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Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

  • 1.  Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-12-2021 15:30
    I get less and less from every meeting.

    And I notice there is no longer an attempt for us to group message around them.

    Which leads me to ask who are these meetings relevant for?

    I think they aren’t for certified consultants since we primarily consult and these meetings seem as if all hands is part Sage Exec performance review, part BPAC review ( in case you missed the last junket ) and part quarter or year-end sales push.

    Sage has whittled down the reselling channel to the point that it seems almost everyone is on BPAC ( or had a BPAC master var type deal ).

    I guess then these meetings now are for reselling partners who are not affiliated with a BPAC member ?

    For BPAc members who spent the last trip on their phone in the hallway?

    Interesting to hear that the three-way sales tie for SPC migrations was won with 1 deal apiece in the just passed quarter. And we swear we knew all along that we’d need to add an additional strategic host option …. ( I guess they haven’t gotten far in the planning since they only certified two options so far ).,.

    Oh, and there is a new Sage 100 PMM coming who has not joined Sage yet.

    That’s 100% of what I took away from today. It seems that Sage really needs to re-org what happens in these meetings - or have BPAC pay better attention so they can skip repeating the sales pitches and back slapping congratulatory announcements.



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


  • 2.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-12-2021 17:00
    Edited by Jeff Schwenk 08-12-2021 17:04

    We complained about the worthless Summit back in May (which BTW, we haven't received our $50 rebate for attending (was a last minute incentive to waste two days).  The response to our complaint today follows:

    Everyone is welcome to make Intacct migration, SPC, or SHP sales as it was announced at the beginning of FY21 that these would Sage's strategic focus. So as expected the incentives and promotions provided are centered around these initiatives.

     We know we have a very wide audience we need to reach when presenting so the effort to provide something for everyone is always taken into consideration. I am sorry to hear that you feel the hour spent on the call as a waste, but we as an organization do try to make these as informative for our partners as possible and hope that at least something can be taken from the call.

     I will absolutely send your message along to Jeff and Dianna so they are aware of your disappointment in the presentation and Sage's ability to provide additional incentive to partners.

    It would appear that Sage 100 is not their focus any more and they have stopped pretending that the channel is important to them.

    By this time next year, will annual subscription revenue be under $100,000,000.00?

    10/1 is six weeks away.  Is it too soon to start thinking of the upcoming shake up?



    ------------------------------
    Jeff Schwenk
    FORMER 90M Board Member -140,000,000 is a TERRIBLE thing to waste!!!
    Bottomline Software, Inc.
    Waynesboro VA
    540-221-4444
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-12-2021 17:10
    "Everyone is welcome to make Intacct migration
    Does this mean that everyone is welcome to fill out the ACH payment form?

    ------------------------------
    Doug Higgs
    Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
    (312) 315-0960
    Chauffeur, Chef, and Personal Assistant to Sprinkles
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-12-2021 21:03
    Sustainability and Society?

    ------------------------------
    Bob Pfahnl
    Manager - Silicon Valley
    DSD Business Systems
    San Diego CA
    408-641-0922
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-12-2021 21:35
    We don't need the 2X Tier Credit that doesn't apply to selling Sage 100 and Sage 300 year in and year out. We'll make our tier without that help, because we are doing real, traditional sales of real, proven products. Give us an automated, on-line quoting and ordering system, and we don't really need all those people behind the scenes or those that ask us what we have for them every month, quarter and year-end. The reality is if we don't have those people, then we don't need the Sleight of Hand All Hands Meetings.



    ------------------------------
    John Hoyt, Co-Founder
    Next Level Manufacturing Consulting Group
    johnh@nextlevelMCG.com
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-13-2021 10:05

    I understand why they want to have a "unified" channel. I understand why having "unified" All-Hands Meetings should be part of it. Given their strategic goals I agree with them.

    However, Sage does NOT understand what it takes to actually run a "unified" channel and keep both branches engaged and motivated. I doubt they ever will; it takes more creative and insightful leadership than this current set of execs has. It looks to me like they have set up channel and pricing policies that will at least not drive Sage 100 partners away too quickly, but that's about all the attention we'll get: the rules.

    Sage mgt has always spent way too much time on awards and contests for my taste. Who, exactly, is the audience for that 20 minutes of presentation time? I'd like to see Sage execs spending at least some time telling success stories of Sage 100 partners who closed deals of various types, and the circumstances so the rest of this understand better what can work in today's environment.

