UK Volume 20

sage.com superbrands.uk.com Sage Superbrands UK Annual Vol.20 Recent Developments Today, Sage innovates through improvements for customers on its ‘product roadmap’ and in the longer term, through the incremental adoption of emerging technology as well as more experimental innovation. In 2016 Sage introduced Pegg, a smart assistant to help businesses manage everything from money to people by texting requirements through a familiar-style messaging platform on their phone, tablet or laptop. In 2017, the Pegg framework – a smart artificial intelligence (AI) platform – was launched to help customers manage a diverse range of business functions. As an industry leader in AI, customers trust Sage to innovate in an ethical way, which is why in 2018 it launched the Roadmap for Ethical Business, which was built with customers as well as government. The framework highlights four areas for creating a competitive but ethical AI economy, namely: create a governance framework; make your AI accountable; build trust through transparency; and empower your workforce. Driven by its core belief that ‘AI will replace, but must also create’, Sage has started to build a wealth of talent through Sage FutureMakers Lab. The programme was designed to showcase the exciting opportunities a career in AI may provide. Free to attend, the sessions educated over 150 young people on the diverse range of skills required for a future career in AI, including ethical design as part of the course curriculum. After these initial courses, 30 young people were offered a more in-depth one-day course, with around 15 attendees finally being offered a relevant work placement. Promotion Sage’s SaaS transition has shaped its brand and marketing – seeing increased use of owned content, mass personalisation, tighter relationships through Account Based Marketing and deeper vertical insights, particularly for larger organisations. At a brand level, Sage continues to highlight its deep experience of navigating change for customers, expert service and intelligent technology. In 2018, entrepreneur Peter Jones became Sage’s brand ambassador, fronting TV, digital and display campaigns to highlight his long-term relationship with Sage and raise awareness of the upcoming Making Tax Digital programme. At the Drum B2B Awards, Sage received Best Social Campaign, Best Brand Campaign as well as Best Product Launch Campaign for its Peter Jones campaign, whilst payment campaign ‘Sage Pay: changing the conversation on payment gateways’ received an International B2B Award. A significant legislative change in 2018 was the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, which came into force in May 2018. Sage was active in arming its customers with the information they needed to prepare their business for this, running integrated marketing campaigns and acting as a media thought leader in many of its key geographies. Around the world, Sage has placed importance on continuing to help small and mid-market businesses navigate change, providing them with support and advice, and lobbying for them on policy issues, when required. Brand Values Sage believes that today’s organisations are built by ‘business builders’ – professional visionaries who see opportunities rather than obstacles and are driven by their passion and values. These professionals and the organisations they work for fuel the worldwide economy; and because of this, they are the heart of the Sage brand. The mantra, ‘Be Sage. Build On.’ evokes the essence of the Sage brand and the company’s purpose. To ‘Be Sage’ is to be profoundly wise, famed for good judgment and experience. In that spirit, Sage encourages all people in business to ‘Build On’ – to transform the way they think and work so their organisations can thrive. Beginning as a small business, Sage has grown to serve three million customers in 2ā Qarkets -t is a teGLnology leader tLat Lelps organisations oJ all types manage everything from money to people with Sage Business Cloud tLe Fusiness QanageQent platJorQ tLat works intelligently to fit Fusinesses¸ GLanging needs Market Building on a legacy of trusted business technology and close relationships with customers, partners and accountants, Sage has set out its vision of becoming a great SaaS (Software as a Service) company for customers and colleagues alike. Significant progress has been made, with £434m of annualised recurring revenue in FY18, growing at 51%. Operating globally across small and mid-market businesses gives Sage access to a significant total addressable market, set to be worth US $33bn in 2019, comprising 92 million businesses. In many of its markets, Sage is the leader, with particular strength in cloud adoptive countries like the US, Canada, the UK, France and Australia. Sage is particularly successful in serving mid-market businesses, which represent 90% of the addressable market by value. For more than 35 years, Sage has been helping organisations of all sizes keep pace with change – whether they are growing, exporting, merging, downsizing, acquiring, or responding to market conditions. It has supported these customers through its experience in navigating changes in the business environment, a dedication to personalised service and investment in technology that works intelligently. For small businesses, simple time-saving tools help customers take control of their finances and reduce time spent on admin so that they can focus on running their business. For mid-market businesses, there are solutions that let business leaders take control of their entire business, from supply chain to sales to people, to gain greater efficiency, flexibility and insight. For accountants and bookkeepers, there are solutions for accounting, payroll, payments, client and practice management, as well as compliance, so that they can provide the best service to their clients. Product Sage prides itself on providing the only business management solution that companies will ever need. Unlike other vendors, who only have point solutions that require customers to evaluate new products and vendors every time they add complexity to their business, Sage Business Cloud offers a one-stop shop for all its customers’ business management needs, with purpose-built solutions and an ecosystem of applications. Sage’s cloud connected solutions, Sage 50cloud and Sage 200cloud, provide the power and productivity of the desktop, with the freedom and security of the cloud. Cloud native solutions – Sage Business Cloud Accounting, Sage Intacct and Sage People – are fully functional and flexible, with open APIs, giving customers access to a busy ecosystem. Sage Business Cloud Enterprise Management, for larger businesses, can be deployed on-premise or in both private and public clouds – providing a sophisticated and deeply functional solution for end-to-end business processes. Achievements Sage has been recognised at Britain’s Most Admired Company awards for IT services, software and equipment. Sage Business Cloud has also been named Accountancy Software of the Year at the British Small Business Awards and Cloud Innovation of the Year by Channelnomics. In 2018, Sage 50cloud was awarded the 2018 Expert’s Choice award from Finances Online; Sage Intacct was heralded as ‘Visionary’ in the 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant; and Sage Enterprise Management was named in the Gartner Mid-Market ERP Magic Quadrant as the cloud solution to watch in 2019. Sage prides itself on being a responsible corporate citizen. The Sage Foundation invests time, money and technology into helping the communities in which it operates. This has become a core part of the organisation’s internal culture and external brand. It is fully integrated into working life at Sage, across all colleagues in all markets. Sage colleagues are encouraged to take five ‘Sage days’ a year, which in 2018 totalled 24,000 working days, to volunteer for a grassroots charity that is close to their heart. Furthermore, last year Sage awarded 162 grants to not-for-profit organisations. In 2016, Sage CEO Steve Hare pledged to lead Sage in raising US $1m through active colleague, partner or customer led challenges. The company is expected to hit the target this year. Brand History 1981 Sage is founded in Newcastle upon Tyne. 1989 The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange. 2016 Pegg, the world’s first accounting chatbot, is launched. 2017 Sage acquires Intacct and Fairsail; in addition, Sage Business Cloud is launched. 2018 Sage Accountant Cloud is launched. 2019 Sage’s Making Tax Digital programme launches. Sage customer, The Split Screen Coffee Company