Filling Out the Spice Rack

OXON HILLS, MD. -- The public introduction of Sue Swenson, Sage Software's new president and chief executive officer, was only the first highlight of the company's annual Insights partner conference here last week. The company had previously announced its operating results for the first half of 2008 and released a new version of Act! by Sage for Financial Professionals, and followed up at the conference with a report on its strategy roadmap and some new products from the accounting products group.

Sage CRM Solutions 2010, the company's broad strategy for the evolution of its CRM products and services, had its first progress report since being introduced in March. Among the milestones reached:

• Embedded Sage CRM within Sage MAS 90 and 200 Extended Enterprise Suites;
  
• Sage SalesLogix Mobile v5.1, granting users "anywhere access"; and
  
• A new partner-hosted Act! subscription offering, allowing customers to mix perpetual and subscription licenses within a single workgroup.

[Editor's note: More information on Sage 2010 will be available in the upcoming June 2008 issue of CRM magazine, in the feature article "The Second Coming of 2.0."]

The new version of Act! by Sage for Financial Professionals, 10.0, includes insurance and annuity information tabs for expanding client profiles, a dashboard for accessing schedule and activity data in a single view, and support for Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007, according to the company.

"Financial advisors succeed by developing personal relationships with their clients and creating a positive experience for each," said David van Toor, senior vice president and general manager for Sage CRM Solutions North America, in a statement. "Act! for Financial Professionals helps users capture unique details about their clients so they can nurture these relationships, spend time selling only the most appropriate products and services, and help improve their clients' financial standing as well as their own."

Sage Group, Sage Software's U.K.-based parent company, reported revenues of $1.29 billion ($1,290.3 million, in British notation) for the six months ended March 31, 2008, an increase of 9 percent year-over-year, according to the company. Adjusted pre-tax profit for the period also increased 9 percent, to $278 million. Sage Software itself was steady at $500.7 million revenue, which the company attributed to the performance of Sage Healthcare Division; organic revenue growth, excluding the healthcare arm, was 5 percent. EBITA (earnings before interest, tax and net amortization) decreased to $87.8 million, from $94.1 million in the same period of the prior year. EBITA margin met the company's forecasts, meaning it decreased to 18 percent from 19 percent, reflecting the company's increased investments in customer service programs.

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