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  • 1.  Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 10:52
    I think 3 years of explaining how Sage100Cloud isn't in the cloud is long enough that SOMEONE might actually realize it wasn't the best marketing move.

    But no, but no.

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    Beth Bowers
    Mom to Samson, Peanut, ChiChi, Canton, and Cagney
    Beth Bowers
    269-445-1625
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  • 2.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 11:05
    I'm convinced it was done for shareholder impressions, nothing else.  From a business / marketing / human-being-with-a-brain perspective, a horrible idea for sure.

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    Kevin Moyes
    Technical Systems Analyst
    Munjal White Consulting Co.
    Toronto ON
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 14:03
    I met with Ron McMurtie yesterday and relayed this very message. The naming is so misleading that consultants have to explain away why Sage would do this. The naming is so misleading that even his colleagues are having to explain it before webinars and training sessions.

    How is this a positive customer experience?

    At first he was defensive but I think eventually said that they’d be talking to customers about this (surveys ?)

    I didn’t come away from the meeting feeling that much would change.



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    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 14:08
    Maybe if there are enough complaints Sage will change the branding.  It seems they re-brand every 5  or 6 years anyway so maybe we can wait it out.

    Surveying the customers and voting is a joke.  If you don't know the difference between Sage 100 and Sage 100CLoud, and if you don;t know if Sage 100Cloud is cloud or on premise, you can't complete a survey accurately and the results of said survey are flawed / worthless.

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    Doug Higgs
    Assistant Technical Support / Building Maintenance Specialist
    Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 14:17

    Not sure if anyone else caught it, but Timothy Harfield said, during the 90 Minds Town Hall in February, that Sage 100Cloud is a "hybrid" product that serves the best of both worlds.  Meaning, for those that want Cloud technology, Sage has endorsed Cloud with all of the 3rd party add-ons that are indeed Cloud products, while Sage 100 can still sit on the clients' own servers and not be in the Cloud.  And he says, their research has shown that's what clients want.

     

    I've heard him say it countless times now – it is a hybrid product.

     

    And indeed, he holds the title of Marketing Manager.  He inherited the Sage 100Cloud name – but talk about making lemonade out of lemons.  (aka "Spin")

     

    Sue Bennett | President

    P. 503 620 3484 | F. 503 620 2765

    12559 SW 69th Ave | Tigard, OR  97223

    Sue@benpor.com | www.benpor.com

    Bennett/Porter Blog | facebook | twitter

     

     



    ------Original Message------

    I met with Ron McMurtie yesterday and relayed this very message. The naming is so misleading that consultants have to explain away why Sage would do this. The naming is so misleading that even his colleagues are having to explain it before webinars and training sessions.

    How is this a positive customer experience?

    At first he was defensive but I think eventually said that they’d be talking to customers about this (surveys ?)

    I didn’t come away from the meeting feeling that much would change.



    ---------------------------------
    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
    ---------------------------------




  • 6.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 14:27
    I've also heard it spun that Cloud means Cloud Connected. 

    When a Sage representative talks to Wayne or any significant channel partner, they are getting the distilled and summarized feedback from hundreds of customers. A survey isn't needed. Sage has lost that Insight and Vision.

    ------------------------------
    Myron Stevenson
    Consultant
    Clearis Consulting, Inc
    Duluth, MN
    218-525-6720
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 14:40

    @Myron.Stevenson – GREAT play on words!  That's probably why now their conferences are called "Summit" rather than either Insights or Visions...which they were for years!

     

    Sue Bennett | President

    P. 503 620 3484 | F. 503 620 2765

    12559 SW 69th Ave | Tigard, OR  97223

    Sue@benpor.com | www.benpor.com

    Bennett/Porter Blog | facebook | twitter

     

     



    ------Original Message------

    I've also heard it spun that Cloud means Cloud Connected. 

    When a Sage representative talks to Wayne or any significant channel partner, they are getting the distilled and summarized feedback from hundreds of customers. A survey isn't needed. Sage has lost that Insight and Vision.

    ------------------------------
    Myron Stevenson
    Consultant
    Clearis Consulting, Inc
    Duluth, MN
    218-525-6720
    ------------------------------


  • 8.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 16:14
    For Pete's sake, after an entire SESSION on 100Cloud Myths, there was still an end user who didn't get it.  Resellers waste more time trying to explain this than we do installing the dang upgrades.

    ------------------------------
    Beth Bowers
    Mom to Samson, Peanut, ChiChi, Canton, and Cagney
    Beth Bowers
    269-445-1625
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 16:18
    Edited by Kevin Moyes 05-15-2019 16:18
    Sage 100 Hybrid-Cloud would be a good name for all involved.  Conversations with a prospect start with "what does hybrid cloud mean?" instead of the poor first impression of having to double-speak a response about "cloud connected".

