Sage 100

So let the emails begin, of clients asking whether they should download 2016 like the email from Sage says they should do.....The email does not make it clear whether they need to use the new keys on older versions, either. They just assume that everyone can just go ahead and upgrade today, tra la la. First client email I got runs ACS's MultiBin, the second has heavily customized CRM.

I was just going to post that I received my first customer inquiry asking if they should upgrade. Now the fun starts. BTW, I'm telling people that Sage's trend is to fully support the most recent release and that I recommend they adopt it after the first month unless we get early feedback from @BethBowers that there is a problem.

It's going to take me a month just to figure out how to explain 100 vs 100c, which I see Sage didn't touch in their email...

I don't expect a serious effort by Sage to voluntarily migrate customers. What I'm convinced we'll see is some letter in 1-3 years announcing 100c wildly popular and here's how to migrate.

Since they showed END USERS at Summit the new launcher, they're gonna have some 'splanin' to do when those same end users (who are probably more likely to install on their own) don't see it.

It's ALL beta until service pack one...

@WayneSchulz - I suspect that that maintenance renewal team is going to be under serious pressure to convert maintenance renewals to 100c subscriptions, because subscription revenue is going to look better to shareholders than maintenance revenue.

I predict the full pressure will come at about the 2-3 year mark from when 100c was released (from now), which coincidentally will line up with the typical Sage reorganization timeline. There will be some webinar to announce how net promoter scores (or the metric of the moment) show that customers using 100c are (pick one) happier, thinner, wealthier, than their Sage 100 counterparts. Therefore, because customers have been asking for this all existing Sage 100 can migrate to Sage 100c for just 15% more.

I think the only thing that will get customers to pony up 15% (or more) is a true web interface.

Does anyone have a form letter to send to their customers about this e-mail blast and our recommendation not to install if they have any customizations, third party products, or concerns about being on the first release of a new version?

I would probably forward the e-mail received to clients (removing the codes of course) and explain to them that something similar will be forthcoming and give them your usual spiel. That forging ahead on your own is fraught with peril. Yada, Yada yada.

Confusion about Crystal Reports with 100c. Has anyone seen something published by Sage about a change in use of Crystal Reports with 100c? They mention a separate user license fee. Does the customer get any designer licenses as part of the package to edit forms and reports? Do they have to buy the first license? We have our first quote going out for an off-plan user. The 100c pricing makes sense for them and there is interest.

Ask at least 10 people at Sage about the license and see if you can get a slim majority with the same answer. Make sure your sample group is large enough, though - don't stop with 3.

@alanniergarth - I did ask. It is a separate fee. See attached.

They can buy Crystal Reports just about anywhere for $495.00

I guess I can no longer use the standard excuse of ""let's wait to see what's in 2016"".

thanks @WayneSchulz. This is one less reason for any current client to consider migrating to 100c. Their annual subscription will be that much more compared to their current renewal costs. The new UI better be damn nice! @PhilMcIntosh are you sure there are no custom .dll's included in Sage's OEM version of Crystal? My past experience has been their can be slight differences between off-the-shelf and OEM versions.

@alanniergarth - no I am not sure, but they would have to be part of the runtime that is there already, I think...@AlnoorCassim ?

Will 100c be a separate download or will a special set of keys for 2016 open up 100c? I don't see 100c as being available yet.

Sage is apparently struggling to generate Sage 100c keys.

Why am I not surprised?

In all probability, once they get them generated and distributed, calls will start coming in that they don't work.....