    None of this will change, though. We should concentrate on thinking about what we're going to do about it because complaining will be as effective as teaching a pig to sing. 

       



    ------------------------------
    Jerry Norman
    At-Large BOD Member, 90 Minds
    Smartbridge Partners
    512.419.1444 x112
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-13-2021 10:33
    Many will be deciding which Medicare supplement plan is optimal for them.  The brain train drain is picking up momentum regardless of the number of times we hear "The channel means a lot to Sage"  Will the last cow out of the dairy barn please turn out the lights?  That is no bull.  Go ahead and bet the farm on it.

    ------------------------------
    Jeff Schwenk
    FORMER 90M Board Member -140,000,000 is a TERRIBLE thing to waste!!!
    Bottomline Software, Inc.
    Waynesboro VA
    540-221-4444
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-13-2021 10:54
    Since these meetings have almost no relevance to my business, I don't attend them.  Perhaps no one attending the meetings would cause some concern. Contrary to most "expert" opinions, I believe there is a substantial market for on-premise and/or hybrid cloud solutions. I continue to present the available options to my customers, listen to what they want, and recommend what is in their best interest, not what the publishers are pushing this year.

    ------------------------------
    Doug Higgs
    Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
    (312) 315-0960
    Chauffeur, Chef, and Personal Assistant to Sprinkles
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-13-2021 17:42
    Doug,

    Great news.  There is still time to catch up on everything INTACCT!  Sager recorded the webcast.  Check it out!!



    ------------------------------
    Jeff Schwenk
    FORMER 90M Board Member -140,000,000 is a TERRIBLE thing to waste!!!
    Bottomline Software, Inc.
    Waynesboro VA
    540-221-4444
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-14-2021 13:00
    Thanks Jeff.  I'm reasonably up to date on Intact.  I've been Intacct implementation certified for four years, completed 120+ hours of classes, and have done some implementation and support work. 

    Intacct is a fabulous product.  I love it for a lot of companies.  I just don't shoe horn Sage 100 customers​ into Intacct just because it is the flavor of the month.

    ------------------------------
    Doug Higgs
    Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
    (312) 315-0960
    Chauffeur, Chef, and Personal Assistant to Sprinkles
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-15-2021 10:12
    15 years ago, it was MAS 500. Better invest everything you have in it....MAS 90 will be gone soon. Then it was X3...it's taking over the world. Now, it's Intacct.

    I guess Sage 100 is the little engine that could. It's funny how Sage seems to hate their cash cow.

    ------------------------------
    John Shaver
    Chief Value Officer
    Axiology
    Knoxville TN
    (865) 389-3600
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 08:41

    It is funny how I tried to register for the meeting 4 times but could not get a response...  Glad I didn't miss anything.

    Can we get a like button for comments like John's?

    Gary



    ------------------------------
    Gary Feldman
    Cloud Evangelist
    Summit Hosting

    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 09:56
    Gary - That's the "Recommend" button in the response's header.

    ------------------------------
    Jerry Norman
    At-Large BOD Member, 90 Minds
    Smartbridge Partners
    512.419.1444 x112
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 10:52
    I think you can sum up the All Hands Meetings as being lazy.  If the first rule of a presentation is to know who you're audience is!  How can you keep attendee interest talking about stuff that your audience isn't interested in?  I know why Sage does it this way, it's less effort on their part and they can check it off their to-do list.  

    They gave us plenty of motivation to push us to close as many opportunities as possible before Sept. 30th.  Did they give any financial motivation to our prospects...or did I miss something?

    As to awards, there are only 2 behavior types that are into or care about awards.  Awards should be the last thing discussed and only as a brief thanks for the effort.  The real celebration should be with the award winners.  When I was a general sales manager for an ABC affiliate, my predecessors made a big deal out of award plaques.  So naturally, I did too until I gave them out for the first time and saw my #1 sales person put it into a drawer full of other awards.  I went from office to office and nobody had any award plaques up.  That was the last time I ever gave out a plaque.  ​

    ------------------------------
    Bob Tobey
    Summit Hosting, Sage Cloud Channel Manager
    I-Business Network, LLC
    Roswell GA
    770-356-9395
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 11:52
    Lazy - Another four letter word that can be used interchangeably with Sage!

