Sage Adds a Little Spice to Its Roadmap

DENVER — Sage Software may have taken the occasion of its annual user conference here this week to simplify its brand to "Sage," but at least one executive at the business management solution provider claims the company's not big on gimmicks. "That's not Sage's style," said David van Toor, general manager of Sage CRM, at a roundtable discussion at this week's Sage Summit.

Missing from the keynotes and presentations were buzzwords, drum rolls, and the hype typical of many other software conferences. Clearly present, however, were the familiar issues facing the CRM industry: the sinking economy, the concept of "social CRM," and product innovation.  

Denis Pombriant, founder and principal of CRM consultancy Beagle Research, calls the new Sage CRM roadmaps "evolutionary, not revolutionary." Still, Pombriant says that he believes the company remains focused on listening to its customers, and as a result its three CRM products — Act! by Sage, SalesLogix, and SageCRM — are now linked to a far more seamless degree than ever before.

Van Toor said that an umbrella strategy over the CRM products remains a corporatewide goal. When asked about any product-level rebranding plans to strengthen the ties between the offerings, Van Toor admitted that the topic has come up.

"I'm not ready to pull the trigger," he said, noting that the decades-old Act! is a singularly identifiable brand and that rebranding, in general, is always a double-edged sword.

In terms of the company's social media efforts, the SalesLogix roadmap listed social CRM as a goal for 2010. In the meantime, the Sage CRM products all enlist mashups with sources such as social-networking site LinkedIn to glean the social data that might benefit an end user in a business scenario.

Pombriant, who has blogged extensively on the subject, says that mashups aren't the best way to deliver social CRM. However, he notes that Sage's customer base — mostly small and midsize companies — doesn't yet seem all that interested in the burgeoning technologies.

On that point, van Toor told the roundtable, Sage is merely trying to get ahead of the curve. "The problem with any of this stuff is [that] most businesses are busy staying in business," he said. "They haven't really gotten the core business down yet...and they're busy paying bills." He made clear that the majority of Sage customers see accessing LinkedIn as a completely sufficient level of social CRM, but nevertheless apologized for what he acknowledged was a vague position on the topic. "Vendors at this stage are ahead of our customers," he said. "There's a lot of experimentation." He said that, for the moment, Sage is more intent on integration for its Web products.

In terms of selling Sage CRM software in today's economy, van Toor said a goal is to push common integration, which allows for a single concept of how front- and back-office systems should interoperate. "It's about how we sell our product and who we market to," he said.

Another area of continued focus involves community development. Van Toor pointed to Sage's Act! community forum, which he said has blossomed over just the last 12 months. He said that Sage is now looking at how to capitalize on (and perhaps even monetize) the collaboration possibilities that a community offers. He also revealed that, given the success of the Act! community, Sage plans to launch a community for SalesLogix soon. Though he declined to provide a concrete timetable for its launch, he suggested that the new community would see the light of day in the imminent future.

News relevant to the customer relationship management industry is posted several times a day on destinationCRM.com, in addition to the news section Insight that appears every month in the pages of CRM magazine. You may leave a public comment regarding this article by clicking on "Comments" at the top; to contact the editors, please email editor@destinationCRM.com.

Related Articles

Sage Sends SalesLogix to the Cloud

Sage Insights '10: After months of readying partners, Sage announces the June availability of SalesLogix for the Cloud.

Sage Sells Solutions, Not Products

Sage Insights '10: Company executives convey Sage's commitment to customer experience and to uniting the brand's business solutions.

Sage Answers the "So What" Question about Software Trends

Sage Summit '09: Company executives describe the response to key industry trends, such as social media, cloud computing, and globalization.

Sage Expands Its Social and Cloud Computing Plans

Sage Insights '09: Executives revisit the Sage CRM 2010 roadmap with insight into what CRM users want -- and are ready for.

Sage Sketches Out Future Strategies: Branding, Social CRM, Integration, and Mobility

Sage Insights '09: Executives outline the future for Act! by Sage, SalesLogix, and Sage CRM products, and discuss the company's "transformational year."

Making Relationships Matter

As LinkedIn grows, what does the future hold for enterprise social networking?

CRM 2.0 Is for Real

Forrester Research examines the growing field of social CRM and shows where the value lies.

Sage Applies Logic to User Adoption

SalesLogix version 7.5 offers extended Web access and customization features.

Filling Out the Spice Rack

Sage Insights '08: A roundup of announcements from last week's partner conference.

The Second Coming of Web 2.0

"Web 2.0" has been the subject of much buzz -- especially in CRM. What's beyond that buzz, and how can you make it work for you?

Swenson Clears the Cobwebs for Sage

Sage Insights '08: The new CEO discusses her observations of the company, and outlines goals and aspirations for the coming year.

Sage's New New Global Strategy

Sage Software's latest CRM shift promises one step up in mobility and another toward integration.

ACT! Enacts an Online Community

Riding the Web 2.0 wave, the Sage Software unit provides a place for users and experts to interact.

Sage Dismisses CEO

Facing challenges, the venerable midmarket vendor beheads its North American operations.

Sage Takes a Vertical Leap

Sage Software's second vertically focused app targets financial services with a new contact/customer management solution.

Sharpened Logic and Analysis for Sage

The vendor announces an improved, expanded version of its popular SalesLogix midmarket suite (and an analytics and reporting package) at its Insights convention.

Sage Unveils a New Taste of CRM

SageCRM 6 includes new training and search tools, along with a customizable suite of features for administrators, giving SMBs what enterprises are used to.

Sage Keeps the Economy in Mind

Sage Summit '08: Keynotes reveal inaugural customer awards and encourage customers to fight through the recession like champions.

Sage Act!s on Customer Feedback

Act! by Sage 2009 keys in on user requests, aiming to improve their experience.