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Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

  • 1.  Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-08-2019 21:10
    Was told Scott Ehman is no longer with Sage. IMO this is not good news for partners as Scott really was trying to balance the needs of partners with the extremely high corporate revenue expectations upon him.

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    Bob Kohlmeyer
    Managing Director
    DWD Technology Group
    Fort Wayne IN
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  • 2.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-08-2019 21:33
    ​I totally agree with you @Bob Kohlmeyer . I'm shocked and disappointed to see him go.​

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    John Hoyt
    john.hoyt@formingsolutions.com
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  • 3.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-08-2019 21:49
    Wow.  So close to Summit!  Can't wait to hear the inside story...

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    Jeff Schwenk
    FORMER 90M Board Member
    Bottomline Software, Inc.
    Waynesboro VA
    540-221-4444
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 07:02
    Scott was on the Sage Summit Atlanta speaker site yesterday. His bio is gone today and has been replaced by Jennifer Warawa.

    Add one more topic to partner day....

    The writing appeared to be on the wall for this one since he no-showed at MOTM and then we had a surprise no-show at the last all-hands. 



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    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
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  • 5.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 11:29
    I respectfully disagree with any notion that Scott was good for the partners.  He was no different than anyone else who has held that position since 2010 (? - maybe it was even earlier than that...I cannot remember anymore) except for Rich Spring.  Rich was the only one with enough integrity to leave when he determined Sage leadership demanded he lie to partners after Rich told us he would "undo the wrongs." 

    Scott told us the Master VAR program was not a Master VAR program.  What did Sage announce in April?  The Master VAR program.  Oh, right, it is called the Partner Advocate program.  Yes, that makes it so much different.  Partners are in a state of denial or completely delusional if they think for one minute Sage leadership cares about the channel.  Sure, the Partner Advocate program will be great for the Partner Affiliates initially.  But, at some point down the road, someone will move the cheese.  Any takers who that someone might be?

    The next puppet will be introduced soon, but it is the PAMs that are now on notice.  The Master VAR program will eliminate the need for any PAM not working directly with the chosen 6.  I gave up on Sage giving a damn about me and the channel long ago.  And, knowing what I know about how Sage treats their own PAMs when it comes to revenue expectations and quotas, none of this should be surprising.

    On a brighter note, Sage announced a price increase on May 1.  Yay!!!

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

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 11:52
    I agree with your thoughts. And the sudden unexpected departure of both Jodi and Rich were big tells about what was to come.

    Now putting on my devils advocate hat:

    If I’m Sage why do I want to keep paying commissions to partners who aren’t furthering the Sage Group PLC objectives?

    I think this is the whole explanation behind many of the Sage changes.

    Rather, wouldn’t it make more sense to consolidate up the channel and focus on changing behavior for fewer partner groups? ( less cat herding )

    This is a very high level view of what’s happening here. I think the One Sage and trying to have one global product ( boil the ocean as Mark C says ) have not materially furthered Sage’s long term position in the market.

    Sage NA is especially vulnerable because their management seems hand tied by whatever Sage Group PLC says to do for this financial year. Next year it will be a new strategy.



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


  • 7.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 12:24
    ​I agree on the Master VAR program (calling it what it is). For the past nearly 2 years I have had "discussions" with Scott about this. I was very clear that I considered it a bad idea and it would undermine the spirit of the channel. I continue to be against it and hope that someone at Sage will look at the numbers and figure out they are generally going to make less money because of it. They are dealing with more sales at a higher margin to the Diamond partners (plus the bonus percentage) and I doubt sales from Standard and Silver partner affiliates are that significant. Since the large partners have become larger through "acquisitions", the loyalty to Sage has become loyalty to each of the large groups, thus alienating independent partners who continue to try playing the game.

    Sage needs to invest in PAMs and support staff that will really help the smaller partners grow and give them some motivation. They have done a poor job of this, if they were even trying. My current role of being a Consulting Advocate to Standard through Gold partners is proving to be what many partners need. We are seeing successes by providing that additional, experienced resource to organize the business development function to grow the business. This is a function that Sage and the PAMs should be doing. Instead they ask each partner near month-end what is going to close. Alexa could do that!

    Two other actions should be taken by Sage. The first is identifying and eliminating "buying groups". I discussed this with Scott also, and he wanted to take action, but backed down. Related to this is the enforcement of the merger rules and mass ROR changes, which have been generally disregarded over the years. The second is reviving the Select Partner program, which rewarded loyalty and provided additional incentives. The channel needs to grow, not become 5 - 10 mega partners.

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    John Hoyt
    john.hoyt@formingsolutions.com
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 12:53
    In February it was evident that the winds were changing with Sage when the call came through to me about the Keynote change for our MOTM - no Scott and no Taylor.  There was a hint of a rift between their styles.  Looks like we know the outcome now.

    To @Brian Kelly  and @Wayne Schulz points - shifting the quote, order processing, and lead tracking out of their offices and onto six Master VARs certainly took care of the need to invest in any improvements to move to online order processing and renewals.  Six pipeline reports are certainly easier to summarize than 100s.  Add in the cost reductions for staff layoffs, and viola, the profits increase.  The problem with this approach to increase profits is that it can't be replicated - it's one and done.  Maybe. 