    ------------------------------
    Kevin Moyes
    Technical Systems Analyst
    Munjal White Consulting Co.
    Toronto ON
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 17:13

    We did five different webinars for our clients in the month of March, in preparation of the perpetual (non-cloud) Sage 100 price increases going into effect April 1st .  We wanted to make sure that the clients who are staying on perpetual understood that most of the new enhancements would only be in the subscription-based Sage 100Cloud, and not in the perpetual modules.  But that the cost for that was the client would always have to renew their subscription annually, or their software would go into read-only mode.  I thought we did a really great job of explaining that Sage 100Cloud was NOT an internet based product, it was not SaaS, the software would still reside on their servers and/or in our hosting facility, and that the word "cloud"  was just Sage's way of changing how they collect their maintenance dollars.  And still – after each and every webinar, we had at least 2 to 3 clients call and ask us what browser they needed and/or where their software was going to reside.  As well as asking if their updates/upgrades would happen automatically now.  I couldn't agree more with @Beth Bowers...having to have these conversations over and over with clients is so frustrating.  All because of the name of Sage's naming the product "cloud".  Sigh.

     

     

     

    Sue Bennett | President

    P. 503 620 3484 | F. 503 620 2765

    12559 SW 69th Ave | Tigard, OR  97223

    Sue@benpor.com | www.benpor.com

    Bennett/Porter Blog | facebook | twitter

     

     



    ------Original Message------

    Sage 100 Hybrid-Cloud would be a good name for all involved.  Conversations with a prospect start with "what does hybrid cloud mean?" instead of the poor first impression of having to double-speak a response about "cloud connected".

    ------------------------------
    Kevin Moyes
    Technical Systems Analyst
    Munjal White Consulting Co.
    Toronto ON
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 15:01
    Aren't they kicking around "Sage Focus" for the next rebranding? 
    thumbnail image


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    ==================
    Rhonda McNamara
    Customer Success Manager
    Stewart Technologies, Inc.
    rsm@stewarttechnologies.com
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 15:08
    Sage has a really unique definition of a SaaS business as well.

    - subscription
    - always on
    - customer success
    - data driven
    - inspiring culture

    ---------------------------------
    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
    ---------------------------------



    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-15-2019 22:15
    I have had good luck explaining Sage 100cloud as Sage 100 on subscription.
    It's still confusing but people seem to "get" the subscription explanation and seem less confused

    Unfortunately, I find that I still need to briefly explain Sage's choice in naming but I tend to just tell the customer to ignore the "cloud" designation and thing "subscription".

    ------------------------------
    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-16-2019 11:21
    And, I have said stated many times the whole "cloud" play is disingenuous at best.  I completely agree with @Wayne Schulz on the best way to explain away 100cloud, and that is using the word subscription.  Remember when we used to say the "c" in 100c meant subscription?  Well, that hasn't changed simply because Sage extended the name to "cloud".  I guess you can go with connected cloud, but that has not been nearly as effective as subscription for me.

    Also, I sat in the Marketing Shark Tank session and listened to why we just need to deliver the cloud solution that customer thinks they are getting.  In other words, don't try to educate the customer about 100cloud not being cloud because you will simply confuse them.  They want a solution, and we should deliver the solution.  If that means hosting it somewhere, do that.  Not once did anyone address the fact that the customer will pay Sage for the software subscription, the reseller for the services, the hosting provider for "making it cloud" and any other third-party provider for the connected pieces.  I'm guessing Sage believes the customer is stupid.

    Personally, I will continue to treat the customer with the same decency and respect as I expect from others.  After all, we're professionals, right?​

    ------------------------------
    Brian Kelly
    President and Head Cheerleader
    Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
    Columbia SC
    803-252-6154 x210
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 15.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-17-2019 13:28
    ​The general definition of cloud computing is:
    "The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer."

    This does not say that it is multi-tenant, browser-based or anything else that makes it different from what you see locally. Those are design or user interface changes, not deployment, which is what this definition states. Sage 100 is commonly hosted and is not difficult to host, whether it's a third party or a remote server within the company.

    I have no issue with the use of this term, because it opens up a discussion with a prospect or customer about what this means and takes us further into actual functionality of the software, which is really what we are selling. I welcome that discussion.

    ------------------------------
    John Hoyt
    john.hoyt@formingsolutions.com
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    Original Message


  • 16.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-17-2019 13:32
    You are a silver-tongued devil, @John Hoyt, that you are able to actually get each customer to understand in your first discussion with them.​

    ------------------------------
    Beth Bowers
    Mom to Samson, Peanut, ChiChi, Canton, and Cagney
    Beth Bowers
    269-445-1625
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 17.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-17-2019 13:39
    ​I'm already selling against "native cloud packages" (let's define that also), so we are already doing the comparison. I am talking about their requirements and pointing out the functionality we offer. If a prospect chooses a "native cloud package" only because that's what it is, then they may or may not get what they need.

    ------------------------------
    John Hoyt
    john.hoyt@formingsolutions.com
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 18.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-17-2019 13:41
    I'm talking about our poor confused current clients.  :-)

    ------------------------------
    Beth Bowers
    Mom to Samson, Peanut, ChiChi, Canton, and Cagney
    Beth Bowers
    269-445-1625
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 19.  RE: Cloud

    Posted 05-17-2019 13:45
    ​All I told them was it was a marketing play, and it's still the same product. The problem was not those that wanted to continue using the product on their local servers, but those that really wanted a cloud product who were going to move anyway if they thought it was cost justified.

    ------------------------------
    John Hoyt
    john.hoyt@formingsolutions.com
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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