Johannesburg, 16 May 2003
Business management solutions (BMSs) that run on Linux, a partnership with global IT giant IBM and customer relationship management software for SMBs: these are the cornerstones of Sage's presence at this year's Computer Faire.
According to Ashley Ellington, divisional director for Africa at Sage, the choice to showcase these particular solutions and activities was made with the changing demographic of the faire's audience in mind.
"Over the years we've seen the exhibition attracting more and more discerning corporate customers," he says.
"There's a drive to make the faire a forum for business discussions as opposed to simply being a product show or marketing event. Obviously, we're there to demonstrate our solutions and do real business. That's why we've chosen to give visitors an opportunity to see how our BMS and CRM solutions perform in a real life business environment."
From a Linux standpoint, Sage is focusing primarily on Line 500 - the BMS that's aimed at companies in the upper end of the mid-market. Line 500 comprises software modules that, when integrated, can holistically manage a company's finance, distribution, manufacturing and service operations. Already available for Windows and Unix, the Linux port is a relatively recent addition to the Sage BMS portfolio.
The IBM partnership ties in closely with Line 500 on Linux. Sage has inked a global deal with IBM that sees Line 500 being delivered on IBM iSeries- Intel- and PA-RISC-powered servers running Linux and Unix. It's something rather significant for both companies, says Ellington.
"It's the most serious collaboration between Sage and IBM to date. And it demonstrates that we believe the open source platform is capable of truly supporting a business, as opposed to just being used for development," he says.
"It's also the first time that the local IBM server customer base - and the business partner channel - has had dedicated access to Sage's BMS solutions.
"Some [perhaps many] of these mid-market companies are not holistically managing their finance, distribution, manufacturing and service operations. The Linux-version of Line 500 lets them do that. And because it's available now, they can make the move as soon as they're ready."
The CRM offerings, which became part of the Sage fold when the company acquired US-based Interact Commerce Systems in 2001, complement the existing BMS solutions and offer local companies tangible customer-related information.
"ACT! and SalesLogix are, respectively, the small business and larger enterprise CRM solutions that we offer," says Ellington.
"The SalesLogix solution is designed to work with Line 500. The BMS stores and processes data relating to financial, warehousing, distribution and operational activities, as well as service and contract management information.
"This can then be integrated with SalesLogix to enable companies to create a single unified view of their customers. They can see the credit history, buying trends and the status of corresponding stock in the warehouse at a glance. And they can streamline the process of managing customer accounts and, of subsequently, communicate with those companies in more effective ways."
Sage can be found at Computer Faire in Hall 2 on Stand D (22-26). The company is on the Web at www.itweb.co.za/office/sage and www.sageenterprisesolutions.com.
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