Product Development Strategy

Graham CardwellHead of Product Marketing

It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of

inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

Laying Plans - Sun Tzu

Line 500 v5

• Reporting– Integration with Analyst Financials

• Usability– Installer

• Ease of use to be improved, this is to include less dialogs, ensure typical installation is as simple as possible and ensure upgrading keeps existing information

– Client enhancements (menu management, form controls)– Help enhancements

Enhanced design in several areas of the help system. Dynamically loading Contents list, giving much faster response times to the user. New layout and additional cross-references for topics in 'Working With' section, providing easier navigation to help on

key areas of functionality. Descriptions of licensable projects and system key help added as pop-ups where mentioned in 'Working With' section.

– XML Interfaces - enabling EDI to work with XML files

Example – XML Printing

Font & Size

Footers

Lines and intersections

Bold font

Line 500 V5

– Infrastructure

– IBM iSeries – Linux Port

• Port Sage Line 500 V5.0 product to the IBM iSeries platform. • The product will run on SuSe Linux 7.3 and will be powered by an IBM

UDB V5 Release 1 database.– Intel – Linux Port

• Port Sage Line 500 V5.0 product for Oracle 9i and Informix IDS Version 9.30 to SuSe Linux 7.3. Informix is the priority.

Line 500 v5

• Features– Product and customer hierarchies– Discounting– Discount apportionment– Multicurrency accounts receivable– Commercial papers– Subcontract purchase orders– Serial number entry– XML interfaces– Web portal– Waste packaging reports

V5 - GA Dates

• Available Now– Microsoft Windows 2000 over Sql Server 2000 and Oracle 8.1.7.– ISeries running SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7.3 over UDB/DB2 VR51

• End of March– Intel SuSe Linux over Informix Dynamic Server 9.3.,Oracle 8.1.7– Sun Solaris 8 over Informix Dynamic Server 9.3, Oracle 8.1.7 Sco – HP Tru 64 5.1A (formerly known as Dec) over Oracle 8.1.7 – HP UX 11 over Oracle 8.1.7, Informix Dynamic Server 9.2– Intel SuSe Linux over Oracle 9.0.1.0.

V5 GA Dates

• TBA

– AIX over ORACLE, INFORMIX IDS

– CALDERA OPEN UNIX / UNIXWARE – databases to be defined.

• These 2 platforms require 29 man days testing effort each and 5 days Production / Building effort. An approximate delivery date would be 60 days from the commission of the relevant hardware, subject to resource being available to resolve any issues found.

Minor Beneficial Enhancements (MBE)

– Customers have voted on their priorities for minor enhancements. – Current work in progress:

POTRANCOA, POTRANCOB & POTRANCOC to be available without the use of Supplier Contracts (215443)

Provide ability to force F6 numbering in Accounts Receivable - Invoice Batches, Cash Batches, Refund Batches & Journal Batches (221294)

In OP history cleardown - If changed to y and no date entered, a warning message will be given (227669)

Provide ability to force F6 numbering in Accounts Payable - Invoice/Credit Note Batches, Cash Batches (including Generate payments from List), Journal Batches (221297)

PL & SL enquiries to include a browse on 2nd ref/cheque no. field (224224) Open item enquiry screens in Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable to display currency

exchange rate (222072)

Minor Beneficial Enhancements (MBE)

– Customers have voted on their priorities for minor enhancements. – Current work in progress:

Inter-Warehouse transfers to allow transfer of items with different UOM's (217388) In General Ledger Transaction Enquiry, hold period date selection values and only clear on

exit from option.- (219573) Print currency code & description on Accounts Receivable statements (220470) Allow entry of negative value in Production Issues (220580) Payroll log to record details of what causes payroll parameters to trip (224192) Print order quantity on order status report if POQTYKEEP = YES (229721)

The Future

Roadmap Strategy - What do we need to Address

• Infrastructure• UI• Platforms• Features -

– Core– Verticalisation

• CRM

Roadmap Strategy - How do we deliver

• Organic– Main Development– CPD

• Jointly funded development that WILL go into future product release

– MBE• Acquisition

– Core, competitive• OEM

– Speed to market

Roadmap Strategy - When we will Deliver

• Accelerated delivery

– Interim updates particularly

• OEM and Acquisition• Critical as available

• Scheduled Delivery

– Infrastructure, UIG

– Version x in 24 months time

3-9 months 9-18 months

24 months

Roadmap - Infrastucture

• Need to be friendly to Integration– While ERP solutions were designed to consolidate data management - ‘one version of

the truth’. Business are now as badly ‘integrated’ as ever before

– The main challenge/opportunity for organisations ‘getting their house in order’ is to make use of new technologies and standards - enabling integration beyond organisational boundaries