    The Master VARs have a great opportunity to put pressure back on the publishers but if Taylor was the last man standing, we'll see what happens. 



    ​​​

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    Moira Goggin
    Executive Director
    90 Minds, Inc.
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 13:13
    ​To be fair, we have no details and may never have them about Scott's departure. In some cases this could be a personal consideration, so we have to respect that possibility, since that will not be made public. In that case, it may have nothing directly to do with sales performance related to the channel or Sage.

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    John Hoyt
    john.hoyt@formingsolutions.com
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 13:47
    It's hard to see how Sage could NOT decide a Master VAR program is the least worst way to go forward. The channel is dying because Sage 100 is perceived as being non-competitive by resellers who are NOT Sage 100.

    How many new Sage 100 partner prospects raised their hands to join in the past 2 years? Nearly every partner organization who has the ability to regularly sell to a new customer has diversified away from Sage 100. That's a really strong headwind to fight, and going back to the policies is probably not enough.

    In some ways what we see here is reminiscent of the distribution consolidation of the computer and software VAR market in the 90s. VAR success then became dependent on providing knowledge to customers which improved the usage of the hardware/software, not simply installing and replacing things.

    Acumatica has stiff quotas to meet to continue certifications, as does Intacct. Intacct is running a direct-indirect sales strategy, and they are apparently doing fine. 

    I hope that Scott's replacement can negotiate more realistic terms for his/her success.

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    Jerry Norman
    Smartbridge Partners
    Austin TX
    512.419.1444 x112
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    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 14:03
    Although, wasn't Scott's cancellation from MOTM because of an emergency health issue? It could be he still is not healthy.

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    Jerry Norman
    Smartbridge Partners
    Austin TX
    512.419.1444 x112
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 14:23
    I recall you've said that before and it may be the case.  I was contacted weeks before the event of the change in keynote and illness was not mentioned at the time.  I wish him well in either case, Sage can be very hard on managers as we've seen by the consistent turnover.

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    Moira Goggin
    Executive Director
    90 Minds, Inc.
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 14:28
    Sorry, I confused with another occasion, I guess. 
    I have a really hard time understanding why anybody qualified for this job would take it. It is a very hard one.

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    Jerry Norman
    Smartbridge Partners
    Austin TX
    512.419.1444 x112
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 16:46
    Sage has no one to blame for the decline in partner loyalty but themselves.  And while they may at some point put pressure on the Master VARs about other products, they have lost all leverage with those forced into Affiliate status.

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    Phil McIntosh
    President
    Friendly Systems, Inc.
    Asheville NC
    678.273.4010 ext 5
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 15.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 17:23
    @Jerry Norman - Sage has made it beyond a very hard job and elevated it to an impossible job.  It is now an infamous "three envelope" position.  It must pay very well or the occupant has a very outsized ego.​

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    Jeff Schwenk
    FORMER 90M Board Member
    Bottomline Software, Inc.
    Waynesboro VA
    540-221-4444
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 16.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 17:46
    ​Most of the people who would take jobs like this have strong personalities and want their way. That is always going to conflict. The last person in that position that was not like that and did well was Tom Miller. He also lasted the longest.

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    John Hoyt
    john.hoyt@formingsolutions.com
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    Original Message


  • 17.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-09-2019 18:01
    It's often impossible to know how horrible the internal politics are in a company before you start a new job.

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


  • 18.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-10-2019 13:27


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    Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
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  • 19.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-10-2019 13:37
    ​This seems to imply this was unexpected.

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    John Hoyt
    john.hoyt@formingsolutions.com
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    Original Message


  • 20.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-10-2019 13:44
    Q: Why'd they feel it necessary to put Dianna Lane's name into the press release?

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


  • 21.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-10-2019 14:04
    Did Lane report to Ehman, or is this a demotion for Lane?

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    Jerry Norman
    Smartbridge Partners
    Austin TX
    512.419.1444 x112
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 22.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-10-2019 14:15
    I guess Dianna reported to Scott. Maybe it was his only report?

    I know that JW told me she reported to Ron McMurtie ( CMO )

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


  • 23.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-10-2019 15:05
    Edited by Peter Wolf 05-10-2019 15:05

    The further I get into the Microsoft channel, the more perspective I get on the Sage channel. 

    @Brian Kelly's comments were spot on. ​"Partners are in a state of denial or completely delusional if they think for one minute Sage leadership cares about the channel."

    There may be some individuals within Sage who feel Sage cares (and I know a few so there are definitely some at Sage) but Sage overall doesn't. Partners are a begrudging means to an ends. 

    I just got back from the Directions conference - originally this conference was for NAV partners but now is for all the flavors of Microsoft ERP partners - and it is like night and day compared to what I'm used to on the Sage side.

    True innovations, excitement, marketing pushes, partner / vendor collaboration, overflowing with opportunities ... it reminds me of my Accpac days before Best / Sage bought Accpac. Looking back, every year with Sage has been, and continues to be, an exercise in lowering the bar for both customers and partners so the bean counters in the UK can please the shareholders. 

