- 1986 Conductor Software (Mike Muhney and Pat Sullivan) developed QuotePro in Lotus Symphony. When this failed to be successful, they came up with another idea...
- 1987 ACT! for DOS 1.0 (April 1st) - previously codenamed “YES!” – a recursive acronym for "Yes, Everybody Sells!". ACT! was also originally an acronym - first for "Activity Control Technology" and later "Automated Contact Tracking", before becoming just "ACT!"
- 1988 Conductor Software renamed to Contact Software International on the advice of marketing gurus and authors, Jack Trout and Al Ries. They were also helped, in the early days by PR “Top Guns”, Regis McKenna - where Steve Jobs turned to for help for his fledgling company called Apple
- 1990 ACT! for DOS 2.0 (August) - first version with network support
- 1991 ACT! for Windows 1.0 - CodeBase IV engine compatible with dBase
- 1992 ACT! for Windows 2.0 - Added network support for the Windows product
- 1992 ACT! for HP95LX - the first mobile version for PDAs
- 1992 ACT!PAK! - first add-on for ACT! developed by Oakhurst Systems
- 1992 1st ACT! - cut down version for OEMs and single users.
- 1993 Symantec purchased Contact Software International
- 1993 First On-line support forums on CompuServe
- 1993 ACT! for MAC - compatible database with 2.0 for Windows
- 1995 ACT! for Newton
- 1995 ACT! Mobile Link - two way sync for remote users
- 1996 ACT! for Lotus Notes - later sold to original developers, ErgoTech
- 1996 ACT! 3.0 (November) - Win95 product with added back-wards compatibility to run on Win 3.1
- 1997 Symantec adds support for ACT! in WinFax Pro
- 1997 ACT! PalmPilot Link (later ACT! Palm Link)
- 1997 ACT! for Windows CE (July)
- 1998 ACT! 4.0 - Added support for Windows 98 and Office 98
- 1998 ACT! for Psion by Advansys
- 1998 WiredContact makes ACT! available via web browser and hosting
- 1999 Symantec sold ACT! to SalesLogix (later Interact Commerce Corporation) - headed by Pat Sullivan, original co-founder of ACT!
- 2000 ACT! 2000 (5.0) - Windows XP support added
- 2002 QuickBooks Link for ACT! - the first accounting link FOR ACT!. Developed by Terry McKiernan of PinPointTools
- 2002 Interact Commerce Purchased by Sage Group Plc (Best Software in North America)
- 2002 ACT! 6.0 (later ACT! 2004) – Office 2003 support added
- 2002 ACT! for Palm OS
- 2003 Handheld Contact adds support for ACT! on Blackberry
- 2003 ACT! for Web 1.0 for ACT! 6.0 - originally by dbDynamics
- 2004 ACT! by Sage 2005 (7.0) - Complete re-write with .Net 1.x and MS SQL 2000
- 2005 ACT! by Sage 2006 (8.0)
- 2006 ACT! by Sage 2007 (9.0) - Changed to .Net 2.0 and MS SQL 2005
- 2007 ACT! by Sage 2008 (10.0) - MS Vista and Office 2007 support. 10.02 added ability to add custom sub-tables via the SDK.
- 2008 Launch of Community.act.com site (January) – Much improved communication between senior management and users
- 2008 ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.0) – New Dashboard. Significantly improved Outlook integration and major improvements in stability, reliability, ease of install and speed. Added Vista x64 support and Safari for MAC users. Also free plug-in to provide links to Social Media such as LinkedIN
- 2009 ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.1) – Added Relationship Tab. Expected in March?
- 2009 Handheld Contact adds support for iOS – iPhone (iPad later)
- 2009 ACT! by Sage 2010 (12.0) – eMarketing plus ability to set database currency
- 2010 Sage ACT! 2011 (13.0) – Rename of product, Smart Tasks, sync of contacts and activities with Outlook
- 2011 Sage ACT! 2012 (14.0) – Google contacts, activity sync and History, Scratchpad, Universal Search
- 2012 Handheld Contact adds support for Android phones and tablets
- 2012 Sage ACT! 2013 (15.0) – Social Updates and Smart Tasks improvements
- 2013 Sage ACT! 2013 (15.1) – Adds support for later operating systems, Office and browser versions
- 2013 Handheld Contact adds support for Blackberry V10 phones
- 2013 Sage sells ACT! and SalesLogix to Swiftpage
- 2013 Act! 2014 (post soon to this blog) – Re-branding, many productivity and administration enhancements to desktop, user/layout administration via Premium Web, Mobile web improvements
I don't know how useful this is to anyone, but was kind of nostalgic digging up my memories.