• New Applications Framework - Build API’s an integration framework

• Generic Browser

– Addressing usability concerns • Multiple Server Architecture

Multi Server Architecture (MSA)

• MSA is the method of providing increased user counts on the Microsoft Windows platform

– A ‘scale out’ solution as opposed to ‘scale up’

– Easily increase processing power on demand

– Simply swap out hardware for upgrades or maintenance

• Sage Line 500 V5 infrastructure is ‘MSA ready’, but MSA operation not supported

• General release of MSA will incorporate early adopter feedback and provide system and user management tools

MSA Architecture

DatabaseServer

ApplicationServer(s)Internet

Web Client

GUI Client

TCP/IP

Roadmap - User Interface

• Concentrate on inspecting and navigating data. Drill down, search and find capabilities

• Can’t re build UI fully until infrastructure work completed.• Enhanced Web Client coupled with portal

Roadmap - Platforms

• Properly architected application server environment

– Improve performance on RDBMS – Removal of Cisam platform facilitates

• Platforms

– Ms SQL– Oracle– Informix IDS– DB2

Roadmap - Core

• eFax and eForms solutions

• Reporting

– Inquiries

– Formatted Reports deliver templates

• Migration Utility

• Payroll

– 2003/4 updates

– eFiling returns

• HR Solution

• Alerts

• Workflow

Roadmap Core

• German Accreditation

– Traceability

– Enabling Ease of Auditing

– Vat Extensions

– Archiving

• US Sales Tax support

• Reallocation of AP/AR Items (e.g. bounced cheques)

• UK & International Payments (new European Banking Rules)

• Corporate Charge Cards

Roadmap Core - Reporting

• Positive market feedback and successful early reseller installations

– Sage Winnersh implementing for internal Finance use

• Opportunity now is to widen the scope of Analyst Financials

• Optional report packs based on organisation roles

– Financial; Distribution; Inventory; Manufacturing; Projects

– Report packs will comprise a minimum of four management reports, developed, and supported by Sage

– Licensed by Sage in addition to the core Analyst Financials license

• Actively marketing through conferences, newsletters and mailers

Roadmap Core - eCommerce

• 57% MB expect to increase purchases via the internet next year• 69% of all UK MB purchase goods and services over the internet up from

46% in 2001• Most popular products– Printers &Peripherals 60%

– PC Networking Software 57%– Computing/electronic products 55%

– Publications (Books) 50%• eCommerce 48%-75% will use secure on line transactions. B2b will become

dominant 57% by 2006• Need to address Web Sales

Roadmap Core - eCommerce

• Transaction Mail Enablement– EDI/XML already there and most of the message sets needed

• Sales Quotations in development– Line 50 enabled now– 30-40% of your customers and suppliers use a Sage Solution

Roadmap core - eCommerce

Customer Supplier

Acknowledgement

Quotation

Delivery Note

Invoice

Order

Enquiry

Payment

Roadmap - Manufacturing

• Play to strengths

– 30% SME in Manufacturing, Sage via 50/100 200and 500 large encumbent base with upgrade potential and the biggest vertical market.

– Upgrade pull for line 50/100 customers

• Extend solution adding advanced planning and scheduling systems.

Roadmap Manufacturing

• Additional Modules

– Production Backflush

– Engineering Change

– Works order and MRP extensions

– Features Module (1)

• Additional reporting and enquiry

– Contract Estimating & MTO

– Automatic WO & PO issues

– Vendor Returns

– Features Module (2)

Roadmap Construction

• Modules written based on multisoft product shares same label names etc.

• Construction pack• Modules (Contract Costing,CIS Subcontractors

Ledger,Contract Sales Ledger, estimating)

• Financial pack• Commercials pack• Payroll

• Health & Safety Compliance

Roadmap Services

• Project Billing now live and running in sites• Enhancements

– Reconciliation's– Enquiries– Speed entry of Codes– Short code support– Projects in Purchase Accrual– Edi

Roadmap - CRM

• Completes product footprint in an integrated environment• To be effective, a CRM system must integrate seamlessly with the

company's data warehouse and with all corporate applications such as ERP and e-commerce applications

• CRM's value is greatly diminished if it is not integrated with back-office systems

e-CRM is the final step in the evolution towards a truly extended enterprise which few companies have achieved to date

SME companies have largely escaped CRM angst• Application integration Server, Back office viewer

Conclusions

• We will have a new architecture - need to be friendly to integration• We will deliver a new UI - both browser and forms themselves and we will deliver

a solution not a piecemeal toolkit that customer needs to build themselves• We will extend core functionality• We will deliver a properly architected application server environment - a true

relational model• We will exploit vertical market opportunities• We will provide an integrated CRM solution• We will deliver an eCommerce solution• We will exploit OEM opportunities• We will Acquire solutions where appropriate

Product Development Strategy