Durkin Computing was formed in 2006 when Mr. Durkin saw the need to add-on to ACT!.
A conversation with Jim Durkin founder of Durkin Computing
How did you get started with ACT!?
I personally have been creating custom software for 20+ years in several industries.
In one of my early ventures, I heavily customized ACT! for our in-house sales team.
Even though I did not create a resalable add-on at that time I did utilize the Software
Developers Kit (SDK). In 2006, a real-estate friend asked if I could customize his
ACT! calendar. When I downloaded ACT! 2006 SDK, I was pleasantly surprised to find
that Sage had rewritten ACT! in Microsoft's .NET technology - a painful transition
in the life of ACT! but a necessary one. Developing the first add-on was easier
than expected due to my background in .NET. From that simple starting point, Durkin
Computing has developed 20+ add-ons specifically designed for Sage ACT!.
What excites you about ACT!?
I like the idea that I can take something that works for so many and make it better.
It’s very rewarding when I hear a user of a Durkin Computing add-on get excited
about a feature I developed. It’s that excitement that drives me to keep working
on ACT! As a developer I love the .Net technology ACT! is built on. Today if you
type “.NET” into Google you get back 3,770,000,000 hits! .Net is everywhere and
new technology pours into it every day from programmers around the world.
What are you working on now?
At Durkin Computing we recently launched Impact Report Designer for ACT!. It's a
heavy lifting reporting tool designed just for ACT! end-users. No need for to learn
'data dictionaries' or complicated SQL scripts. Just double-click on the desktop
icon and log into the database the way you do with ACT! There are wizard to create
new reports and it comes with over 50+ pre-designed reports. We also updated Impact
Suite v4 for ACT! It’s the next generation of all our great add-ons. With a single
installer, central admin panel, and user requested features, it’s the kind of simple
but effective solution users have come to expect.
What do you see happening in the next 2 years?
As always, we will continue to keep abreast of technological developments and ACT!
future releases while listening to our customers and the ACT! consultant community.
Their feedback has always been of critical importance and we intend to keep listening.
What value do you see ACT! add-on developers bringing to businesses using ACT!?
ACT! is a great product but ACT add-ons developers make that product even better.
My add-ons allow users to quickly access relevant data, capture critical business
information, and eloquently display and report on that data to make better decisions
faster.
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