OAK!Merge

What do you like best?

OAK!Merge includes and extends Act!'s built-in Company, Contact & Group record importing ability.

It adds field-by-field data import into Act! Contact Management software program's Opportunity, Activity, History, Products, Users, Company Sub-Divisions and Sub-Groups.

Imports can be run using Windows Task Scheduler using a saved template.

It is like an Extract Transform Load (ETL) without the E. Extraction should be provided by the data source program (i.e. Accounting or ERP) but the ability to map, transform and then load that data is done very well by OAK!Merge.

Extensive User's Guide with Sample/Practice files many examples and real-life scenarios.

Several training videos.

What do you dislike?

No built-in scheduler (must use Windows Task Scheduler).

Not for average user.

No automatic or prompt for Backup.

Limited training videos.

Cannot update Pictures or Teams / Limited Access Lists.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Act!'s import tool is limited to Company, Contact and Group table add, merge or replace the WHOLE RECORD. OM gives you the ability to save the Act! dB login and mapping to an editable template that updates, adds or replaces data by FIELD. So, you can can change an Open opportunity to Closed and/or update the Amount field

If you are a DBA you are going to love this. If you have experience with Excel or Access databases this is an easy transition.

Watch the videos and read the manual for the process you are executing.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I am an Act! Consultant and an OAK!Merge re-seller. My clients use it for automatic import of accounting / ERP data into Act! Opportunities.

Expose Hidden Act! UID: I use it to expose the hidden Act! Unique ID's and make it visible in the program. This permits import/export matching on a singe criterion (UID).

Populate Databases: I also use it to populate databases by importing client data from other programs.

Time-Saving: The ability to save templates means you can re-use them if the criterion is the same or you can save it with a different name and modify it which saves time.