BCM vs ACT

[Adam]

I am hoping to replace ACT with BCM, but I do not know if they are the same
thing. Are they??

From what I understand in BCM, you cannot create custom forms like you do in
ACT. Will BCM ever support this feature or will CRM only do it?

Thanks!!

 

[Luther]

It depends on what's most important to you.

ACT is more mature and specifically targeted at sales force automation
and has more features than BCM. On the other hand BCM is integrated
directly into Outlook while ACT is a separate application that can
synchronize some data with Outlook.

Users who already use Outlook and are looking for more CRM features
should definately try out BCM.

If you already have ACT, but spend most of your time in Outlook
communiacting with customers, then you may find BCM is a better fit for
you.

If there are specific features in ACT, like custom forms, that you
can't live without, then you should let Microsoft know what those
features are. They regularly study all feature requests and rank them
before deciding what features to add next.

For v2 of BCM they decided to add database sharing for multiple users,
integration with accounting, and PDA.

I expect custom fields and forms are high on their list of things to do.

 

[BigDog]

The current version of BCM does not share the contacts with Outlook.
You have to either copy them or move them to BCM. If you copy them you
will have to manualy maintain them.

Also current verison will not sync with Smartphones using ActiveSync.

I hope the next version of BCM will address this.

 

[Steven Hambleton]

The current version of BCM does not share the contacts with Outlook.
You have to either copy them or move them to BCM. If you copy them you
will have to manualy maintain them.

Also current verison will not sync with Smartphones using ActiveSync.

I hope the next version of BCM will address this.

I currently use ACT but I don't use most of it's features but one
thing I really use a lot is scheduling calls which a lot of low end
CRM solutions don't do!

I've tried Outlook, Intuit Customer Manager and a host of others but
they don't do it!

I hope BCM v2 has a simple schedule a call feature and doesn't expect
me to do it as a task list (no specific times) or as an appointment.

Also a really big thing would be an email repository so I can send
specifically formatted emails depending on if they want out latest
price list or company details without having to add attachments.

 

[Dodo]

Dear Luther, You say that 'For v2 BCM they decided to add...." is that for
sure? Where do you get this knowledge. It's like music to my ears.
When is that V2 (even Beta) suppose to come out?