What is an Act! Professional Service?
An Act! Professional Service is a chargeable interaction with an Act! representative. This document describes the services which are available to give guidance to users about installation & set up (standard and advanced), and using Act! features.
A professional service is suitable for user(s) that prefer to have a representative on the phone guiding them, using remote support where appropriate, instead of using self-serve resources. Comprehensive self-service resources are available at act.com. The professional service will guide the user through the steps required to help improve their knowledge and understanding of Act!, so they are better equipped to make the most of the Act! feature.
Because “How To” feature guidance is already included in our Enhanced support tier, this service is offered as a one-off purchase to our Standard support tier subscription user(s). Standard tier customers may upgrade to the Enhanced support tier at additional charge if they wish.
Should a user require a more hands on “do-it-for-you” service, the user should contact an Act! Certified Consultant, as Act! does not provide “do-it-for-you” services.
In this document charges for professional services are described on an hourly basis - this means that in a session the representative will deliver the requested service for up to an hour. If a full hour is not needed the service is completed - any unused time will not be ‘rolled over’ for use at a separate time, and pro rata credits will not be available.
Standard Installation and Set-up / Upgrade
This service is suitable for Act! installed as a single PC installation or where a database is shared via a Server (Host PC) and PC Client network. Our representative will guide the user through an installation / upgrade routine on 1 Server and 1 PC client and ensure that the database is accessible. This is billed upfront at $99 (£99, €99) for a maximum of 1 hour with the Act! representative.
What needs to happen before this professional service session?
- The user must have appropriate Windows permissions to complete an installation / upgrade. It is recommended that they have Admin level access.
- The user must be able access their own IT support resources in case an issue arises outside of Act! during the session.
- For an upgrade it is strongly recommended to have a database back-up taken before the professional service begins. If a back-up is taken during the session it will reduce the time available to successfully complete the installation / upgrade.
The process which the Act! representative will guide the user through will be as follows:
- Confirm with the user that there is an appropriate back-up secured.
- Verify that hardware meets our system requirements and that software is compatible for integrations.
- Install / Upgrade Act! on 1 Server (Host PC).
- Create / convert and share a database.
- Installation of Act! Connect Link for Marketing Automation.
- Install / Upgrade Act! on 1 Client PC.
- Share supporting content for next steps based on the user’s requirements
Additional information
When there is more than 1 PC Client our representative will guide through additional installs / upgrades if there is time remaining in the 1 hour session. Outside of that time it is expected that the user will complete additional installations themselves using the supporting content provided by our representative. If an issue occurs while doing that, the user can contact the support team to assist with troubleshooting.
Advanced Installation and Set-up
This service is suitable for more advanced deployments where Act! is installed as one or a combination of the following:
- Act! for Web with access via a browser,
- PC client access,
- remote database synchronization.
The representative will guide the user through an installation / upgrade routine on a Server, client PCs and / or remote clients and ensure that the database is accessible. This is billed upfront at $199 (£199, €199) for a maximum of 2 hours with our representative.
Act for Web
Our representative will ensure that Act! is accessible from a browser on your own network. For this to be accessible from a browser outside of your network will require your own IT support to complete the remaining steps with an external IP connected to your domain, and an IIS configuration specific to requirement. When deploying a custom Web API a valid SSL certificate must be used.
Remote Synchronization
Our representative will ensure that remote synchronization is configured to work on your internal network. If access to synchronize from outside of your network is required our representative will discuss the options. Your own IT support will be required to complete steps such as setting up a VPN, port forwarding or configuring synchronization via Internet Sync.
What needs to happen before the professional service session?
- The user must have appropriate Windows permission to complete an installation / upgrade. It is recommended that they have Admin level access.
- The user must be able access their own IT support resources in case an issue arises outside of Act! during this session.
- If guidance is required for Remote Synchronization, a final sync must be completed. All installations that require guidance to install / upgrade need to be accessible to the user during the call.
- For an upgrade it is strongly recommended to have a database back-up taken before the professional service begins.
The process which the Act! representative will guide the user through will be as follows:
- Confirm with the user that there is an appropriate back-up secured and final sync for remote users.
- Verify that hardware meets our system requirements and that software is compatible for integrations.
- Install / Upgrade Act! / Act! For Web on 1 Server (Host PC).
- Create / convert and share a database.
- Install / Upgrade Act! on a combination of Client PC’s and Remote Installations
- For Act! For Web installs provide a copy of the Web Admin guide
- Share supporting content for next steps.
Additional information
When there are multiple installations across different deployment types our representative will guide through one of each of them. The user should indicate their preference if they prefer focus to be given to a specific area. If there is time remaining in the 2 hour session the representative will guide through more installations until the time limit is reached. Outside of that time it is expected that the user will complete additional installations themselves using the supporting content provided by the representative. If an issue occurs while doing that, the user will contact the support team to assist with troubleshooting.
Act! Feature Guidance
This service is suitable for user(s) that prefer to have an Act! representative on the phone guiding through how an Act! feature works, as a Q&A session, using remote support where appropriate - instead of using self-serve resources. This is billed upfront at $99 (£99, €99), for a maximum of up to 1 hour with our representative in a one-to-one interaction.
We strongly recommend that before choosing this service, user(s) should try to help themselves using the comprehensive self-service resources available at act.com. We expect that users will only choose this paid for session if they have specific questions or a situation unique to them. We also recommend that the user agrees and communicates specific topic(s) to cover upfront, to ensure they can be covered within the time allocated.
This session runs for up to 1 hour. If the topic(s) are covered sooner than that, the session will end and the service will be completed.