Act! v20 Future Scope?
RenSchmid wrote:I know that I would be considered small cheese in the wider ACT! framework, but a subscription model for ACT! should at least outline feature improvements especially when I have committed to subscription-based add-ons to make it work effectively in my settings. These add-ons make-up for shortfalls in ACT! and are often not very well supported. XACT is a notable exception here, but other developers are lazy in documentation and arrogant in their support. Autistic Spectrum Disorder (Aspergers) is live and well amongst ACT! add-on developers....."
Thanks for your kind reference to Xact Software.
It's a hard road for the development community, there are others that do things very well, take a look at Exponenciel out of Canada for example. Swiftpage have shown great reluctance in embracing the add-on community yet this community is responsible for a good portion of the 'stickability' of Act! and new customers due to a long period of add-on innovation and innovation in depth that Swiftpage have neither the resources nor the wit to replicate.
With custom tables, of course there has been for a longtime the ability to add these but no user interface to do so making custom table additions reliant on a developer using the Act! SDK or the two prominent companies Durkin and Topline for provision of the tools to the end user to do so. If it is the intent of Swiftpage to ask for additional subscription fee for custom table tools for end users I believe that is regrettable and short-sighted. It needs to be included in the current subscription in support of those loyal to Act!. It serves neither Swiftpage, the customers or the product in the long term and diminishes any goodwill they hope to preserve.The question Swiftpage has before them is where is market growth going to come from without delighting their customer base with benevolence and goodwill toward them and a path to the future rather than trying to eke out a dollar at every turn.