    ------------------------------
    Jeff Schwenk
    FORMER 90M Board Member -140,000,000 is a TERRIBLE thing to waste!!!
    Bottomline Software, Inc.
    Waynesboro VA
    540-221-4444
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 14:05
    @Bob Tobey "They gave us plenty of motivation to push us to close as many opportunities as possible before Sept. 30th." Actually they did NOT give most of us any motivation for 9/30. The only promotions were converting customers from 100/300 to Intacct and signing customers up for the Sage Business Cloud. I thought I was reading it wrong, so I asked. No, those are the only promotions and the response was not particularly cordial, as in: 

    "It was announced at the beginning of FY21 that these would be Sage's strategic focus. So, as expected, the incentives and promotions provided are centered around these initiatives."

    The biggest joke of the day was the two resellers tied for the most customers signed up for the Sage Business Cloud - 1 each! That's not even worth mentioning! I can see that is going over well with the channel.​

    ------------------------------
    John Hoyt, Co-Founder
    Next Level Manufacturing Consulting Group
    johnh@nextlevelMCG.com
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 14:29
      |   view attached
    It looks like Sage broke out promos for Q4 ended 9/30/21 into Partner Opportunities aka spiffs  (which is what Sage talked about on the all-hands ) 

    There are a few customer opportunities - and despite the ill-advised claim from Timothy Harfield that Sage would "never" offer the winback promos again ( customer paid the same price as perpetual to move to subscription for a period of time while subject to somewhat hazy annual increases against that credit which doesn't seem governed by EULA ) ... 


    Ex-Sage Phuong Nguyen had indicated that Sage100cloud branding was going away - yet the Sage 100cloud branding is used throughout these promos which calls into question whether Sage put a halt to removing the Sage 100cloud branding or it's just taking a really long time to figure out search/replace on many documents.

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

    Attachment(s)



  • 18.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 14:30
    Spoiler - winback with migration credit is back. 
    If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck and looks like a duck ...

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



  • 19.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 15:12
    Ooo, ooo, I know the answer to this one!  It's a 鸭uck!

    ------------------------------
    Karen O'Lane
    Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
    Fresno CA
    803.252.6154 x242
    559.577.4142
    90 Minds Treasurer
    ------------------------------



  • 20.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 14:36
    Is the migration to Sage Live promo back yet?

    ------------------------------
    Doug Higgs
    Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
    (312) 315-0960
    Chauffeur, Chef, and Personal Assistant to Sprinkles
    ------------------------------



  • 21.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 15:05
    I'm not sure why you're all surprised at this.
    - Sage execs have ALWAYS been lousy at partner sessions like this; IMO, this now was middle-of-the-road.
    - Since the time Harfield left, Sage has been very loud and clear about its priorities: Sage 100 growth is not one of them.
    - Intacct probably has fewer product/market hurdles to jump in replacing Sage distrib/mfg in 5 years than anything else Sage has put up.
    - Sage 100 is technically incapable of demo'ing as well as Acumatica and other "modern" packages. Apparently 80% of NCA's are made by buyers who used to work with Sage 100 and like it. This is not a niche that a FTSE 100 firm should count on for growth.

    So, don't get your nose out of joint when Sage consistently tells you that what you are doing is not vital to them -- beyond babysitting the customer until they can be migrated to Intacct/X3. And their SPC obsession is likely only to drive up their metrics claiming to be "a cloud company."

    This is the reality. Now, what are we going to do to make the best of it?

    ------------------------------
    Jerry Norman
    At-Large BOD Member, 90 Minds
    Smartbridge Partners
    512.419.1444 x112
    ------------------------------



  • 22.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 15:18
    In all seriousness, @Jerry Norman has been asking us all to contemplate what the future holds for us and how we might respond/manage/influence the forces that drive our consulting practices. We need to collaborate on strategies. Maybe a session at MOTM 2022. However, it's something that every one of us should be actively reflecting on now.​

    ------------------------------
    Karen O'Lane
    Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
    Fresno CA
    803.252.6154 x242
    559.577.4142
    90 Minds Treasurer
    ------------------------------



  • 23.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 15:55
    I'll follow Sage's lead and actively work to migrate our clients off Sage 100 to a better more modern solution... however it won't be Intacct or X3, not because they are necessarily bad products but because they are Sage products.

