Act-On

Updated 2026-06-25

Act-On is a marketing automation software platform developed by Act-On Software, a privately held company headquartered in Redwood City, California, United States. The platform enables businesses to design, execute, and measure multi‑channel marketing campaigns, including email, web, social media, and paid advertising, while providing tools for lead management, analytics, and integration with customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Overview

Act-On’s core functionality centers on automating repetitive marketing tasks, personalizing communications, and tracking prospect engagement across digital channels. The service is delivered as a cloud‑based software‑as‑a‑service (SaaS) solution, allowing users to access the platform through a web browser without requiring on‑premises infrastructure.

History

2008 – Act-On Software was founded by Raghu Ravinutala, Amit Khemani, and Scott Ruggles in San Francisco, California, with the aim of providing mid‑market companies with enterprise‑grade marketing automation capabilities.
2009 – The company launched its first version of the Act‑On Marketing Automation platform.
2014 – Act-On raised $51 million in a Series C financing round led by Vertex Growth and earned a spot on the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Marketing Automation.
2016‑2020 – The platform expanded its feature set to include advanced analytics, AI‑driven lead scoring, and deeper integrations with major CRM providers such as Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and HubSpot.
2023 – Act-On announced enhancements to its native social media management tools and added capabilities for account‑based marketing (ABM).

Products and Services

Act-On Marketing Automation – Core suite for email marketing, landing page creation, web forms, and campaign workflows.
Lead Management – Features include lead capture, scoring, nurturing, and synchronization with CRM systems.
Analytics and Reporting – Real‑time dashboards, attribution modeling, and custom reporting.
Social Media Management – Scheduling, monitoring, and reporting tools for platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
Account‑Based Marketing – Tools for targeting and measuring engagement at the account level.

Market Position

Act-On competes in the marketing automation sector alongside platforms such as HubSpot, Marketo (Adobe), Pardot (Salesforce), and Eloqua (Oracle). It is positioned primarily toward mid‑size businesses seeking a balance between functionality and cost, often emphasized by industry analysts for its ease of use and integration flexibility.

Integration and Ecosystem

The platform supports native integrations with a range of third‑party applications, including:

CRM systems: Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Zoho CRM.
Web analytics: Google Analytics.
Content management: WordPress, Drupal.
E‑commerce: Shopify, Magento.

Recognition

Gartner Magic Quadrant: Repeatedly placed in the “Visionaries” or “Leaders” quadrant for Marketing Automation.
Forrester Wave: Recognized for its “Strong Current Offering” in the 2022 Forrester Wave for B2B Marketing Automation Platforms.

References

Act‑On Software, Company History, act-on.com.
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Marketing Automation, 2023 edition.
Forrester Research, The Forrester Wave™: B2B Marketing Automation Platforms, Q2 2022.