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National Renewable Energy Centre/Sage

Sage moves mid-market ERP suite to cloud

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3rd Jul 2013
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Sage, the king of desktop accounting software, has entered the race to supply web-based ERP software to the mid-market with the launch of Sage 200 Online.

So-called cloud accounting programs have made the most impact among small companies looking for cheaper and easier bookkeeping software. When AccountingWEB turned the spotlight on the developers offering more sophisticated online tools with the stock, commercial and reporting facilities demanded by mid-size companies, Sage 200 Online was not quite ready.

But the program was being tested in real-life situations by a hand-selected band of users, and was cleared for take-off at the Cloud World Forum in London last week.

Sage chief information/technology officer Stuart Lynn led the publicity charge by claiming Sage was the third largest ERP vendor in the world and emphasising that the development of Sage 200 Online was driven by the company’s customers.

“All along the way we’ve listened to customers. It’s not been technology led,” Lynn said. “People don’t ask for cloud or on-premise. They want software to make life easier.”

Unlike the existing product for which the customer pays an up-front fee for the licence, Sage 200 will now be available for a monthly subscription. As is often the case with this type of software, the company does not disclose a basic price, as this will depend on how the customer’s specific requirements are met by Sage resellers.

Sage 200 Online users will have to download a small app to access the program on PC or mobile device, but this code is “self-maintaining” and will operate in much the same way as smartphone apps, Lynn said.

“There is no synchronisation. All the data is in the cloud - it’s true cloud. A lot of cloud people claimed Sage didn’t get it. But we do now. We’ve had to change our business and this is now a cloud business.”

The functionality between the on-premise and internet-based Sage 200 products is identical. “Light touch” users may be drawn to the online modules, but they can still interoperate with the client/server edition, which heavyweight users may prefer to run on desktop machines.

For the moment, customer relationship management and manufacturing modules are not available online, and specialist reporting and analysis tools await the roll-out of supporting SQL Server cloud modules from Microsoft.

The technology underpinning Sage 200 is Microsoft’s Azure platform, a secure web hosting and development environment that looks after many of the application’s internal processes. Sage built its own Sage services portal on top of Azure to handle specific functions such as licence management, billing and support, along with an adaptability layer that ensures the many existing third-party add-ons for Sage 200 work with the online version as well.

Other divisions and national subsidiaries can use the Sage portal with their software, which will make it easier for them to move their applications to the cloud, Lynn said.

The relationship with Microsoft is a delicate one. The Windows giant recently announced its own Dynamics NAV and GP ERP software products were available on Azure, and was willing to offer considerable engineering help to ensure the Sage 200 move to Azure was successful.

The opportunity to cater for companies outgrowing the desktop Sage 50 Accounts product is a rich target for all the mid-market ERP suppliers, but Sage now has its own cloud-based upgrade to offer them. “If you’re a Sage 50 customer we’ve got a transition tool,” said Lynn. “In the time it takes to restore a back-up, you can be in the cloud.”

Sage 200 Online users involved in the pre-launch testing programme backed up the developer’s claimed advantages for the cloud version.

Donna Rae, general manager of Electraction, which assembles forklift trucks in Northern Ireland and  motorcycle dealership on mainland UK, said of her beta-test experiences. “When we moved to Sage 200 Online, I never thought of using cloud. But now I’ve experienced the benefits, I’m keeping it. It’s more flexible and I can have the data with me on my PC. Not having to buy a server has saved us quite a bit of money.”

Darren Reynolds of outsourcer Slick Machine made the decision to go with Sage 200 because he was confident it would work and there was nothing up front to pay. “That helped our cash flow process. It works just like Sage 200, but you can take it with you,” he said in a promotional video shown at Cloud World Forum.

“For back-up Sage 200 is a game changer in the way records are kept. Everyone will be on cloud eventually.”

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Replies (5)

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By mark0411
04th Jul 2013 11:36

Sage 200 in the cloud

Great at last Sage joins the 21st Century.

 

But what about Line50, which is by far the larger used software.

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By salesorder.com
04th Jul 2013 12:06

What to do about Sage Line 50?

Two stones sink faster than one...dont fall for another Frankenstein from Sage and Microsoft....

However the good news is if you're using Sage Line 50, you can probably relate to this Frank Video: which provides a solution....

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By SHEASBYD
04th Jul 2013 17:03

Sage (in the clouds)

      I consider this as an insult, given that there are so many fundamental accounting concept errors in Line 50. (Professional or other)  Ask Sage how they can deal with 'landed costs' as they describe it i.e. the into stores unit cost (price + carriage + duties, where applic to imports).In my efforts so far, can't do it. Only yesterday they (Sage told me there is no facility), under L200 software. Also, no facility to get a weighted, month end stock * landed cost hard copy report for Inventory purposes. As far as I am aware, this is a major flaw in their software & undermines a basic accounting, costing, requirement. Avoid Sage, they are living in the clouds!

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Replying to puzzel:
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By Vidpark
10th Jul 2013 12:17

S50 or S200?

SHEASBYD wrote:

      I consider this as an insult, given that there are so many fundamental accounting concept errors in Line 50. (Professional or other)  Ask Sage how they can deal with 'landed costs' as they describe it i.e. the into stores unit cost (price + carriage + duties, where applic to imports).In my efforts so far, can't do it. Only yesterday they (Sage told me there is no facility), under L200 software.

Could you please clarify what you are saying here - are you failing to get landed costs in Sage 50 or Sage 200?

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By User deleted
05th Jul 2013 08:11

Half complete product ….

‘... As is often the case with this type of software, the company does not disclose a basic price, as this will depend on how the customer’s specific requirements are met by Sage resellers ..’

Absolutely NOT - one of the main benefits of the Cloud is transparency (menu pricing) and dealing directly with the primary company - Not resellers. The problem is that Sage still have not grasped this concept even after 'watching' the market for 12 years

‘..Sage 200 Online users will have to download a small app to access the program on PC or mobile device ..’

What’s this all about? Believe one of the definitions of Cloud is URL and go on any computer worldwide – not having a bunch of ‘plug-ins’ to download. Negates the whole concept of SaaS/Cloud

‘..For the moment, customer relationship management and manufacturing modules are not available online, and specialist reporting and analysis tools await the roll-out of supporting SQL Server cloud modules from Microsoft ..’

Two points

Firstly – so they propose to release an incomplete product even after having 12 years to think about it, having missed the boat in the first place!Secondly - .. awaiting M$ for specialist reporting tools – SO NOT COMPLETE IN THIS AREA EITHER

Brilliant – come to market late and deliver a partial product

Frankly with their Cloud history for Sage to say '.. “For back-up Sage 200 is a game changer in the way records are kept. Everyone will be on cloud eventually.” ..' is an absolute disgrace

Says it all really – Sage is an marketing company rather than a technology one as they have proven time and tine again -

- see SageLive their original attempt - now airbrushed out of their history - http://www.kashflow.com/blog/sage-live-security/

PS. Probably a good idea for Sage to use Azure because god help everyone if they tried to run their own servers
 

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