    ------------------------------
    Bill Pfahnl
    Nims & Associates
    ------------------------------



  • 24.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 16:00
    @Jerry Norman Part of my point is that Sage 100 WOULD demo extremely well against the competition if Sage would invest in it instead of always chasing the next dream. The vast majority of Sage knowledge (meaning groups like 90Minds) is in Sage 100.

    As far as I know, there are no other groups comparable to 90Minds. Is there an Intacct group with 250 veteran consultants in it?

    Not arguing with you...just saying that Sage continues to squander its value.​

    ------------------------------
    John Shaver
    Chief Value Officer
    Axiology
    Lawrenceville GA
    (865) 389-3600
    ------------------------------



  • 25.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 16:19
    I just sold a new logo Sage 100 deal last week.  I won against NetSuite and Dynamics GP.  Bug me at MOTM to explain the reasoning of my new customer.

    ------------------------------
    Doug Higgs
    Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
    (312) 315-0960
    Chauffeur, Chef, and Personal Assistant to Sprinkles
    ------------------------------



  • 26.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-16-2021 19:52
    @Doug Higgs - I want to hear that sales story sometime soon. It is one of the "20%" I mentioned that are not simply former Sage users buying a familiar product. There will continue to be some of these, and they can be enough for some of our partners. 

    @John Shaver - Back around 2008, Irvine tried really hard to figure out how to put Sage 100 into a true browser UI. They came close, but couldn't surmount some important limitations in Providex. So, we must perpetually access Sage 100 through some sort of RDP window. Millennials are increasingly the buyers, and this limitation won't cut it.

    (Back around the century turn, Sage had an opportunity to rewrite Sage 100 in a mainstream language, NOT Providex. But they chose to continue with Providex for the Framework project. My understanding of the reason was that licensing Providex would be cheaper than the other options. Penny-wise and pound-foolish -- another "excellent" technology strategic choice by Sage.)

    Regardless of the history, the Intacct execs convinced UK to ride their horse only. There's no going back. Sage 100 will continue to get only the marketing and product investment needed to keep the "14,000" installed-base customers from leaving too fast. 
    ​​

    ------------------------------
    Jerry Norman
    At-Large BOD Member, 90 Minds
    Smartbridge Partners
    512.419.1444 x112
    ------------------------------



  • 27.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-17-2021 11:25
    @Doug Higgs, please share the NCA customer's reasoning. ​

    ------------------------------
    Eric Lunceford
    First Mate Business Solutions
    Oklahoma City, OK
    877-880-8960
    https://www.firstmatellc.com/
    ------------------------------



  • 28.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-17-2021 11:58
    @Eric Lunceford @Jerry Norman et al.

    The customer is a distributor and also has several retail locations. They currently use a custom POS, purchasing, inventory system at their retail locations.  This custom system was built 25+ years ago, and the developer is retiring and closing the business.  The distribution piece of the business is running Platinum, an on premise product that is no longer supported.  They have some imports / exports that exchange data between the systems.  Financial reporting is done using Platinum and a lot of Excel.

    They looked at some POS systems but most were either way overkill and didn't have good integration and/or solid financial reporting which accounting insists upon in a new system.  They decided to have the custom POS re-written in a modern language using a large developer who has several similar references. 

    They needed a new back office ERP system that has a strong financial reporting / GL capabilities as well as the ability to have a tight integration with the software running at the retail locations. Their first notion was to look at cloud-based systems because they have APIs available, don't require a server, get auto upgrades and all of the selling points of cloud.  What they discovered (that most of us already know) is that an API only exposes the data the publisher wants to expose.  You don't necessarily get every field in every table.  Further, the publisher has an API for a reason..... they don;t want to give the end user direct access to the database.  For example, if you use Intacct, NetSuite, or others, you can't open the Oracle database and query the tables. You have to use an API for everything unless you use the built in tools available in the software.    Another issue was price.  Two issues:  This company is highly seasonal.  They need to be able to change the number of users three, four, or more times a year.  They may need 5-10 users most of the year but during peak months they needs to scale up o 25 or 30 users.  Sage 100 monthly subscription allows them to make changes.  NetSuite allowed them to change users once a year and the price per user was three times that of Sage 100.  It was much less expensive finding a hosting company to tun Sage 100.

