Highrise v. Google Contacts
I started using Highrise because I was looking for a way to record my interactions with my customers and vendors. It does that quite well, with a simple, no-nonsense interface, however there are a few things that have convinced me to look elswhere for my needs.
How I use Highrise
I use it to keep track of my interactions with customers and business contacts, as I mentioned above. But there are several features that I don’t have a use for (at the moment):
- Tasks
- Cases
- Deals (although the Deals feature does get some cool points from me)
Basically I was using Highrise pretty much as a glorified address book.
What I liked about Highrise
I did like how it would show everyone related in a Company, and how I could forward an e-mail from a customer to Highrise and it would automagically create that person (if s/he weren’t present) or add that communication to that person’s stream.
What I didn’t like about Highrise
There were a few things that I don’t like about Highrise and that is probably because I’m using it incorrectly:
- I could not send e-mail from Highrise (duh)
- I was doing double duty by adding people to my gmail account and then adding those folks to my Highrise account
- I could not easily access contact information unless I was sitting in front of an internet connected computer. That proved to be an inconvienence in more than a couple of instances.
What I like about Google Mail/Contacts
- I can (obviously) send e-mails through gmail.
- I can view recent conversations with any contact I choose, which allows me to keep a history of any interactions.
- With xoopit, when I click on an e-mail or view a contact, I get a customized list of all files and photos associated with that contact. Everything grouped together nicely.
If I need contact information and I’m away from my computer, I can use my cell phone to access my Google Contacts. That way, I always have access to my contact’s information.
I still like Highrise
I’ve used Highrise for several months, and have grown to like it, but for a one man (Computer Consulting) show, it just doesn’t fit my needs. However, I reserve the right to revisit it in the future.
What about you? Have you tried Highrise and if you have, what do you think of it?
