Swiftpage Celebrates 30 Years of Act!

Swiftpage recently announced the 30th anniversary of its Act! solution. Act! was a pioneer in the CRM industry 30 years ago, launching the first version of its solution in April 1987. Swiftpage acquired it in 2013, and since then has been transforming it in accordance with the ever-changing landscape of the industry.

Swiftpage has reached a number of milestones since acquiring Act!, according to John Oechsle, CEO of Swiftpage: The company transformed it from a closed desktop system to a cloud-enabled open platform; it took the business model from a license and maintenance model to a subscription-based model; and it integrated Swiftpage's email marketing software directly into the Act! platform. But, he notes, "a big milestone for us was the acquisition itself because when we acquired it, Act! had been around for quite some time, and had really gone on the back shelf and was almost becoming irrelevant." Swiftpage, he says, is working on "constantly revitalizing and refreshing the brand."

The latest version continues the evolution of the Act! Premium cloud-enabled platform, he says. "It's a full-functioning CRM that gives everybody the ability to access it across multiple different devices, [and] since we have this new cloud-enabled platform, we’re able to build purpose-built apps on top of that." One such app is Act! Companion, designed to make parts of the Act! platform accessible in a light mobile interface for working on the go. "Act! Companion is geared towards the sales warrior who is on the fly all the time," Oechsle says, "and wants something very easy and light to capture all their information and then have it connected back into their platform."

"Act! was the original CRM; back in 1987, people were mainly using rolodexes. Act! was a way of taking those and peoples' day planners and automating them. Over the years, it got into managing relationships with customers," Oechsle says. "Now, it's really evolved, managing all the interactions that you have with customers, prospects, leads, etc. It's really gone to the next level; it's not just managing a relationship—it's about understanding how you have to have a connected workplace, and that CRM becomes your authoritative source, the heart of your business, because it has all the information that you need in order to grow your business…and is connected with all the other pieces of software that you use in order to run your business."

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