Sage in mid-market mobile push

Offers access to BI, CRM and financial data on Blackberry.

Sage has launched its Sage 200 2010 suite, a mid-market tool designed to allow customers to manage CRM, BI and financial data on the go from their BlackBerrys.

The mobile software suite has a number of business benefits, according to Sage.

Virtualisation and browser-based support means that users can access and act on data in real time via their BlackBerry devices, said the firm.

Users can also manage their information in a more personalised way thanks to user-specific workspaces, which also include sources of information that are external to Sage 200 data.

Usability has been improved with simpler installation, end-to-end CRM integration, personalised workspaces and a more user-friendly UI, Sage added.

Greg Ford, head of Sage’s mid-market division, said that the suite has been developed in conjunction with RIM. However, he said that demand to integrate other platforms such as Android and Apple’s iOS would make support for these platforms inevitable in the future.

The Sage 200 2010 suite is an open platform, built using Microsoft technologies, and much of its value will be created by the 400-strong partner community working with individual customers to tailor the offering, Ford explained.

“The business partner community that serves Sage are system integrators,” he added.

“They can take our products and integrate components. They then think about other propositions that organisations have and find ways to bridge gaps to make sure there is interoperability.”

Sage plans to add to its portfolio over the coming months with releases for the upper-mid market on the horizon in the form of Sage 1000 version 3, a variant of its ERP solution. It will feature a new user interface, BI and reporting elements.