Sage Software president and chief executive Ron Verni this week unveiled the company's new customer relationship management application during his keynote speech at Insights 2005, Sage's annual business partner conference, here.
The new CRM application will be available as both a hosted service at SageCRM.com and as a desktop product.
"Front office needs are shifting, people are starting to understand CRM. Last year, customers couldn't spell it if you spotted them the C," said Verni. "Today, there is a lot more awareness from the media and the press -- customers are starting to understand it. With the addition of this hosting and pricing model, it will virtually eliminate the need for customers to address folks with broader portfolio with concept of our customers."
The new CRM product shares the same basic features as the current Accpac CRM product but with the added capability of being hosted as well as in-house, Verni explained to WebCPA.
Emphasizing the phrase "freedom of choice," throughout his keynote speech, Verni said CRM customers will have the freedom to decide if the hosted version is working for their business needs. If not, the CRM hosted customer can get back up to 50 percent of their subscription fees from their hosted CRM bill when they switch to the Sage CRM desktop version within the first year of service.
"If a customer wants a fully Web-enabled solution, but say in six to nine months they realize it's not the right solution, it can be moved to their desktop," said Verni. "Freedom of choice goes into every solution to let that customer choose. People don't always realize what they want until it's installed."
Pricing for the in-house Sage CRM is $595 per user per license and $69 per user per month for the hosted version.
