Should you upgrade ACT!?

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A customer asked us recently, “How often should I upgrade?” A purely numbers driven sales person might say, “Every version, silly!” We answer a bit more realistically, with more consideration for our customer.

So many software companies have adopted the new version every year philosophy. Why do they do this to us? A struggle for software developers is achieving recurring income. When you put out a good solid software product, people buy it, they love it, but they may not upgrade for several versions. So as the software company, you search for a way to bolster a continuous stream of revenue. One way is the annual release.

Is there really anything worth upgrading for EVERY year? Should you just stick with your version, because “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Should you ride the version you have until you have to upgrade? Here are some reasons you should upgrade, and tips to plan for those:

You have to have the newest, shiny gizmo. One of the biggest reasons to upgrade every year is simply because you want to. If you are like us, and like to have the shiny new gadget, then yes, by all means upgrade every version. Early adopters should consider Sage Business Care, ACT!’s version of Support & Maintenance. This ensures you have the latest version when it’s released for much less than the typical upgrade price.

You need compatibility. This is a biggie. A lot of our customers are replacing computers. Those new computers have newer versions of Windows and Office. The older versions of ACT! may install, but we can promise you, issues are on the horizon. If you upgrade your systems, you should also budget to upgrade your ACT! software.

Your version is no longer supported. If ACT! is a major part of how you track your daily business, this is dicey. Sage currently supports the three most current versions of ACT!. Sure, we have several customers chugging along just fine on older, unsupported versions. We warn those customers often that if something comes up that we can solve, there is nowhere to escalate the issue.

You like the new features. This is the no brainer. You’ve seen the marketing. You’ve talked to your trusted TrilogyCRM ACT! CC and you know the product is solid, and there’s the feature you’ve been waiting for, that’s a sure time to upgrade.

When in doubt, call us. A good ACT! Certified Consultant will be candid. We know your business, your implementation of ACT!, and can tell you if an upgrade makes sense.