Events that will shape the IT landscape in 2013
PRESS OFFICES
By BiztechAfrica – Feb. 12, 2013, 1:35 p.m.
The continued pursuit of mobility will fuel the uptake of Cloud solutions and requests for software on a subscription basis in 2013. This is according to Keith Fenner, Senior Vice President of Sales for Africa at Sage ERP Africa.
“The sales of our solutions in the cloud have doubled in the last year, which speaks volumes,” says Fenner. “It is mostly attributable to the decline in bandwidth costs, which has underscored the uptake of cloud in the last year. A cloud solution can be tailored to meet the needs and pockets of the user, which makes it adaptable to suit the needs of the organisation.”
A trend that will certainly continue to stamp its presence into 2013 is the demand for connected services, especially around service, sales and stock. “The days of spending hours to compile data and to debug excel formulas, are numbered. Clients want to know what their key performance indicators (KPIs) are at the touch of a button and with a host of cloud enabled Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions you literally need an internet connection and a laptop, tablet, PC or smart phone to review your performance. Slick and easy to use is the name of the game and that is why the uptake of applications for mobility has mushroomed,” explains Fenner.
“Many vendors with modern architecture have easily adapted to the new challenges of mobility, but not all software is architected to allow for a rapid response to changing market conditions and that is something that the industry will need to work on in 2013,” says Fenner.
Mobility will continue to gain traction well into 2013, in addition to the uptake of solutions in the cloud from both a consumer and enterprise point of view. “Devices, applications and social media are revolutionising the way that we communicate and it will have far-reaching effects on the South African IT industry going forward,” concludes Fenner.
About Sage ERP Africa
Sage ERP Africa is a provider of business management solutions, including financial, distribution, service management, retail, warehouse management, project costing, manufacturing and CRM, to the mid-range market. Sage ERP solutions are delivered to 130 countries exclusively through a global network of solution providers, including over 150 throughout Africa. The Sage ERP Africa product line includes: Sage ERP X3, Sage 300 ERP (formerly Sage ERP Accpac), Sage ERP 1000, Sage CRM and Sage RMS as well as Sage third party partner solutions. With a choice of languages, currencies, locations and legislations – Sage ERP offers efficient multi company and multi-national solutions.
About Sage
The Sage Group plc is a leading global provider of business management software to small and medium sized companies, creating greater freedom for them to succeed. Sage understands how and why each business is unique. We provide products and services that suit varying needs, are a pleasure to use and are secure and efficient. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and entered the FTSE 100 in 1999. Sage has over 6 million customers and more than 13,500 employees in 24 countries covering the UK & Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, Asia and Brazil.
For further information please visit www.sagesouthafrica.co.za and www.sage.com
