The Powerful Mega-Trends Behind the Upheaval at Sage Software

Sage’s one-brand cloud strategy is built on a tidal wave of change.

Sage NA CEO Pascal Houillon addresses 3,500 attendees at Sage Summit 2012

by Rick Telberg

It would be an understatement to say that the accounting software mavens arriving for the 2012 Sage software convention were in a skeptical mood. At last year’s meeting, they were told that some of the products they know and support (and sometimes love) — like MAS 90, Peachtree, and AccPac — are disappearing under a single Sage label.

It was a long time in coming. The company, with roots in the 1990’s in State of the Art and Best, was built through almost helter-skelter acquisitions without merging and consolidating brands, nor even marketing departments, R&D efforts and support departments.

COMPLETE SAGE SUMMIT COVERAGE AND ANALYSIS:

Now all that is changing. And it’s about the cloud, subscription pricing and a wrenching transformation to a new business model. The question for Sage’s resellers: Can Sage deliver? The question for Sage’s accountant partners: Can they keep up?