Archive for the ‘ERP Software’ Category
Sage ERP X3 May 26, 2011 Conference Wrapup
Sage’s ERP X3 May 26, 2011 Worldwide conference just wrapped. Logging in at exactly an hour it contained a few pieces of information about Sage ERP X 3. There were exactly zero live demonstrations and no question and answers were allowed. What follows after the break are my notes and observations.
Here We Go Again: Thoughts On Sage’s Reorg
Earnings were released late last night by Sage. Overall they seem to be in line with expectations and the company’s explanation can best be summed up by “at least our second half of the year didn’t suck as badly as the first”.
You can review the full earnings release for yourself on the Sage Investor Relations Site. These appear to be unaudited earnings – so they could change when released in final form.
Along with the earnings Sage announced the retirement of Sue Swenson who was the CEO of Sage North America. You can read that full announcement here.
While Sage calls the departure of Sue Swenson a retirement – I’m thinking it’s more negotiated terminology (here’s why).
In substance I’m calling this as a reorganization for North America whether the business unit and executives admit to it or not. It’s worth noting that Sue Swenson is the second high level North America executive to announce her departure. She follows Jodi Uecker-Rust who left unexpectedly in October 2010 and who had led the Small Business Division.
From my vantage point it appears that Sue Swenson was brought in to manage expenses and reorganize business units into standalone pieces (the better to potentially sell them off — if deemed necessary — some might say).
Now it’s on to the next stage where these pieces are tuned to produce revenue growth. Sage North America is the biggest division of Sage. It’s also the division that has been reporting the largest overall revenue declines (including a 4% decline this year).
The new man in charge is Pascal Houillon of Sage France. Here’s what I think Sage North America has to look forward to for the next 12 months.
The Real Reason ERP Sales Are Down: Buyers Aren’t Morons – Software Companies Are
The abrupt, if not totally unexpected, news of SAP AG’s (SAPG.DE) chief executive Leo Apotheke’s departure brings all sorts of Monday morning quarterbacking opportunities.
SAP’s troubles are not unique. Most ERP software companies are struggling to get their mojo back after enjoying an unprecedented run of ever increasing annual new license sales.
InfoWorld has essentially the same observation with a post that predicts SAP’s future depends on how they treat their customers. Read it here.
But SAP is only one software company – and pretty much all software companies are suffering from this lack of customer benefit focus – having instead turned to treating the customer as a portable ATM machine that dispenses yearly maintenance fees.
Software VARS aren’t blameless either. Most hold tightly to their ancient model of overpriced canned training, installation and upgrade services - all mechanical procedures with relatively small value add.
The past 10 years were filled with customers looking for the next great ERP software. Companies routinely reviewed their options – and when they perceived a better accounting solution was available they switched.
So what happened? Read the rest of this entry »
Sage ERP X3 V6 Launch Notes
I just sat in on the Sage ERP X3 v6 launch which was simulcast over the web from Paris. Update: Sage have posted the complete video of the Sage ERP X3 launch online.
Sage ERP X3 was acquired by Sage in 2005. Prior to branding as Sage ERP X3 it was known as Adonix. They claim 2,700+ users — probably mostly overseas (As I’m in Glastonbury CT that would be non – USA customers – though I believe there are a several in the USA) and 150 partners. The US launch of V6 is scheduled for Q2 2010.
The overall theme of the launch today was that Sage ERP X3 is easy, simple, fast to implement, users like it. Sage indicates that in competitive selling situations they win about 1/3 of the time ( I’m unsure if that means globally or only in a region — it was hard to tell from responses because I was remotely connected and couldn’t see which Sage person answered).
Sage ERP X3 is one of two ERP accounting products Sage has designated as a global offering. That means it’s intended to be used in all regions where Sage operates. The other ERP is Sage Accpac.
According to Sage they sell Sage ERP X3 50% direct and 50% through VARS. Sage further said that as of now they have no rules of engagement (????) for when to sell direct and when to sell through a VAR. This seemed really odd for me and a recipe for conflict. Read the rest of this entry »