    Also, it seems counter-intuitive, but in this instance Sage 100 not having a off-the-shelf API is a great benefit.  A .NET programmer with Sage 100 experience with the business objects can create whatever API we want to be available to the calling app API (POS system).

    In the end, the reasons for choosing Sage 100 include control and access to data, the ability to customize the API, and the flexibility to scale user counts throughout the year to facilitate the seasonality of the business.




      ​​

    ------------------------------
    Doug Higgs
    Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
    (312) 315-0960
    Chauffeur, Chef, and Personal Assistant to Sprinkles
    ------------------------------



  • 29.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-18-2021 08:09
    Just an FYI, Acumatica does not price per user (they use transactions/consumption per module) and can also be installed on-premise so that you have total access to the data.  In fact, all of our sales and installs are on-premise (or IaaS private cloud) with subscription pricing.

    ------------------------------
    Steve Iwanowski, NextStep Technology Advisors, aka DSD Lancaster PA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    ------------------------------



  • 30.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-19-2021 15:39
    @Jerry Norman - ".... don't get your nose out of joint when......"

    I don't think anyone has a disjointed nose from this.  I doubt that anyone minds that Sage is moving the cheese!  Just a fact of life.

    The problem is that for the past 15 years (or more), the execs participating in the Sage revolving door, open the third envelope management program have been horrible at leading this company.  What is wrong with venting some frustration over the ongoing leadership gap?  How many fingers do you need to count the GOOD programs initiated by the elite Sage team?  Sage doesn't have a clue!  They talk a good game, collect their bonuses based on some short term smoke and mirror achievement.  Three years later, time to rinse and repeat. 

    As to your question about what we are going to do about it, below are a few of my favorite websites.  I imagine that there are more than a few 90M members already looking.

    Retirement Estimator | SSA

    Get your free Medicare Supplement guide - AARP® Medicare Supplement Insurance by United Healthcare (aarpmedicaresupplement.com)

    Medicare.gov - Log in

    Regarding the other members that are not nearing retirement age, I doubt that there is ANYTHING that ANYONE can do to keep the Titanic from sinking.  Many will continue to consult with users.  To paraphrase an old commercial, "Here at XYZ Consulting, we don't make the stinkin software, we just make it better!".  And others are doing what @Bill Pfahnl is doing, leading clients and prospects to something other than Sage.

    September is just around the corner.  I wonder what Sage has in store for us.

    As noted before, annual subscription revenue of $140,000,000.00 ​​is a TERRIBLE sum to waste.

    ------------------------------
    Jeff Schwenk
    FORMER 90M Board Member -140,000,000 is a TERRIBLE thing to waste!!!
    Bottomline Software, Inc.
    Waynesboro VA
    540-221-4444
    ------------------------------



  • 31.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-19-2021 18:22
    Jeff, I mostly agree. I don't see the point of continual complaining about stupid Sage management beyond using it as a basis of improving our individual decisions of what we should do in this environment. I try to come up with actionable options. Riding Sage 100 to retirement is certainly a reasonable strategy for some.

    For the others, well there is no hope in "righting the Titanic" for a whole bunch of reasons. So the focus should be on how they can leverage the skills they developed with their Sage 100 work into different environments and/or professional focii. 

    Frankly, I don't think Sage has any significant surprises in story for any of us who have been paying attention to this. The lay of the road ahead is pretty clear. they might make or fill some potholes in it, but we won't see any new opportunities, just modified ones. 

    Our thinking must be, "How can I make the most of what Sage has, and ignore the rest?"  We can't change the menu.

    ------------------------------
    Jerry Norman
    At-Large BOD Member, 90 Minds
    Smartbridge Partners
    512.419.1444 x112
    ------------------------------



  • 32.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-19-2021 20:37
    Why complain?

    Have you forgotten who signs your paycheck??

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



  • 33.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-17-2021 08:45
    Sorry this prior message went private to Jerry for some odd reason other than "Hello Higher Logic it's 1985 and we'd like our mobile web capabilities back, please " .....

    I'm going to disagree with your assertion that Intacct convinced Sage of anything.

    Recall that Sage purchased Intacct for $850 million in 2017.

    At the time I characterized it as a shotgun wedding.

