SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- (Marketwire) -- 09/14/09 -- Sage CRM Solutions, part of The Sage Group plc which provides business management software and services to more than 5.8 million small and midsize businesses worldwide, today announced it is piloting a cloud computing edition of the Sage SalesLogix CRM suite for commercial availability in early 2010. Sage is also demonstrating Sage SalesLogix in the cloud this week at the Gartner CRM Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"While first generation Software-as-a-Service generated a lot of interest, people will look back on this era as a period of big-iron, centralized operations that restrict the ability to customize the solutions," explained Joe Bergera, executive vice president and general manager, Sage CRM Solutions. "The next wave of Cloud Computing will benefit customers by providing a highly distributed and flexible deployment model that shifts control of the service to their favor, rather than SaaS vendors, so they can better tailor their CRM experience in a way that optimally suits their business."

A full-featured, single-tenant cloud edition of Sage SalesLogix using Amazon's EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) will offer businesses:

--  Data Ownership: Businesses retain ownership of all their data and
    processes -- with full reuse and compatibility on-premises -- a benefit not
    provided by most current multi-tenant SaaS CRM alternatives.

--  Upgrade Control: Businesses can choose when to trigger an upgrade to
    the latest cloud computing edition of Sage SalesLogix, rather than have an
    alternative SaaS vendor's upgrade schedule and any unwanted features forced
    upon them.

--  Deployment Flexibility: Businesses receive the benefits of a hosted,
    on-demand solution with the flexibility to migrate to an on-premise
    deployment should their needs change. Likewise, on-premises Sage SalesLogix
    customers can transition to the cloud edition.

--  Customization Flexibility: Businesses can adapt CRM to their own
    unique sales, marketing and support processes, without the common
    customization restrictions of multi-tenant SaaS offerings; or use industry-
    specific versions built by Sage business partners.

--  Buying Flexibility: Businesses can select a subscription purchasing
    option, in addition to the existing perpetual license option for Sage
    SalesLogix, and benefit from the flexibility to purchase CRM in the manner
    that best suits their business model and financial goals.
    

Gartner estimates the current market for cloud services at $46.4 billion, and forecasts $150.1 billion by 2013, representing a 26.5% compound annual growth rate. (Gartner, "Forecast: Sizing the Cloud; Understanding the Opportunities in Cloud Services" March 2009)

"The flexibility of Sage SalesLogix in the cloud will greatly benefit organizations seeking an on-demand CRM solution," said Yacov Wrocherinsky, Founder & CEO, Infinity Info Systems. "The marriage of best-of-breed application and platform deployment options creates unique benefits that to-date have simply not been available in the on-demand CRM market."

Infinity Info Systems, a leading global Sage CRM Solutions partner for over 12 years, and the Sage Business Partner of the Year for CRM the past 6 years, is demonstrating its Investor Relationship Management system, powered by a cloud computing version of Sage SalesLogix, at Sage's booth #4 during the Gartner CRM Summit this week.

Sage CRM Solutions is a portfolio of market-leading applications consisting of ACT! by Sage, Sage CRM, and Sage SalesLogix. Over 63,500 organizations and 3.1 million users worldwide rely on Sage CRM Solutions to develop profitable, long-term business relationships. Sage CRM Solutions are part of a broad portfolio of Sage business management applications and services, including accounting, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, human resource management, and specialized solutions for construction and real estate, healthcare, distribution, manufacturing, and nonprofit organizations. For more information visit www.sagecrmsolutions.com or http://community.sagesaleslogix.com.

About Sage North America

Sage North America is part of The Sage Group plc, a leading global supplier of business management software and services. Sage North America employs more than 4,100 people and supports nearly 2.9 million small and medium-size business customers. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs 14,500 people and supports 5.8 million customers worldwide. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagenorthamerica.com.

© 2009 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, the Sage logos and the Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc. or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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