While Act! for Web first appeared in 2003, it’s been a poor second cousin to the desktop version because it didn’t have the same feature set.
That’s changing and changing rapidly. The latest iteration of Act! for Web, version 18.2 has brought with it a bunch of new features that bring it closer to full parity with the desktop version. In addition to that the developers have been working hard to ensure it works well in Google Chrome because it is the most widely used browser in the world with over 50% market share.
Browser usage share, 2009-2016, StatCounter
Possibly the biggest and most important is the new Web API feature. With this it’s now possible to link other products to Act! via a service like Zapier. For example, this means that when you create a new contact in Xero, it can be automatically created in Act! for you, with Zapier taking care of that ‘in the middle’ bit for you. This sort of automation not only reduces double handling and errors, but it frees up staff time for them to work on creating value for the business instead of mundane low value work.
When you subscribe to Act! Premium, automatically included in that is licensing for Act! for Web. All you then need is a suitable server running Microsoft Windows and Microsoft IIS. We have clients who are running Act! for Web servers hosted in local data centres as this gives them reasonable monthly cost, rather than having to pay thousands for a server in their office and then paying for someone to maintain it.
Act! for Web is no longer the poor second cousin, but rather, a full fledged member of the family.
All of this means that if you want to be using Act! over the internet, you now have a great option available to you, you can integrate it with other products that haven’t previously been available and it doesn’t break the bank.
The Act! Knowledge Base article with all the gritty details is Act! KB 38347 What’s new in Act! v18.2?.
Contact our office If you would like to talk further about having your Act! database running on Act! for Web.