I agree with all of your comments. I have to ask though: Is this really a turn-around of any kind? Do we see evidence that Sage is changing course in a positive direction?
I see more channel neglect, more customer neglect, more product neglect, and more uncomfortable shifting around in their seats as the ship continues to go in the same direction as before (to the bottom of the ocean).
Sage needs to invest in R&D and in marketing. I don't see it happening. Am I missing something?
The one bright spot was the purchase of Intacct. Will they be able to resist putting the unique brand of Sage apathy on the Intacct product and avoid dragging it down? I'm too far removed to pay attention to what is happening. My crystal ball says we should expect more of the same from Sage management.
Do I hope they can turn it around? Hell yes.
75% of our revenue is from Sage customers and I don't see that disappearing any time soon. I would love nothing more than to please my customers with news of advancement on the Sage CRM front instead of having to constantly relay news like "support says they won't fix that issue any time soon."
In the interim, I'm doing what I can to shore things up with activities like our Sage CRM Conference and crossing my fingers that Sage will decide to invest in salvaging their cash cows before they are gone.
The good news is that my team is getting more engaged with services to help customers get more life out of their product investment so our business is going strong. I guess I'm just greedy in expecting the publisher to want to improve the customer experience with r&d.
------------------------------
Peter Wolf
Azamba Consulting Group
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 07-26-2019 12:04
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage stock down as company reports Q3 trading update with declining SSRS
These types of turnarounds take time. That being said, traditionally a new CEO has about 3 years to show clear progress. Steve Hare is just about through year one. Sage Group likely has many internal metrics they are using to track progress. The fact that they shared a weakness in X3 is slightly troubling as that product has been around under Sage for about 14 years ( acquired in 2004 when it was known as Adonix though only launched to NA in 2010). If there was an update on Intacct ( other than confirming it would launch in Australia by the end of the FY and in UK by the end of the calendar year) I didn't hear it.
What happened with the stock price was a result of them missing the metrics that had been forecasted to analysts. There really wasn't enough other info to determine whether they are doing well with Sage Business Cloud overall.
------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------