Accessing ACT! Data on Your Mobile&am

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Accessing your ACT! data while in your office makes it easy to stay on top of your game, but what about those times when you’re on the road? Fortunately, there are several methods to move your ACT! data onto your favorite mobile device so that you never miss a beat when away from your main PC or laptop. fficeffice" />

 

When selecting a mobile solution to sync your ACT! data, three important factors come into play, how you want to use your ACT! data when out of the office, how important are real time updates to your ACT! data, and what type of platform your device runs. Answering these three questions can help you decide which mobile solution is right for you.

 

First let’s tackle the question of how you want to use your ACT! data. There are two ways to access your ACT! data on your mobile device, using a mobile solution that syncs your ACT! data with the native PIM (personal information management) applications that are already installed on your device or installing an ACT! specific application that offers an ACT! experience.

 

Syncing your data to PIM application already present on the device offers basic access to your ACT! contacts and calendar activities. It has the advantage of using built-in applications specifically designed to work with your device’s features such as dialing or navigation controls. While a device’s PIM applications can offer easy access to basic contact and calendar information, they typically lack more advanced searching or expanded features like opportunities. Also, the format of contacts and calendar activities are often different than those available on the PIM application, which makes it appear differently that in ACT!.  Consider using a PIM syncing solution when you are a casual mobile device user who primarily needs access to basic contact information like phone numbers and addresses or calendar reminders. 

 

Working with an application that offers an ACT! experience on the device can provide some advantages over PIM applications, because they work in a way similar to the desktop version of ACT! and have similar formats to the way information appears and behaves. Some of the drawbacks to an ACT! experience type of mobile application are platform availability, not all mobile platforms are covered, and reduced integration with the mobile device built-in features and functionality.  It’s best to consider an ACT! experience solution if you’re the road warrior who  plans on using your mobile device in place of a laptop and requires an expanded set of ACT! field data or opportunity information. 

 

Next, you need to determine how important real time updates are to you. This will determine if you require a solution where you can sync when you get back to your office, using a cable or cradle device sync, or you need a wireless solution that can sync information over the air and provide real-time data updates.

 

Finally, it’s important to identify the platform that runs on your mobile device. The platform running on your device will determine the current solutions available to you. Common device platforms are: RIM (Blackberry), Windows Mobile (PocketPC), Palm OS, or Symbian. Often, you can identify the platform running on your device by checking the device’s About screen.

 

After considering how you want to use your ACT! data while on the road and what platform your device runs, you can use this information to select from one of the Sage or third party mobile solutions.