The Future of Sage 500 ERP: Review of Recent Sage 500 Announcements
This past July, I had the pleasure of attending Sage Summit where the future of Sage 500 ERP was discussed in length. Amid concerns regarding the future of the 500 ERP solution (previously Sage MAS 500), the mood quickly turned from tense to excited, when it was officially announced that Sage 500 ERP isn’t going anywhere.
To use Sage 500’s Senior Product Manager Linda Cade’s own words: “Let me clarify this point here and now. Sage will NOT be retiring Sage 500 ERP in 2017. There is no determined or announced retirement date for this product at this time.”
An overwhelming round of applause followed the announcement, from customers and partners that had been eager to learn of the direction Sage 500 ERP was going. In light of the good news, we are taking this opportunity to highlight some of the reasons as to why this solution continues to be a great option for Canadian small and midsized businesses looking to grow.
Sage Continues to Invest in Sage 500 ERP Customers
Sage has just released the latest version of the solution, Sage 500 ERP 2014 (if you are not on the latest version, contact us). In fact, over the last six months, customer upgrades to the latest version have tripled, making Sage 500 ERP a profitable solution in Sage’s portfolio. In addition, Sage is currently in the process of gathering the requirements for the next versions: Sage 500 ERP 2015 and Sage 500 ERP 2017.
In short, recent developments have completed the “re-evaluation” of Sage 500 ERP ahead of the anticipated 2017 date, meaning that Sage 500 ERP will definitely be around for a while still.
Sage 500 ERP Continues to Provide New Enhancements
Not only are new versions in Sage’s plan for 500, but they have also invested heavily in connecting the ERP system to the Sage data cloud. The Sage data cloud is where customers can access extended functionality, like Sage Inventory Advisor and Sage Enterprise Intelligence. These are easy upgrades in functionality that don’t require a system overhaul but significantly improve the system’s functionality.
Another new enhancement that has been included through the Sage data cloud is mobility. It will be available in early calendar year of 2015, when companies will be able to mobilize their sales force, stay connected with technicians in the field, process payments from anywhere, and integrate field staff data with the office’s systems.
Sage 500 ERP is a Platform for Growth
Companies using Sage 500 ERP are already in a good place to grow with the connection to the Sage data cloud. In addition, Sage has other solutions that integrate with 500 and are designed to improve specific areas of an organization. Sage 500 ERP is compatible with Sage productivity and compliance solutions, like Sage HRMS and Sage Fixed Assets that streamlines management of people, payments and fixed assets.
For responsible and smart decision-making, Sage 500 connects with Sage Intelligence and Sage Enterprise Intelligence, modern business intelligence and reporting tools. To help improve marketing, sales, and customer service, companies can opt for Sage CRM solutions, Sage Mobile Sales and Sage Billing and Payment. Whichever area needs support or whatever direction the company is growing, companies using Sage 500 ERP have the support to grow how they deem fit.
Back to The Basics, Sage 500 ERP Keeps Companies Compliant
When we start talking about all the latest advances in data cloud and business intelligence solutions, it becomes easy to forget that ERP is primarily and accounting solution. Sage 500 ERP’s tax and product updates ensure regulatory compliance.
We should mention that it is essential for a business that wants to stay compliant with a number of regulatory requirements, like PCI-DSS, HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley, to stay up-to-date with their Sage 500 ERP solution. This is in light that almost every IT compliance regulation asks that a business take reasonable steps to protect the security and accuracy of information and systems it controls, something that is taken care of when your ERP solution is up-to-date/
An Investment in Sage Carries Forward When You Grow
A company’s current needs are not necessarily the same as they will be in the future. To assume that an ERP solution that is a good fit now will always be a good fit would defy that logic. With that in mind, Sage has laid out the groundwork for companies that outgrow Sage 500 ERP. When that time comes, Sage secures a portion of the investments made and offers significant incentives to all on-plan customers to upgrade to a more powerful Sage ERP solution.
The way it works is that Sage gives financial credits, or discounts, for new solutions through the Sage Investment Protection Program (SIPP). Through SIPP, companies get trade-in credit for their current ERP licenses and can apply to the purchase of user licenses in a new Sage ERP solution.
Another thing to note is that if the time ever comes to upgrade, all the business data a company has on the Sage data cloud or ancillary solutions like Sage Enterprise Intelligence and Sage CRM will remain the same.
Companies currently using Sage 500 ERP are in a great spot for the coming years and have a lot of options to improve the way they do business. We are happy to hear that Sage 500 ERP is getting the investments and development it deserves, and that not only our customers but all Sage 500 ERP customers have a lot to look forward to. For any additional questions concerning Sage 500 ERP and its future, check out our product page or feel free to contact us.