Sunshine back in the Act! world. For many of our users a Microsoft Windows update unexpectedly caused their mail merge emails sent from their Act! v23 desktops to get stuck in the Outlook draft folder. Act! has released Act! v23 Update 5 to fix this issue. After this update Outlook sends email mail merges as normal. We highly recommend anyone coming across this issue apply the update to restore their system to normal. This update is not schema breaking so can function in a mixed environment with others on different patch levels. Please let us know if you need any assistance deploying the fix.
Act! is now including Act! Marketing Automation Basic in all new and renewal licenses. The Basic level will allow you to send 2500 emails per month. This is a fantastic way to begin using Marketing Automation. Although you will not have any of the advanced features, you can begin by developing fantastic looking email templates and sending them out to your contacts. This is especially good news for users of the old Swiftpage E Marketing or Act! E Marketing packages, both of which have been obsoleted. The inclusion of the Basic tier of Act! Marketing Automation is a great alternative for these users. This new tier provides a drag and drop template editor and allows you to send up to 2500 emails per month which can be expanded to 10,000 emails per month for the cost of $15.00 per month for each 2500 added. You will also be able to see basic metrics in Act! as to whether your email was opened.
Act! like many vendors implements a policy whereby they support the current release of the product and specific older releases up to a certain date. When a release becomes unsupported, the products are no longer eligible for service packs, hotfixes, or compatibility updates. ASDS as a vendor can provide support on older versions of Act!, but sometimes a workaround cannot be developed without the manufacturer’s support. The dates below are the published upcoming Act! obsolescence policy dates. Products not listed here are already obsolete.
Act! Growth Suite v22, Act! Premium v22
Through 3/31/22
Act! Growth Suite v21, Act! Premium v21
Through 11/30/21
Act! Pro v21, Act! Pro v22
Through 11/30/21
Act! v20 products
Through 11/30/20
Act! Obsolescence Policy Dates
If you are running anything older than Act! v21, your software is obsolete and has already been locked at the last revision of that software. You can no longer get support from Act! In real terms this means your software is vulnerable from a security standpoint. When software is locked, you no longer receive the updates necessary to keep it performing with other related software. In the Act! world this mean Windows, Outlook, and GoogleTM.
It is time to consider an Act! subscription plan to keep you up to date and in step with other software applications. Act! Subscription plans include free updates as long as your subscription is active.
The bottom line is that by staying on an old release to save money, you are putting your company at risk. Both security risk from hackers as well as taking the risk of having access to your data and functions interrupted. Don’t be caught trying to restore your applications functionality.
Meanwhile, If you run into an issue on an older product, please check with us to see if we can help – we have been supporting Act! for over 30 years!
