One of the problems with upgraded software packages is finding out whether the new features are worth the extra cost, or that the vendor, having such a mature product, tinkers at the edge, codes in a few insignificant bells and whistles, and bumps up the price, a business model that is replicated across the entire software industry.

Customer relationship management (CRM) was one of those areas targeted years ago by software vendors seeking to help sales and marketing staff move from Excel spreadsheets, which were impossible to manage, to a package which dramatically shortcuts contacts information processing.

Sage ACT! has been such a product for many years, serving smaller firms whose budgets tend to get personal scrutiny more often than the larger enterprises.

We looked at two versions, the standalone one and the Premium version targeted at small to medium businesses. The standalone version install took under 15 minutes including a small amount of configuration for email accounts, and setting up a password protected SQL database which we allowed others to share, i.e. they could connect concurrently to check contact information.

All contact and customer records are sorted by the free redistributable SQL Server Express database, which can handle 4GB of data. For larger firms, which ACT! Premium targets, system administrators may wish to put in an SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition database, but that bumps up the price to more than the Premium Edition of ACT! 2009.

Pricing hasn't changed from the last version at £180 + VAT, however there is a gotcha. If your database is an old one and you upgrade it with Sage ACT! 2009, other users who want to connect to this new database will have to upgrade to Sage ACT! 2009 too. The upgrade price from the previous version is £90 + VAT.

New features abound, some of which do move productivity up a gear. Users can now automate database backups, as well as choose what, if anything, they need to exclude.

There's also increased integration with Microsoft Outlook, such as allowing multiple Outlook emails to be attached to contacts. More Lotus Notes support has been included, and there's better calendar management and quicker search capabilities.

Anybody who's used Mindjet's MindManager may appreciate the way in which CRM software is starting to move. It's not nearly as far as Mindjet's innovative package, but in that direction.

Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2008 are now supported, and for XP Home and Vista Home Basic, concurrent user limits are five, while Microsoft's business-focused operating systems allow 10.

A full review of Act! Premium will appear later.