    No doubt, Microsoft shits the bed from time to time but, personally, I'm overjoyed with the world of opportunity in the MSFT channel. 

    I get it that some of us in the Sage channel are grey haired and looking towards an exit. For those of you in it for the long-term and looking for a new thing, I'm happy to have a call any time to share my experiences with ramping up a Microsoft practice. 

    I don't know first-hand but I have heard similar things from Sage partners who have picked up Accumatica so I'm sure nothing I'm saying is news.



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    Peter Wolf
    Azamba Consulting Group
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    Original Message


  • 24.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-11-2019 18:51
    Peter - I am encouraged about the potential for partners, even if seems to be in a different community. It's no longer 2005 -- lots of great change to turn to positive opportunity!

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    Jerry Norman
    Smartbridge Partners
    Austin TX
    512.419.1444 x112
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    Original Message


  • 25.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-20-2019 10:08
    I asked as many people as I could about Scott at Summit and I beleive nobody knew what happened.  

    For me the story was the same, where no one can give me a good reason to shift investments from other opportunities into Sage.  The PM opportunity may be real, but they still seem extremely disorganized and the lock Scanco has put on the hold through the transition may make business sense, but also restricts the MD community from working with the "product" (which in reality is still in development).

    Nancy Harris seems genuine and unispiring, so Sage continues to be going nowhere slowly and remains a very viable product for lifestyle consultants and their loyal customer base.

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    Gary Feldman
    President
    I-Business Network, LLC
    Marietta GA
    6786270646 x224
    http://www.i-bn.com/
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 26.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-20-2019 10:55
    Agree with your overall assessment. I didn't ask about Scott because I believe Sage is back to being siloed and one area doesn't know/care what the other is doing so long as there's no personal impact.

    My observation: 

    • Development doesn't care what sales is doing
    • Sales doesn't care what development is doing
    • Marketing doesn't care what sales or development is doing so long as there's a good marketing pitch
    • The executive team is concerned so much as the margin is x % and growth is y%


    I complained long and hard to every Sage contact about the issues with incompatibility between Sage's endorsed solutions and the remainder of the ecosystem. I conclude that Sage technical is just relieved to check off "upgrade manufacturing to framework" from their to-do list.

    It took me a full day to determine that Mike Ritchie was apparently still in charge of Sage 100 product management ( the boss of bosses as I refer to it ).

    The only people on the technical side who seemed enthusiastic and excited were the Scanco folks and they appear to have good reason to be. The demos looked good and early inquiries from customers are strong. This PM seems like it has the potential to fill a gap that has existed for some time. 

    Had dinner with Nancy Harris and she seems quite capable. The longer-term question is whether Sage Group PLC lets North America begin to run some operations autonomously.


    My rating on Sage Summit - Atlanta 2019

    Event organization - A
    Content - B 
    Providing Motivation/feeling better about Sage - C 



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


  • 27.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-22-2019 10:28
    Thanks for this, Wayne. The differentiation between the departments strikes me as realistic. UK execs have consistently hollowed out NA management since mid-Pascal's time. The move to ATL accelerated it. By "hollowing" I mean not just reducing headcount of people in management, but also removing those who had the product and management chops to know that what execs wanted to do was counterproductive. 

    Now we are left with a NA organization which is not terribly attractive to senior management people who could revitalize it. Why would they want to work there? Most SBUX baristas work there for only a few years because they either running from something in their lives or working towards something, usually education. In this way I think Sage NA has become the SBUX of the SMB ERP industry.

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    Jerry Norman
    Smartbridge Partners
    Austin TX
    512.419.1444 x112
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    Original Message


  • 28.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-22-2019 13:17
    The departure of ​Scott Ehmen (and I believe he left and was not terminated) was more about the closer integration of the Intacct organization into Sage. Aaron Harris, CTO from Intacct, moved into the Sage CTO position and is on the Executive Committee, and Managing Director, Robert Reid, is on the Executive Committee. If Taylor MacDonald comes back into Sage, there would be no place for Scott, and he couldn't compete with Taylor who has a loyal following in both organizations.

    There is no leadership at Sage NA nor Sage UK, between Blair Crump and Steve Hare, so they are taking directions from the Board, which is no way to run an organization, especially one of this size. Steve Kelly tried to be that leader, he and the Board disagreed, and the numbers apparently weren't good enough. Sage UK needs to grant more autonomy to NA and find a leader and visionary to run NA. That will (probably) never happen.

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    John Hoyt
    Forming Solutions: john.hoyt@formingsolutions.com
    Next Level Manufacturing Consulting Group: johnh@nextlevelMCG.com
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    Original Message


  • 29.  RE: Scott Ehman no longer with Sage

    Posted 05-22-2019 14:00

    Rob Reid is in charge of something called Mid-Market Solutions Group which sounds like it's more of an operational ( as opposed to reporting ) entity within Sage NA.  I presume TM is the channel leader for that group and if so I don't think there would have been a conflict between the two channel leaders since they were leading separate areas.

    There's a couple of rumors floating around

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


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