One of the takeaways from the Sage Summit conference was Sage’s announcement of their hosting initiative that will be publicly announced in mid-December. I feel this is an important first step that is long overdue. The computing world is moving towards software as a service, or some call it ‘cloud computing’. Microsoft is banking its future on providing the software infrastructure and is playing catch-up to Google and other competitors. There is a good article in the latest Wired Magazineabout how Microsoft under the leadership of Ray Ozzie, Bill Gate’s successor as Chief Software Architect, will move to the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model in the fairly foreseeable future.
Software vendors such as Sage have much work to do yet in changing to the service business model where application are accessed via a Web browser and the user pays a subscription fee – or rents the application. As an interim but practical solution many Sage applications including MIP Fund Accounting are web-enabled and can be accessed remotely from a central data center, and operate transparently from the users’ perspective. The major differences are that the software application has to be specifically licensed to the end-user and that actual access is through remote desktop services such as Microsoft’s Terminal Service or Citrix XinApp, mature and very reliable technology. So the end-user still has to ‘buy’ the software and have a Windows-based network with a broadband connection to the Internet. The purchase issue can be mitigated using a lease to spread the payments over several years; and let’s face it, desktop prices are already down in the range once paid for dumb terminals. Much of the back office IT infrastructure of servers, databases, security, backup and technical assistance goes away or is greatly diminishes.
Sage has partnered with a managed application hosting center, nGenX to provide the managed application hosting. Through the Sage/nGenX partnership, we can offer accounting system hosting for as little as $190 monthly. We see this as both a business opportunity and a resource to help not-for-profit organizations increase their internal capacity. Hosting gives us the capability of offer bundled accounting services that incorporates hosted accounting software and expert professional services and differentiate us from most accounting service providers. Under this arrangement, the internal staff performs the bulk of day-to-day accounting operations and we provide the oversight, review, and reporting; and fulfill the Chief Financial Officer role as required in presenting and interpreting financial information for the Executive Director and Board. The client’s accounting system and data reside in a secure hosted environment running the award-winning Sage MIP Fund Accounting software. Using the flexible chart of accounts and reporting features, the application is tailored specifically to the organization’s tracking and reporting requirements, including programs, departments, locations, grants, projects, and restrictions. We provide training and documentation to the internal staff to perform most accounting operational tasks and access information transparently without the investment in additional technology and hiring a professional accountant, Controller or CFO. We ensure an adequate structure of internal control, and provide period-end review, closing, and reporting; and annual audit readiness.
