Sage News and Discussion

I assume you've all seen this. We all called this when it was originally announced as a bad idea: Dear Valued Partner, As part of our strategy and ongoing effort to provide higher quality customer experience, we are insourcing Sage Business Care renewals at the end of September. Although ServiceSource International, Inc. (SSI), our third-party provider that has been managing the renewals, has done a good job over the past several years, we believe that bringing renewals in-house will provide significant benefits to partners, customers, and Sage. Some of these benefits include: Customer Benefits Fewer points of contact (business partner and Sage) More consistent, higher quality customer experience Improved opportunity for Sage to capture the ""voice of the customer"" to provide a better customer experience Partner Benefits Increased customer loyalty by positively impacting customer experience and Net Promoter Scores Identification of new leads and revenue opportunities More secure Sage Business Care annuity revenue Relationship with Sage Business Care representatives versus third party Sage Benefits Flexibility to test ideas to drive revenue and/or improve experience Improved data quality (for example, senior-most contacts, version, and so forth) Opportunity to capture the ""voice of the customer"" to improve product innovation efforts and sales efforts With this transition, the overall renewal process will remain the same, but the following changes will be in effect. You will be assigned a new Sage Business Care representative by product line. For customers with August, September, October, or November 2013 renewal dates, your current SSI sales representative remains your primary point of contact. For customers with a renewal date of December 1, 2013, or beyond, your new Sage sales representative will be the primary point of contact. The Sage team will begin making these renewal calls starting September 23, 2013. You will receive notification with your new Sage Business Care representative and contact information no later than October 31, 2013. From September 23 to no later than October 31, you can call the appropriate general Sage Business Care phone queue listed below until your official Sage Business Care representative is assigned to you. There will be new general Sage Business Care phone queue numbers by product line. Product LineCustomers with renewal dates prior to November 30, 2013 (Current numbers)Customers with renewal dates from December 1, 2013, and beyond (Note: These phone numbers are effective September 23, 2013, for December and future month renewals.) Sage 100 ERP866-709-2432888-721-8989 Sage 300 ERP866-709-2436877-336-4038 (U.S.) 1-800-878-7675 (Canada) Sage 500 ERP866-709-2432888-227-6265 Sage CRM866-709-2436888-721-8989 Sage BusinessWorks Accounting866-709-2436888-721-8989 Sage BusinessVision Accounting866-709-24361-888-878-7675 Sage 100 Contractor Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate 800-858-7098877-336-4038 Sage PFW ERP Sage Pro ERP866-709-2432877-408-2378 For more details regarding the insourcing of Sage Business Care renewals or the listing of product lines that are affected by this change, please review the FAQ. We are excited about the benefits this change will provide our customers and our business partners. We will ensure that the transition is as seamless as possible. If you have any further questions after reviewing the FAQ, please contact your Sage sales representative or PartnerPrograms@sage.com, and we will respond accordingly. Thank you for your continued support and partnership. Joe Langner Executive Vice President and General Manager Sage Mid-Market Solutions

Wonder what capturing the voice of the customer means.

Probably the closest buzzword to ""capturing the ear of the customer"". Either way it indicates the intent to milk lock-in for all its worth until the customer hates you enough to bust out of the cage.

I will be surprised if within a few months Sage doesn't try to become to sole biller of software maintenance. There will probably be some loophole for partners selling new licenses at a rate deemed appropriate by Sage. Just a guess.