Sage ACT! 2012 Contact & Customer Manager Adds Google Integration, Universal Search, and Anywhere Access With Sage ACT! Connect

Sage North America has announced the new Sage ACT! 2012 contact and customer manager plus Sage ACT! Connect, a Sage Connected Service that lets users access their Sage ACT! contact records and calendar items from virtually anywhere.

Sage ACT! 2012 feature additions include Gmail, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar integration, expanded and faster universal search capabilities, and a virtual notepad, among other enhancements that allow Sage ACT! to function as the sales and marketing command center for small and midsized businesses.

"Small businesses have many technology choices and turnkey systems that can serve as their sales management activity hub are very appealing," said Laurie McCabe, co-founder and analyst with SMB Group. "Applications like Sage ACT! that continue delivering new functionality SMBs and start-ups find most useful, such as Google Apps integration and improved mobile support, add quantifiable value for businesses where everyone needs it most, on the front line."

New Sage ACT! 2012 features and enhancements include the following:

• Google Integration, which helps users manage business and personal Gmail, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar details within Sage ACT!, and view Sage ACT! contact and calendar items while in Google. When users send and receive Gmail, even via a registered business domain email address, history is recorded in the corresponding Sage ACT! contact record. Users can sync all or a subset of Sage ACT! contacts with Google, sync Sage ACT! and Google calendars manually or automatically, and choose which Sage ACT! activity types sync to Google as well as clear activities from either application.
• Sage ACT! Connect, a cloud-based subscription service that lets users access and edit Sage ACT! contacts and calendar data virtually anywhere via smartphones including BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Android, and Web browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari on laptops and tablets like the iPad. Users can also keep Google and Yahoo! contacts in Sage ACT! Connect and link Facebook pictures to contacts.
• Universal Search, which helps users find key documents or pieces of information within Sage ACT! contacts, groups, companies, opportunities, notes, history, and attachments. Users can further filter search criteria by date, then display results by relevance and click items of interest to go to those fields or attachments.
• Sage ACT! Scratchpad, which lets users capture impromptu notes, phone numbers, and personal reminders with or without opening Sage ACT!. Users can prioritize and check off items once completed, print lists and push tasks requiring follow-up into Sage ACT!. Items can be sent to Sage ACT! as activities, notes, history and assigned to specific contacts.

In addition to Sage ACT! Connect, other subscription-based Sage Connected Services available for use with Sage ACT! include Sage E-marketing for ACT! to help design, automate, and track email campaigns, and Sage Business Info Services for ACT! to identify new selling opportunities by importing targeted prospect lists from Hoover's.

Sage ACT! is used by more than 2.8 million people and 59,000 companies and integrates with other business solutions, including Google, Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and Lotus Notes.

Sage ACT! Pro 2012 is available for $239.99 MSRP (upgrade $179.95 MSRP). Sage ACT! Premium 2012 with Windows and web client access options, additional security and administration features for teams sharing a central database is $479.99 MSRP (upgrade $319.95 MSRP).Subscription-based Sage Connected Services: Sage ACT! Connect is available for $69.95 per user, per year; Sage Business Info Services for ACT! access levels range from free to $54.95 per user, per month; and Sage E-marketing for ACT! ranges from $14.95 to $54.95 per user, per month.