ACT! 2010 was released in September 2009.  So far it’s had good reviews from a number of industry analysts.  So aside from all the marketing speak of all the exact new features, what’s the real story behind it?  Why would any business go through the hassle of upgrading?  Let’s be honest, upgrading to most small businesses means capital expenses on the software, “hidden” costs on getting the product installed, and downtime for your staff while the product is installed and configured.  Keeping the costs in mind, there better be a good reason to go through the expense and effort of upgrading! So here’s what the glossy marketing pieces say about what’s been added to ACT! 2010:

• Work Better and Faster with the Easy New Design
• Take Advantage of Leading-edge Social Media Technology
• Generate Actionable Demand with End-to-End E-marketing
• Tailor Opportunities to Fit Your Selling Model
• Gain Insight with New Dashboards and Reports, and Streamlined View

Over the next few weeks I’ll be covering the new features listed above, as well as what I feel are other beneficial new features in the product.  This post I’ll focus on the interface changes.

 Work Better and Faster with the Easy New Design

One of the things you’ll notice immediately once you open ACT! 2010 is that the look and feel is very different than previous versions.  While it’s marketed as making the product easier, a lot of the layout changes and cosmetic changes were to make it look more like the other Sage products.  As an experience ACT! Consultant, my gut reaction is one of panic.  You know, something about the “old dog new tricks” thing coming up.  Yes, it’s completely different and at first you wonder if you clicked on the right icon on your desktop!  However, once you take a look around, you realise yes this is ACT!  and the navigation is actually not that different either, it just looks different.  First off you’ll notice the different colour scheme (of which you can pick either “Sage Green or “Sage Silver”) which, while it may not add functional value, does make you feel like you’re in a new product.

The toolbar icons have been changed to what I like to call “big easy” buttons.  I’ve actually come to like these big icons and I especially like the fact that the History icon is one of them (missed for too many versions of ACT!).  These large icons really stand out and I find myself actually using them!

The next feature may be more for the new users, but I think it’s a great step towards improved adoption.  ACT! has continually won awards for its “ease of use”, however, one of the downsides of having a simple interface is that many of the more advanced features often end up buried.  As a result users simply don’t realise these features exist.  The new “Welcome” screen is a step in the right direction to getting new users more comfortable with features and at least giving a learning center that they can return to for “How to” information.

Overall I think the interface updates in ACT! 2010 are a welcome change!  Inevitably with any software package, when you make a change to the product, you run the risk of disappointing existing users.  I believe the new interface definitely caters to new users allowing them to figure out the product quickly, but at the same time I think the design team did a fine job ensuring that existing users will still be happy.