Get Answers about Sage Business Cloud, Enterprise Management, and Sage 100cloud
If you’ve been watching your inbox, you’ve probably already received emails from Sage Software letting you know about their all-new Sage Business Cloud, Enterprise Management, and Sage 100cloud products.
Wondering what these products are and what they do? Curious about how these new products impact you? ISM is here with all the answers you need. If you have more questions, feel free to contact us at any time.
Sage Business Cloud
Described as a postmodern ERP in its press release from Sage, this wide-ranging collection of integrated, mix-and-match, cloud-native ERP solutions helps you build your own perfect system to meet your unique business needs. In fact, it’s so useful that you’re probably already using it.
In truth, Sage Business Cloud includes both old and new offerings because everything cloud-native from Sage has been gathered under the new Sage Business Cloud umbrella.
Some integral products in Sage Business Cloud include reworked and renamed versions of new acquisitions (Intacct, Fairsail, and Compass), while other Sage Business Cloud offerings are tried-and-true Sage standbys (Sage X3, Sage Payroll).
With the announcement of Sage Business Cloud, Sage has renamed almost their entire product line to match the freedom that the cloud offers customers who want to scale their business management solution as their company grows. The new, clearer naming conventions have made it easier to understand Sage’s full range of offerings so you can shop for new, integrated add-ons with confidence.
Some examples of the name changes include: Accounting (formerly Sage One), Financials (formerly Sage Live), and Enterprise Management (see below).
Enterprise Management
Part of the Sage Business Cloud, the newly renamed Enterprise Management is actually just Sage X3 under another name. Your Sage X3 solution will still have all the features you know and rely on for your business success, but the product now known as Enterprise Management will be easier to understand as an add-on or upgrade product in the Sage Business Cloud.
We admit, this name change makes sense to us. After all, what the heck is an X3 and what does it do? Enterprise Management is a much clearer product to understand. And the other products connected to Sage X3 (sorry, Enterprise Management) make more sense too.
For example, have you ever wondered what Sage XRT, Sage X3 Geode, and Sage X3 SDMA do? You can probably make an educated guess now that they’re called Enterprise Management Treasury, Enterprise Management Warehousing, and Enterprise Management Data & Analytics.
To us, these new names seem like a pretty good idea.
Sage 100cloud
This name change, however, is a bit more confusing. Sage 100cloud is simply the new marketing name for Sage 100c. The product is not a cloud-native solution.
To clarify further: Sage 100cloud is still a desktop solution that you can choose to host on premises or in the cloud. The name change simply signals that it’s a “connected cloud” product and can access cloud-native add-ons to take your business further.
Some of these cloud-native add-ons include:
- Sage Inventory Advisor Basics
- Multi-Bin from DSD and Scanforce
- AP Automation
- Payroll 2.0
- Scanco Mobility
- Sage 100c Manufacturing
In addition to providing access to these solutions, Sage 100cloud differs from the traditional Sage 100 product in how it’s priced.
- Sage 100cloud offers subscription-based pricing, in which you pay a monthly fee to use the product.
- Sage 100 offers perpetual license pricing, in which you pay for the product once and can use it forever.
Subscription-based pricing helps you lower your CapEx spending, though it’s worth it to note that your OpEx may be higher over time. It’s important to weigh the benefits of both solutions to determine the best fit for your business.
However, since you’re weighing numbers, note that Sage is raising maintenance fees by 20% for Sage 100 this year while reducing migration fees for companies ready to transition to Sage 100cloud. Though it’s clear that this is a strategic move to get customers on subscription pricing, it’s still a great deal because Sage 100cloud subscription costs can be less expensive than maintenance fees for traditional Sage 100.
What’s Next?
Sage has spent recent years aggressively pursuing their cloud strategy and it’s clear that their “cloud-first” messaging has a strong backing in their strategic business choices. If you’ve been on the fence about cloud connectivity or you haven’t yet made a plan for your business’s cloud strategy, 2018 is the year you should start.
Though we don’t know for sure what’s coming next, we do know that Sage CEO Stephen Kelly remarked that, with the Sage Business Cloud, they are “just getting started.” It’s clear we can expect more cloud updates this year from Sage as they refine their strategy further.
Contact ISM to learn more about what Sage Business Cloud, Enterprise Management, and Sage 100cloud can do for your business.