Sage cracks open the kimono?

Late yesterday I had an enjoyable and useful conversation with Stuart Lynn who runs R&D for Sage mid market solutions.

Stuart has been pinging Twitter the last few weeks with Tweets about how Sage is using Amazon to provide an alpha (now beta) test bed for Sage 1000 (aka Tetra CS3.) Are you kidding me? Was my initial reaction, ergo the conversation starter.

Long story short: Sage has re-engineered CS3/Line 1000 so that the front end is wholly web browser based. Back story: CS/3 was more than long in the tooth. It desperately needed development surgery. That has meant the redevelopment of more than 5,500 forms to work in a browser plus the adoption of Java as the development way forward. That may mean very little but in the process Stuart tells me they have managed to preserve most of the CS3 customizations. That’s an engineering feat for which Sage should receive credit. Whenever there is a platform change, vendors usually embark on a customer forced march that demands not only significant retooling at the customer end but also change management. Preserving customizations for this class of product while delivering a new front end is a massive potential win and minimizes the changes that customers need endure.It is no surprise then that Stuart reports delight among resellers. Taking this approach minimizes the risk of defection.

Alongside, Sage has done some re-engineering on the reporting side that effectively exposes data in an easy to consume manner and which can be used as the jump point for fresh customizations. “We have a new reporting engine that uses the concept of a business language taxonomy to help customers quickly create reports that matter to them,” said Stuart. No code required.

To broader issues, I pressed Stuart about CEO replacement and the company’s SaaS strategy. It should come as no surprise that he preferred not to be drawn. However, one tiny insight: “We heard about Paul Walker’s decision to step down the same time as you.” In other words there was NO internal war going on that would suggest Mr Walker’s departure is an ousting. I pointed out to Stuart that the broad user (and financial) market are looking to how Sage will respond. While not making a company approved statement, Stuart understands – as does everyone at Sage Towers – that the next choice of CEO will set the tone for the company going forward. Everything hangs in that balance.

Much more important than any of this though is the fact that a Sage exec was prepared to talk with me on the record about development, what it means for customers and how they are attacking the market. As I said during our conversation, while plenty of people want to shoot barbs at Sage off the record, getting on the record comment is far more difficult. Stuart’s last words to me: “Don’t get us into trouble” are perhaps reflective of a company that he acknowledges has hidden behind a corporate shell as it comfortably raised earnings to satisfy financial analyst demands. Things are different today and I get the sense that while Sage knows times have changed it is wrestling internally with understanding how to deal with critics like myself, how it goes forward and effectively re-invents itself. I have some ideas on that front.

I explained to Stuart that while Sage maintains a dignified silence behind its saas critics, it doesn’t help the company articulate a customer message that has market resonance. He know that. I suspect others do as well.It is not an easy passage to cross but from listening to Stuart I felt a lot more confident about the company in the mid-market area than I have in a long time.

Do I suddenly feel all warm and cuddly about Sage on the back of a single conversation with one exec prepared to speak? No. But yes. But no. According to Stuart, I’ve pissed off a lot of the ‘right’ people. My interpretation: I’ve pissed off board level people who need to rethink their careers or at the very least need to shed their egos. That’s harsh but a reflection of share option driven incentives that are poorly aligned to customer need. My message back to them: get real. I reflect the world of the customer who is seeing less value for the money they spend. That’s the road to ruin.

Whatever happens going forward Sage should know one thing: it has a voice among at least some who are considered trusted advisors. If it chooses to nourish that relationship then they can be assured I will be first in line to hear what they have to say. We won’t always agree but as I explained to Sage – the more you say, the more we keep you honest.

In  the meantime, I congratulate and thank Stuart for creeping out of the sanctity of the Sage kimono. He knows full well I won’t take prisoners but will I hope give them a fair hearing.

Oh…SaaS? Watch this space.

Tagged as: Business, Financial analyst, Paul Walker, Software as a service, Stuart Lynn