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News and Analysis

News and Analysis (15713)

X3 SIGN UPS CONTINUE

Sage is continuing to enlist resellers for its X3 manufacturing package. Newly boarded are Phoenix-based ISM, which also has offices in Portland, Ore., and San Diego, Calif., and Xkzero, a Chicago-based VAR. I am under the impression that the number of resellers being authorized for this package is larger than the number that was originally envisioned to market this product. That is likely a good thing, reflecting demand. That demand may also have been buoyed by Sage’s decision to offer a free upgrade opportunity for customers of its declining Sage Pro package. Read more...

XERO COURTS THE NAMES

Rod DruryXero, the New Zealand-based cloud application, is getting ready to come on shore with a bang.  And its CEO Rod Drury has been doing a good job getting himself and his product in front of influencers in this court. Earlier this month, Jim Bourke, principal of WithumSmith+Brown talked about how good the product is and how is seems to scale well beyond small business. Read more...

PRIVATE EQUITY SCORES MYOB

Private equity investors continue to do well in M&A in the accounting software space.  In the latest round, Bain Capital outbid Sage for MYOB, an Australian-based vendor. Sage's bid was in the $1.4 billion range. The official announcement did not provide the winning price. Bain was part of a consortium led by Archer Capital that also included HarbourVest Partners and will take a majority position in MYOB with management also holding a stake. Read more...

NALPRO PICKS UP PRONTO

Pronto partner logoNalpro Business Solutions has picked up Pronto, the Australian Software line, and becomes the fifth American reseller of Pronto-Xi. That product is pictured as combining ERP, a strong transactional engine and business intelligence analytics in a unified out-of-box system. The BI capabilities stem from the embedded IBM Cognos 10 BI Suite. Read more...

RANDOM THOUGHTS: OSAMA BIN LADEN

Muammar KaddafiOsama Bin Laden’s headquarters had a porn stash while Muammar Gaddafi has a scrap book of Condoleeza Rice photos. What are they going to find in the bunker when Kim Jong-il  goes down in North Korea? Photos of Hillary Clinton in a thong? Right now with rebels closing in, Libyan publishers are preparing a new take on "Where's Waldo?" with "Where's Muammar?" Read more...

SAGE ENDING UNLIMITED MAS SUPPORT

Sage logoSage is ending the sale of premier plans for MAS 90 and 200 that offer unlimited support cases as the company raises both the cost and performance bar for these support provided by its channel. Resellers whose renewals fall between September 1 and October 31 can renew Master, Standard or Basic plans and receive benefits at the current levels until those subscriptions expire. This looks very much like the move by Intuit to end unlimited telephone support for all ProAdvisors.  Under changes to that program, those members who are not certified can receive unlimited telephone support for a year after their next renewal.

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MICROSOFT MAY AX 650 VARS

jeff edwards Microsoft's desire to seriously trim its channel was outlined at Convergence 2010 by Jeff Edwards, director of channel strategy. The plan has not died, although Microsoft is looking for a home for smaller resellers via a Master VAR program that kicks off September 1. Edwards gave out more specifics last month at the Worldwide Partner Conference and said 650 may lose authorization over the next 14 months. Since Microsoft has only confirmed the Master VAR plan exists, but not specifics, the details are still officially not for the press.

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LOW-END SAAS MARKET WIDE OPEN?

Brad SmithThis might sound a bit heretical. But I remember when Intuit came to market with QuickBooks, arguing that other low-cost packages at the time were essentially disposable.  Users often purchased them, but never opened or didn’t use them and because of the low investment didn’t feel they’d lost much. I’ve often thought the same thing could happen to Intuit and while I’m not predicting an overthrow of the market leader, I think a new generation of players is going to make big inroads online. Read more...

NETSUITE BUYS LX GROUP

netsuite logoNetSuite has acquired the LX Group, a San Francisco-based company that in June introduced the Ignite Commerce Suite App.  Besides offering e-commerce functionality, the LX line also offers support for mobile devices. This deal hasn’t exactly been announced by NetSuite. The company’s 10-Q for the June quarter, filed on August 8, contained a “Subsequent Event” that noted: “On August 2, 2011, the Company completed the purchase of substantially all of the assets of a small private company ("SPC") that provides on-demand software.” Read more...

QBES SOARS FOR 2011

The lack of a real reselling channel isn’t denting the sales of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions, which is probably why Intuit isn’t showing much interest in channel. The company ended fiscal 2011 on July 31 with 57,000 active users, a 26.7-percent increase from the 45,000 in 2010 and 54 percent over the 37,000 in 2009. And Intuit turned in a good year with $634 million in net income, an increase of 10.5 percent over $574 million for 2010. Read more...

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