Version I of ACT! was launched in 1987 and the fifth version ACT! 2000 was launched in the end of 1999. Since then this solution has undergone major enhancements. ACT! was produced and launched by Mr Pat Sullivan CEO SalesLogix Corporation now Interact Commerce Corporation. This product was sold to Symantec Corporation in 1993 to market it globally. Though this product was sold in India, it was never really launched explains Mr Nick Gaynor ACT! regional director Asia-Pacific. He says "Symantec took no interest in the Indian market in marketing nor investments." ACT! was then repurchased in December 1999 by SalesLogix. The company completed its initial public offering in May 1999. Following acquisition of the product and based on their expanded focus, the company changed its name to Interact Commerce Corporation in April 2000.

ACT! allows firms to reach and manage their customer interface. Traditionally, the key uses of the product was for sales and marketing professionals and small business managers. They used this product to capture and control all their contacts through the e-mail, fax or phone. They could schedule their meetings, create reports on sales opportunities, create marketing program based on defined customer characteristic and keep track of the performance of their teams. Mr Gaynor says "The product has been modified to better suit corporate customers. This allows us to deal with both large organisation as well as the traditional SME market."

He adds, "investment in terms of direct employment means firstly investing in various locations in India as we go forward. Currently we have our office in Delhi and since we are still growing our plans are fluid as to where we will be. Interact sees a great potential in India as the second largest market in Asia-Pacific and would invest in it accordingly." They will triple their staff and are in talks with their business partners in India about the development work for ACT! and SalesLogix which is their eCRM solution that provides sales, marketing, support and product configuration management for the mid-market.

"The key," he says "is to work with major Indian channel partners. My visit here is to talk with the distribution partners for this product and learn more about marketing in India." The company is speaking with TechPacific, Ingram, Reddington, Sonata Software and Pentasoft as their distribution partners in India but Mr Gaynor says `nothing has been finalised yet.'Commenting on the marketing strategy he explained that ACT! was a two tier model marketing strategy. They will firstly appoint a single distrubutor for the Indian market and then seek business partners to produce value add products in India that link to ACT!. They will also assist the Indian companies market their value add products linked to ACT! into Asia-Pacific and America. Interact has begun training Indian firms as consultants for ACT!.