Leading Analyst Firm Recognizes Sage ERP X3 in ERP for Product-Centric Midmarket Companies Magic Quadrant

PARIS, March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Magic Quadrant Reports Changes in "Market Readership" With Evolving Midmarket Global Enterprise Strategies

The 2010 edition of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for ERP for Product-Centric Midmarket Companies (1) released in December 2010 has confirmed the inclusion of Sage ERP X3 in the Product-Centric Midmarket Companies Magic Quadrant.

To be included in the Magic Quadrant an ERP solution must fulfill all of the following criteria:

- Geography: The vendor must serve at least two of the following three global regions (North America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa [EMEA]; and Asia/Pacific). The product must have a minimum of 20% of new customer entities in at least two of these three geographies.

- Installed base: The vendor must have at least 1,000 customers in a product's installed base to qualify, and the installed base distribution must be at least 20% in two of the three geographies.

- New license sales: Of quarterly license revenue per product submitted, 10% must come from net-new customers. Also, two of the three geographies must contribute at least 20% of new license sales each.

- Viability: The offering must be a viable and supported offering at the time of publication of this Magic Quadrant.

- Application functionality: The functionality provided by the vendor in the application must contain the systems of records for G/L and product master, plus at least four of the following systems of record: order data, customer master, employee master, vendor and supplier master, purchasing, contracts, assets, pricing, cost, quality and planning.

- Architecture: The majority of an application must be in one architecture and data model (application platform), or the vendor must have a credible vision for accomplishing this.

Sage ERP X3 -a global ERP solution with a 41% customer growth over 3 years

The Sage Group plc now has 6.3 million customers and 13,400 employees worldwide. Operating directly in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, North America and Asia Pacific, Sage is one of the top ERP vendors worldwide. Sage ERP X3 is the global ERP solution of The Sage Group plc, a leading global supplier of business management software and related products and services for small to medium-sized enterprises. Acquired by Sage in 2005, Sage ERP X3 has seen constant customer growth since then, gaining 300 customers in the past year and growing 41% (in terms of customers) over the past 3 years; additionally it has expanded from 13 countries in 2005 to 53 countries in 2010.

Sage ERP X3 is strengthened by the energy of the operational countries, whose activity and expertise over their own market are key drivers for sales, development and R&D. Good illustration is the launch of the V6 product in January 2010, which was co-developed with UK, North America, Spain Portugal, France and Italy.

Sage ERP X3: the ERP solution for midmarket companies by design

Other advantages for Sage ERP X3 include its capacity to runs on various platforms, the UI, which incorporates modern concepts like data visualizations, personalization features and access to Microsoft Office tools.

Recent new Sage ERP X3 customers include Italian manufacturer Minetti S.P.A; Avmor Ltd., a global manufacturer and distributor of quality industry cleaning products; and Namakwa Diamonds, the integrated diamond resource group listed on the London Stock Exchange.

According to Christophe Letellier, Sage ERP X3 Worldwide General Manager, "Sage ERP X3 is a corner stone in Sage Group's portfolio and a key growth opportunity. Our Sage DNA helps us to leverage the best of each country's capacity and technology in one integrated global solution for Mid-Market companies. With the availability of new versions, our customers benefit from a comprehensive solution including technological improvements as well as best features. Sage's approach to ERP is being warmly received by the market, and the market momentum we are generating highlights our best-in-breed ERP solution for mid-market companies."

Ease of use, Rapid Implementation and Cost effectiveness: a permanent focus

According to Emmanuel Obadia, Senior Vice President, Product Strategy & Marketing for Sage ERP X3, "Most of all, we want to offer Sage ERP X3 solutions that fit our clients' budgets with an extensive use of open scalable technologies, a web 2.0 user experience as well as strong Microsoft Office integration to accelerate users adoption. We are offering a 3rd Generation ERP that will lower again transaction costs and allow more business processes stakeholders, whether internally or outside of the enterprise, to directly conduct their day-to-day job anywhere, anytime and from any device. We are enjoying the support from our midmarket and industry specialists around the world to better fit each customer specific requirements and business processes."

Since its inception, Sage ERP X3 has been specifically designed to fulfill the needs of midmarket companies, which means fast implementation, ease of use and rapid adoption, within cost effectiveness but without compromising on business processes, such as from manufacturing, purchasing, distribution and finance.

1 Gartner, Inc., Magic Quadrant for ERP for Product-Centric midmarket companies , C. Hestermann, C. Pang, N. Montgomery, 17 December 2010.

About The Sage Group plc

The Sage Group plc is a leading global supplier of business management software and related products and services, principally for small to medium-sized enterprises. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989. Sage has 6.3 million customers and 13,400 employees worldwide. Sage operates in over 24 countries covering the UK, Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, India and China. For further information please visit http://www.sage.com.

About Sage ERP X3 (http://www.sageerpx3.com)

Sage ERP X3 is a dedicated solution for mid-market and larger companies with international demands enables its clients to transform and perform through technologies. Over 3,000 customers representing 165,000 users worldwide already chose Sage ERP X3 because it is easy to use, fast to deploy and cost effective. For more than 10 years Sage ERP X3 has been a proven and comprehensive ERP solution addressing mid-market companies specific requirements and challenges in various industries from manufacturing, services to distribution and many more. Sage ERP X3 is present in 53 countries and counts a network of more than 1,500 Sage professionals and 200 partners in its ecosystem.

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