ACT! Upgrade from 6.3 to 10.0 in a server configuration

[Valentin]

We intend to upgrade from ACT 6.0 to ACT 2008.  We presently use word 2002 for editing and ACT! Email engine for e-mail

The reason for upgrade:

A. constant problems with the e-mail,

B. we wish to use Outlook for HTML e-mail, and

C. no good faxing solution from ACT 6.0 

D. no support for the current ACT version

The present configuration is:

The database is on a DELL PE 840 Server (pentium D processor @ 2.8 MHz with 2.0GB ram 2x 250 mirrored drives)

We access the database with 3 local computers (various Pentium 4  @ 2.8- 3.2 MHZ all with 2 GB ram)

We have 1 computer ( P4 @ 1.8MHz, 1 GB ram) that accesses the data through a VPN tunnel.

Quickbooks is installed on one of the office computers and on the VPN remote one.  

Reading various doomsday and disaster posts on different forums, it seems to me that there are a lot of frustrated ACT users that have upgraded and are not happy with the performance or with the various applications conflicts. They blame ACT, ACT thech support thinks they have gremlins in their computers and maybe that the customers did not prepare correctly for the upgrade. My opinion is that the truth is somewhere in the middle. I would like to do everything by the book and post a sucess story on these forums.

I have a few questions related to what we intend to do and to what I already read in different posts in several forums. Any help would be appreciated. Also any verified solutions or ideas that I haven't even touched on in my questions would be appreceiated.

A. We have purchased Office Standard 2007 for all computers that will run ACT! 2008. Do we need to install the office 2007 before ACT    2008, in order for Outlook to function properly or the order of installation doesn't matter?

B. I read somewhere that Installing ACT 2008 will (re)install MS Netframe 2.0 and that causes Quickbooks to stop working and will need to be reinstalled. Is that true? Any way around that?

C. We also use 3 HP 6955 Smartphones (Pocket PC) that we would like to sincronize with the database, including real time e-mail. What scenario works best for this? 

-    Syncronize ACT with Outlook and than syncronize the smartphones with outlook?

-    Use ACT Link?

-    Use a third party application that would allow syncronization between ACT and the Smart phone?

D. There will be one new remote laptop (Pentium Celeron @1.8 Mhz 1.0 GB ram) added to the present configuration. This laptop belongs to a travelling outside sales person.

-    Is the laptop hardware enough?

-    What is the best solution to keep the data in the office and on the road in sync? Have wireless access for the laptop and have the sales person work through VPN directly in the server or syncronisation at the end of day?

E. We have a few WinFax Pro 10.03 (and older) licenses. Is it possible to set the system up in such a way that everybody connected to the server could send faxes through the server and have them logged in the contact history? Could we also receive the faxes in the server and attach the received faxes to the contact history?  Do we need to install WinFax on every computer  or only on the server?

F. Last but not least, regarding migration of the existing database including the attached documents and e-mails,

-    What do I need to do to upgrade (migrate) and in what order?

[GLComputing]

A - install Office 2007 before ACT! 2008. It needs to see it during install

B - if the .Net Framework is already installed, it should not reinstall it.

C - My personal preference is Handheld Contact - it gives you the most ACT!-like experience

D - If possible, you'll get better performance from 2GB and a 7200RPM drive and a 4GB Swap File. VPN will allow you to sync. Better if you have the Premium version of ACT!

E - You need Faxadmin to link to WinFax

F - Read this article from the ACT! Knowledge Base

How many users are you looking at?

What else is running on the server?