Sage Invests in Long-Term Competitiveness
Sage, one of the industry's heavy hitters based in the UK, just released its latest financials, with statutory revenues up 17 percent (£748.4 million). Sounds too good to be true! The results for Sage in North America weren't quite so great, with total revenue down 9 percent to £304.4 million. Software and software-related services revenue were down 22 percent. The company cautions that it anticipates continuing challenging market conditions ahead - for the entire industry - during the second half. They noted that with global customer confidence at historic low levels, demand for software and software-related services is expected to remain "muted" the remainder of the year.
While Sage's overall results sound good, in North America its total revenue declined. So what's a company to do amidst all the economic gloom and doom? Aside from making necessary moves to reduce its cost base, Sage is now focusing on investing in the long-term competitiveness of its product portfolio. Its customers are demanding tools to run their businesses more efficiently to help them through the current market challenges. So Sage decided to improve the breadth, depth and ease of use of their product functionality with features such as improved cash flow forecasting, credit risk management, and integrated product modules.
Another key area to focus on is customer support services. Sage's customers rely on them to help them keep up to speed on changes to legislation and business regulations. This is especially important right now, with plenty of changes taking place. And Sage's Accountants' Club Priority Link in the UK showed strong growth, not overly surprisingly, during the first half of the year, right along with their other premium support offerings.
