Financial controllers, human resources staff and senior management are set to benefit from the announcement that Sage's local office will significantly expand its software portfolio for the southern African market.
From this month on the company will be offering cash flow, contract costing, contract sales, enquiries, personnel and subcontractor modules for Windows, Unix and Linux implementations of its Line 500 business management solution (BMS). And according to Ashley Ellington, the divisional director for Africa at Sage, it's set to have a significant impact.
"The modules themselves are targeted at either specific functions within a business or at specific vertical markets," he explains.
"They are all developed using the Sage source code so integration [from a look and feel as well as an operational standpoint] with the greater BMS is guaranteed. And they make some serious functionality available to financial, HR and management users."
Both Line 500 and these new modules are aimed at what Sage terms the 'upper end of the mid-market'. Companies operating in this space have, according to Ellington, reacted well to the introduction of modular BMSs - as opposed to the more complex and top-heavy ERP systems of yesteryear.
"In general, deploying a small number of modules to manage core business processes works well for these kinds of companies; the investment isn't huge and the roll-out is quick. It's then fairly straightforward to add new elements to manage broader or different areas of the business," he says.
"Adding the functionality of these new modules to the existing Line 500 suite will bring tangible benefits to many mid-market organisations. They'll have stronger control over their cash flow projections, greater ability to drill down and analyse business data, and a more accurate process for monitoring business done with third-party consultants," he says.
Cash flow management - one of the most critical success factors of any business - is made far simpler and more accurate with one of the new modules. It provides tools to view current and future cash positions, as well as manipulations to project various 'what if' scenarios.
The contract costing, contract sales and subcontractor modules work together to manage the entire process of interacting, working with and deriving revenues from contracts and third-party consultants. Closely integrated with the main payroll and other primary functions of Sage Line 500, the module ensures that project costs, profits, time frames and deadlines are carefully monitored.
Drill down analysis and report writing capabilities are bolstered by the enquiries module. While Line 500 already allows for analysis and reporting, the new module takes it one step further. Enquiries can be built using data from any of the tables within the system, meaning companies can report on or analyse every area of their business - clearly a boon for sales, marketing or senior management.
The personnel module gives HR consultants the ability to manage the full lifecycle of employment - covering the recruitment and development of all employees as well as their individual histories. Given the sensitive and confidential nature of employee-related data, the security in this module has been bolstered with user-level authorisation and access controls.
The modules are coming to market through Sage's local office as well as the company's network of authorised business partners across southern Africa. More information can be found at www.itweb.co.za/office/sage and www.sageenterprisesolutions.com.
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