Kick up Sage ACT! 2011 Performance- 5 Tips
I come across prospective clients considering Sage ACT! 2011 or who are considering upgrading to Sage ACT! 2011.
As with all things in the technology world, you need to know requirements and understand expectations.
The following are my recommendations for kicking up the performance in the use of Sage ACT!:
1. Start up quicker.
Change the user preferences. Select the menu option "Tools->Preferences" and select the "Start up" tab. Select the "Start up view" and select "Contacts" from the drop down list then click OK. The default option iof "Welcome page" takes additional resources and picking another default will start up ACT quicker.
2. Hardware, hardware, hardware.
If you have an older laptop or PC or have bought a new one 'cheaply' then you may have a SLOW hard disk. The slowest part of a computer is the physical moving platters inside a hard disk where your applications reside. Check with your hardware supplier or IT professional and make sure that the speed of the hard disk is 7200 rpm's. Don't settle for the cheaper 5600 or 4800 rpm disks! Also make sure that your PC/laptop has a minimum of 2 GB of RAM (memory). With the extensive use of Microsoft Office, Outlook and contact management like Sage ACT! you'll need that additional processing power. I wish I could easily get such performance upgrades for my mind & body engine.... but that is another story.
Don't know how to find what kind of Hard Drive you have?
Click on Start, Control Panel, Device Manager, Disk Drives. It will list the make and model of your hard drive. Go to www.Google and type in the information this search has provided you. One of the top searches will list what speed your hard drive is..com
3. Clean up your Activities.
If you are super busy you may have overlooked and have too many open activities. Try to have no more than 100 open activities per user. Go in and "clear" (complete) those open activities. Your contacts and fellow employee will appreciate the action!
4. Validate the Engine.
If you have upgraded to Sage ACT! 2011 from prior version then you need to make sure that the engine was upgraded also. Sage ACT! 2011 uses the Microsoft SQL 2008 latest database engine. I have found some sites where they did an upgrade and the older SQL 2005 engine was still in use. The use of the SQL 2008 engine will speed up actions by 20 seconds per click on some options in Sage ACT!.
To verify your SQL engine, go the the "Start ->Run" menu and type in: ACTDiag Verify that it says: "Microsoft SQL Server 2008..."
5. Use a different Host.
No, we are not talking about "Aliens" although those were scary hosts of a different kind.
If you are using the Sage ACT! Web version, all the processing is occurring on the host server and you see the updates inside your web browser. A beefy web server can serve up the web interface quickly to your PC's, laptops and mobile devices. I covered this in the "ACT for Web - Access to Customer Details with iPad and Smart Devices", post here.
Another option is to use Windows Terminal or Citrix environment and again use the power of a beefy server so the older and slower performing PC's provide that greater productivity you expect.
Related resources:
More about what is New in Sage ACT! 2011....
Understanding the benefits of Sage ACT! for Web.
More Friday Fun Tips here......
What tips have you found to increase the performance of Sage ACT! 2011?
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