Sage Pro Migration News from Sage Summit

Last week, Sage Software hosted many of our Customers, Business Partners and our Net at Work team in the first combined Business Partner & Customer Event in Washington DC called Sage Summit.  The Sage Pro Migration team from Net at Work jumped onto I-95 for the quick drive south to witness the goings-on.  Our clients have been able to stroll through dozens of booths manned by Sage staff to learn about the new product offerings and the very extensive Independent Solution Vendors (ISV’s) whom were able to demo their products and raise the technology bar to new levels.

More important to our Sage Pro (Accpac/SBT/Vision Point) Clients is Sage’s commitment to Migration. Early in the week, we met with the Sage Pro Migration Team to talk about the ongoing offers and efforts to encourage our Clients to consider the hop to another Accounting Software/ERP/MRP in the portfolio.  The Sage Migration Team is giving the nod to the current migration program for the remainder of 2011. Customers are leveraging their investment in Sage Pro to ‘swap’ for another ERP such as Sage Accpac, Sage MAS 90/200, Sage MAS 500 or Sage ERP X3 – investing only in the going-forward annual software assurance. In the current scenario the general rule is that customers get *FREE*  ‘Like for Like” modules for the payment of one year of maintenance for “On Plan” customers and three years of software assurance for “Off Plan “customers.

Another benefit of migration is that the software licensing model of the many of the targeted portfolios is more aggressive than Sage Pro’s. For example, new Sage Accpac licenses include a ‘bundle’ of the most frequently used Financial Modules as well as the Distribution Modules. Thus, customers who previously held off purchasing a particular module in Pro, can get the entire bundle, even if they didn’t previously own it in Sage Pro.

Moreover, a number of Extended Solution Providers such as Knowledge Sync  (automation and alerts), Altec (Document Management) and certain other verticals are starting to match the program. Look for investment recapture in field service offerings and manufacturing.

But…beware. Sage Migration is not saying what the offer will be after the Year End only that there will be a change. Sage Pro Users need to hear the bell and start reviewing their choices to get the best possible deals in the coming months.