have any official or unofficial estimates. I do know that the
> BCM Team is really trying hard to make BCM a great product -- they have
> great intentions. That said, they work for a large behemoth and they can't
> just post a new version that fixes a few things, like we can. Their other
> problem which is no small factor, is that BCM is linked to Outlook and NO
> ONE screws around with Outlook. It's a huge part of Microsoft's platform
> and all the other programs tiptoe around when interacting with it. So,
> releasing fixes to BCM will always be slower than we'd like because of the
> compatibility issues and testing required with Outlook.
>
> HTH,
> Lon
>
> ___________________________________________________________
> Lon Orenstein
> pinpointtools, llc
> Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com
> Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
> Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
> 800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
> www.pinpointtools.com
>
>
> "Ed Marmon" <unlisted[ at ].com.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns9935AA3954D6Fedmarmailcom[ at ]207.46.248.16...
> > Hmm... Too hard... Of course, you know better than I how Act! is and was
> > marketed as the "easy" solution! ...And you'll find people pooh-poohing
> > other CRM's such as Goldmine as being difficult compared to Act!...
> > That's why it's interesting you put it the way you did.
> >
> > Have you any unofficial thoughts as to when the BCM people will get
> > themselves together and release BCM 3.1 to fix many of the strange
> > workflow-decelerating nonfeatures of BCM, so as to really make it a
> > nobrainer in terms of viabilty? ( 2-3 click single-letter mail merge
> > comes to mind ).
> >
> > I bought and may return Act! 2007 due to it's clunkiness, 1997-style
> > email integration, fumbling spell checker, and other quirkiness.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> >
> > "Lon Orenstein" <Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com> wrote in
> > news:uj3rAMamHHA.2596[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl:
> >
> >> Well, that's a tough question. I've not given up on ACT! -- our
> >> pinpoint Marketing tool works with it just fine. ACT! wants to sell
> >> 25-50 user deals and we have thousands of users in the 1-10 user
> >> market who are left without a good option, so I migrated our
> >> customized pinpoint Solutions to BCM.
> >>
> >> Our experience is that ACT! 2005-2007 is too hard for many small
> >> businesses to make work correctly without using a Certified
> >> Consultant. That's an added cost on top of the cost of the software
> >> which is an added cost compared to BCM.
> >>
> >> There is an ACT! forum on Yahoo that you might check out... BTW, you
> >> won't be able to use Office 2007 or Vista with ACT! 2007 -- that may
> >> come in 2008...
> >>
> >> HTH,
> >> Lon
> >>
> >> ___________________________________________________________
> >> Lon Orenstein
> >> pinpointtools, llc
> >> Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com
> >> Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
> >> Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
> >> 800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
> >> www.pinpointtools.com
> >>
> >>
> >> "Ed Marmon" <unlisted[ at ].com.com> wrote in message
> >> news:Xns993471FBD6DAFedmarmailcom[ at ]207.46.248.16...
> >>> Or are you just adding BCM to your bag of supported software?
> >>>
> >>> I ask because I'm trialling Act! 2007, which I never thought I would
> >>> after the ACt 2005 debacle, and I actually like it...
> >>>
> >>> Thoughts?
> >>>
> >>> And nore importantly, do you know of a 3rd party chat forum other
> >>> than the one hosted by Act! ( which is anemic ) where I can read some
> >>> poop about the
> >>> product and tips & tricks?
> >>>
> >>> Thanks
> >>
> >>
> >
>
>
Re: Have you given up on Act! 2007?
"mrtimpeterson via OfficeKB.com" <u8453[ at ]uwe> 5/23/2007 6:26:29 AM
Lon,

Your comments about NO ONE screwing around with Outlook were interesting.
The very point of BCM is that it is supposed to work within Outlook and
enhance capability. Outlook by itself is lacking in vital functionality and
for there to be this smug hands-off mindset just makes no sense. BCM by its
very nature is an attempt to "mess-with" Outlook to make the messaging client
more complete than just a PIM. MS needs to rethink the sacred nature of
their beloved Outlook so that the cobbled together end result of it together
with BCM can be improved upon.

-THP

Lon Orenstein wrote:
[Quoted Text]
>Ed:
>
>No, I don't have any official or unofficial estimates. I do know that the
>BCM Team is really trying hard to make BCM a great product -- they have
>great intentions. That said, they work for a large behemoth and they can't
>just post a new version that fixes a few things, like we can. Their other
>problem which is no small factor, is that BCM is linked to Outlook and NO
>ONE screws around with Outlook. It's a huge part of Microsoft's platform
>and all the other programs tiptoe around when interacting with it. So,
>releasing fixes to BCM will always be slower than we'd like because of the
>compatibility issues and testing required with Outlook.
>
>HTH,
>Lon
>
>___________________________________________________________
>Lon Orenstein
>pinpointtools, llc
>Lon[ at ]pinpointtools.com
>Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
>Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
>800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
>www.pinpointtools.com
>
>> Hmm... Too hard... Of course, you know better than I how Act! is and was
>> marketed as the "easy" solution! ...And you'll find people pooh-poohing
>[quoted text clipped - 52 lines]
>>>>
>>>> Thanks

--
Message posted via OfficeKB.com
http://www.officekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/outlook-bcm/200705/1

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