It threatened the worst. Yesterday saw a month’s rain fall in the space of 24 hours. Today…Death by PowerPoint - slow and painful. What’s more all this taking place in an economic climate bleaker than yesterday’s British Summer.

I’ve just returned from a Sage Software Business Partner event in central London. Okay, so it was actually very useful. Apart from the oft repeated refrain that ‘this year’s release is the best ever’…and ‘building on the success of 2007’s release’ (which at the time was also the best ever…), you get to catch a glimpse of what is actually going on behind Sage’s ‘Green Doors’ -sometimes quite revealing!

For many years, Sage has had it rather easy. They have monopolised the SME accounting arena with a solid product,  Sage Line 50 (now known as Sage 50 Accounts) - if a little stuffy and devoid of much of a ‘wow’ factor. Their position has traditionally been entrenched by excellent software support, the backing of the accountant community (now you know why it is a little stuffy), and the lack of credible competition, save for Intuit’s QuickBooks.

But things are changing and Sage is very well aware that it’s happening! Microsoft is hovering in the wings, ready to leap on stage with its Small Business Accounting offering. It sings, it dances, and it is wearing the familiar Microsoft costume. It also means that the supporting cast is almost non-existent as is Microsoft’s style. This is the Achilles heal which might mean that the software might not jump too well.

Sage will certainly direct the spotlight here and justifiably claim to be the prima donna in this performance. (Am I starting to stretch the analogy too far or am I okay for a bit more?) However, Sage recognises that Microsoft has a distinct competitive advantage in the ‘look and feel’ of their accounting software. Everyone is used to Microsoft Office, and Small Business Accounts looks like Office.

Sage responded with a complete software makeover. Now their software too looks like Office, or at least, like a Microsoft product!

However, what Sage revealed today was more fundamental to its long term future and potential positioning. Announcing a refresh to its brand, website, and marketing material, the UK’s largest software house explained the thinking behind the new look. In-house research has indicated that the public perception of the Sage brand attaches concepts such ‘trusted’, ’secure’, and ‘good support’, but crucially, the words ‘creative’ and ‘imaginative’, did not feature.

In short, people think the company is like its Accounts program, a bit too stuffy. What is Sage’s strategy? Become much more ‘modern’ in all website design and marketing material. Watch out for variations on the theme of its software and passion for business as “breathtaking”!

Since its establishment in 1981, Sage has been a true British success story with over 500,000 UK companies relying on Sage’s software every day. Whilst I wish the company much success with its new  approach and the attempt to ‘breathe’ life into its brand and software, the company must ask itself some very soul searching questions as to whether it can live up to the claims from its marketing department. Does the company really inspire its developers to be creative? Is this on the job description?
If the answers to these questions are in reality negative, then much more will need to be done to propel Sage into the future as a truly innovative company.