Sage launches new App Marketplace - "It's Really Slick!"

Sage has just 'upped the game' when it comes to App marketplaces/centers with their new  Sage Marketplace, which is 'slicker than black ice on a cold, winter day.' In other words, they have done a way better job of App presentation; both in their overall presentation of the Apps, and at the detail level than anyone else that I have seen (and I have looked at a lot of App centers/marketplaces).

Sage has not only categorized the Apps into functional and industry classifications, but also provided an easy way to associate the Apps on a product-by-product basis.

When a user actually selects one of the Apps, the various tabs provide an overview, features, reviews, and other details of the App (as shown below). 

One particularly beneficial element of the 'Overview' page was the ‘Similar Apps’ list included (as shown in the partial example of another 'App Overview' page below). Someone certainly thought out what people are looking for when attempting to compare and pick the best App for their needs.

Before we look at any more of the App details of the new marketplace, I should let you hear what they have to say for themselves. So here's the formal Sage Press Release announcing the new marketplace:

Sage, a leader in cloud business management solutions, has announced a new Sage Marketplace where a curated selection of Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) can showcase popular Apps that link to Sage Business Cloud solutions. This means that customers can enhance their Sage Business Cloud solutions with bespoke industry and vertical applications.

Delivered on the AppDirect platform, the Sage Marketplace gives more than two million Sage customers access to hundreds of trusted apps, all tested and verified by Sage. All Marketplace apps can be reviewed and rated by users, enabling customers to compare solutions, and make the right choice for their business.

"In our survey studies, SMBs consistently cite application selection and integration as their top technology challenges. Most lack the time, expertise and money to solve this problem on their own. Sage validates and certifies application partner integrations, making it easier and more efficient for their customers to connect multiple solutions to run their business. As a result, the new Sage Marketplace makes it simpler for customers to discover, buy and use the right application,” said Laurie McCabe, co-founder at SMB Group.

As part of Sage’s SaaS strategy, the Marketplace continues to drive value to Sage customers through new and innovative solutions. It further broadens the scope of Sage Business Cloud with connected apps that provide bespoke cloud-based solutions across people, payments and payroll. 

“The launch of Sage Marketplace underscores our commitment to partners and to creating a rich ecosystem of partner offerings from which our customers can choose,” said Nancy Harris, Managing Director, Sage North America. “An ISV can promote their application to over two million Sage customers around the world and customers can readily access a rich ecosystem of solutions to help them solve complex business challenges.”

The Sage Marketplace is a strategic toolkit for Sage accountants and VAR partners looking to advise customers on how to increase their business performance. The new platform will provide easy online ordering, customer and user management and access to sales information, all in one place. Partners will experience the value of the Sage Marketplace as they see an increase in retention and revenue opportunities with trusted and integrated apps.

"The opportunity for NETSTOCK to promote our Sage Inventory Advisor brand on a worldwide platform like the Sage Marketplace is very exciting,” said Russ Graf, Vice President, Channel Management, NETSTOCK. “As a global company and brand, we look forward to leveraging this new tool to grow our business and our strategic partnership with Sage."

The selection of apps available on the Marketplace is highly curated. Once on the portal, Sage’s App developers can promote their solutions and drive higher sales volumes through improved market visibility. They are also able to make the most of the self-serve capabilities on an easy-to-use platform to create and keep their app profiles up to date. From that, they can enjoy accurate, real-time reporting to see how their solution is performing – building real value for Sage, its partners and customers.

Dewey Forrester, EVP, Partners, Accountants and Alliances at Sage, says, “The launch of our new Sage Marketplace offers a fully featured app platform, enabling a seamless end-to-end journey for Sage’s App developers from onboarding, to discovery, to purchase. They can create an account, add their application and promote it to over two million Sage customers around the world, creating value-add by simplifying their businesses as they grow. Through strong partnerships, we are proud to provide our customers the tools they need to thrive.” 

Back in the actual App Marketplace, I wanted to show you one of the 'App Feature' pages, this one is for an App called Simple-Simon where the feature page gives you an example of how their App actually looks and the various tasks it performs. The interactive feature set displayed in the box on the left changes the images displayed as you select each feature so you can work one-by-one through the key features and functionality of Apps you are not familiar with.

You won't find many 'Reviews' present for Apps yet, but you can bet they will be forthcoming as more and more Sage users turn to the Marketplace for App selection and integration. The 'Policies & Support' pages provide useful information on terms & conditions as well as support contact information for the App Developer (as shown in the example here).

The 'Resources' page provides you with additional content, and in the case of Simple-Simon that content takes the form of a Video (as shown below). Each App Developer determines the nature of the type of content they wish to provide on this page.

The 'Editions & Pricing' page gives you additional details about pricing options, including terms and conditions and pricing variables that may apply; such as promotional discounts, or discounts for participants in the Sage Accountants Network, etc. I'm not going to take up article space showing you an example of that page, since I have already shown you that the basic pricing is available on the 'Overview Page,' but just remember pricing details can be found on this expanded page.

About the only thing I thought was lacking were the number of participating Apps, right now (at the time of this publication) there were only 79 applications listed in the Marketplace, but I am confident that now that it is available (and when Developers see just 'how slick' it really is), they will be pushing and shoving their way to get listed if they already work with Sage Cloud products.