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Like a pair of rival siblings, ACT! and GoldMine have grown up together in the contact management marketplace. ACT! is the elder, and has the advantage of Symantec Corp.'s resources and market clout. GoldMine, however, is no slouch. Its manufacturer-GoldMine Software Corp.-is one of the rare small software companies that has not only survived, but thrived, in the face of tough competition.
The contact management market is growing at a rate of about 25 percent per year, according to Dataquest Inc., a research firm in San Jose. At the same time, the competition is getting stiffer. Vendors of databases, sales-force automation, groupware and even call-center tools are all moving in on the space.
Symantec and GoldMine are fighting back with robust new upgrades designed for both Windows 95 and Windows NT. As it happens, the upgrades are being released at about the same time. VARBusiness invited two VARs with experience in both contact managers-but who have chosen to build their businesses around just one-to review the new versions.
Dorothy Creswell of Ankeny, Iowa-based DC Consulting Inc. is thrilled with GoldMine 3.2, which includes an improved calendar, organizational view and World Wide Web data-import feature. Walter Shpuntoff of Baltimore-based Light Industry Service Corp. is equally pleased with ACT! 3.0's ease of use, customizability and mobile synchronization. In both cases, the VARs' only complaints are that the new features don't go far enough.
Going My Way?
All parties agree that, to some extent, both vendors are playing catch-up. GoldMine's calendar had its weak spots, while ACT! lagged in customization and synchronization capabilities. The question, then, is whether either has seized the lead...