    Intacct had been wanting to go public but seemed to have difficulty hitting the $100 million threshold which is commonly thought to be the low bar for entry as an IPO.

    And on the Sage side this was arguably Stephen Kelly's last grasp at a growth product after the product he seemed to spearhead - Sage Live - died a slow agonizing and public death.

    And, yes, Kelly would have required board approval so it's not just a Kelly decision though as CEO he would have guided the company toward this acquisition.

    For more color on why I believe Sage continues to be on the ropes - check out the market capitalization ( total value of shares outstanding at today's pricing ) compared to competitors such as Intuit ( $148 b ), Xero ( $15 b ), Avalara ( $14 b ).

    Sage market cap - $10.5 b U.S.

    Intuit is probably the closest comparison - heavy reliance on CPA referral, small to mid-market customer, similar on prem to cloud migration pains.

    And Intuit is valued at 10x Sage

    The closest "rats nest" type company ( organization & acquired product strategy wise ) to Sage is Infor. That company went private in 2020 at $13 b. Epicor was also sold privately for $4 b in Aug 2020 to another private equity firm.

    What I think all this means is the original strategy of buying a bunch of separate accounting software products that don't integrate and "we will figure out what to do later" has not worked out as planned.

    At least not in terms of increased company value.

    As Stephen Kelly once remarked - Sage had a great business until the Internet happened.

    The Internet equalized distribution as well as how companies could deploy.

    Certainly I'm not the only one to observe this. Sage has probably known this since before hiring Stephen Kelly and it's probably why they hired him.

    What does it mean?

    I don't think the strategy of juggling multiple unrelated products has a long life for any company looking to increase shareholder value ( as measure by market cap ).

    Most likely outcome is spin out various products to venture capital who take them private and run them for roi $ until finding another buyer.

    For anyone not paying close attention - both infor and Acumatica are owned by private equity. Sage has previously sold Saleslogix, Act! and Sage Payments ( as well as others ) in a similar manner.

    TL;DR: the most likely outcome for Sage 100 is a sale to private equity either as part of a bundle or individually. I've no guess on the timing for this.

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



  • 34.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-17-2021 09:59
    I agree with Wayne that a sale to a private equity entity would be the best outcome for the end user and the reseller.  If Sage is insistent on being SaaS only then Sage 100 doesn't fit the portfolio.  Of course, there are many users that still like the product and pay the subscription, so there's reluctance to sell the cash cow.

    ------------------------------
    Doug Higgs
    Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
    (312) 315-0960
    Chauffeur, Chef, and Personal Assistant to Sprinkles
    ------------------------------



  • 35.  RE: Who Exactly Are These All Hands Meetings For?

    Posted 08-18-2021 01:46
    Wayne, I wasn't clear at all about my meaning about Intacct Mgt. I'd meant it applied to recent changes we've seen, and I don't feel strongly about it at all. I am puzzled by the apparent about-face regarding Sage 100 between Harfield's conviction during Jan 2020 Thrive On and May 2020 when he clearly decided things were then ging in a different direction. This change might have been due to internal lobbying (eg, Intacct), or some other data emerged. 

    It's really neither here nor there because your larger strategic analysis, about how Intacct and Kelly needed each other, producing a believable product strategy that could scale in ways Sage needs. (For example, a cloud product that can believably meet needs worldwide.) 

    By end of 2018 I was pretty sure that Sage 100 was not a product Sage wanted to ride into the future. I was encouraging 90 Minds' Board of Directors to work on thinking seriously about what we must do with that reality. And then during 2019, Timothy made a relentless case, with some decent evidence, that Sage 100 was here to stay. I was skeptical, but moving towards believing; I came away from Thrive On thinking, "Maybe Lucy really isn't on the field." But then she showed up a few months later. 

    I think that during Timothy's time, Sage was willing to make and promote Sage 100 as an active product for 5-10 more years, buying time for Intacct to flesh itself out into a viable distribution and (maybe) mfg replacement for Sage 100 (X3 being too big). Something changed that calculus in early 2020.

    I also agree that a sale to PE is eventually inevitable. I don't think that will be satisfying for anybody except Sage and maybe the PE group.

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    Jerry Norman
    At-Large BOD Member, 90 Minds
    Smartbridge Partners
    512.419.1444 x112
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