Sage Software is unveiling a fresh infrastructure that aims to shift its business units more closely to its customers' needs, creating two new business divisions, as well as a new chief technology officer position.
* Business Management Division will bring Sage's accounting, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management and related businesses under one umbrella, while the Industry & Specialized Solutions Division will provide industry-specific solutions for businesses and organizations in the construction, real estate and nonprofit industries, alongside other employee management solutions, such as human resources and online payroll services.
The former division will be headed up by Doug Meyer, currently president of Sage Software's Small Business Division. Nina Smith, Sage's chief marketing officer, will serve as president for the latter division. The two divisions will be added to another pair of units - the Healthcare Division and the Payment Solutions Division. The new chief technology officer position will be filled by Jim Foster, a former executive vice president of the company's mid-market business units.
Previously, Sage had structured its offerings as either for small or midsized businesses.
"What we realized when we spoke to our customers was that wasn't how they thought about the business," said Sage Software chief executive Ron Verni.
Sage Software's restructuring went into effect June 1, but Verni said it would take until the company's new fiscal year in October for the changes to be fully operational.
"We didn't do this for operational efficiency or excellence - that wasn't our goal," Verni said of the re-organization. "We've eliminated that centralized marketing. But we've pushed all those people into the business. So in some cases, there may not have been a fit between the person and the position, so there will be literally a handful of people who might be leaving the business. We're trying very hard to put them in other positions."
