Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 Extended Solutions Phase Out

Sage North America (A division of The Sage Group) has decided to make most of the Sage Extended Solution (ES) codes available as Open Source to Sage Developer Partners.

What this means to the Channel Partner -- Customers who own titles that will be retired, and not incorporated into the core product, will begin to see those Extended Solution title(s) drop off their renewal notices. Sage will no longer support or offer maintenance to most of the Sage Extended Solutions and will refer the Channel Partner to Sage Developer Partners.

What will IIG do to help the Channel Partner and their Customers --
• IIG a Sage MAS 90 and 200 Extended Solution Preferred Development Partner is offering for a limited time a FREE* Subscription Maintenance Plan through January 31, 2010 to ES installed at a Channel Partners or at their installed ES customers for Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200.
• IIG will track and notify about ES Maintenance renewal dates or when upgrades are available.
• IIG has a support team ready to provide "Full Service" for Extended Solutions from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM (PST).
• Since 1991 -- IIG has been offering sound solutions for Sage MAS 90, 200, and 500 products to Channel Partners and customers. IIG also has experience with publishing software and supporting Sage Channel Partners with over 200 Add-ons. IIG is a Gold Developer Partner, a Sage Certified Partner. IIG's ISV Solutions are recognized by many Channel Partners as IIG's Maestro Solutions.
• Most Maestro solutions are Sage Certified Vertical Solutions that integrate seamlessly with MAS 90, 200 and 500 ERP products. Maestro is designed to provide a complete end-to-end ERP solution for industry specific businesses.

Don't Panic! Contact IIG to learn how we can provide you with uninterrupted support for you and your customer. We invite you to Join IIG's group of Satisfied Channel Partners. IIG is here to help you with all of your Extended Solutions, Customizations, Add-ons, Enhancements, Vertical Solution needs... and much more.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Maria Huerto at 818-956-3744 x212 or email maria@iigservices.com

* IIG is offering a FREE* Subscription Maintenance Plan through January 31, 2010 to most installed Sage Extended Solutions for Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 users. The software should not be older than one prior version from current Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 version. The purchase of Extended Solutions from Sage must be dated prior to October 31, 2009 and proof of purchase is required. The Channel Partner or their customer(s) must register their company contact information; installed Sage Software product and Sage Extended Solutions with IIG before December 31, 2009. Offer good to one Extended Solution per client; or per installed MAS 90 or MAS 200 unlocking key per location. Offer not good to MAS 500 users. Sage Maintenance plan must be current. Offer not good to Inventory Management (IM), Purchase Order (PO) and Bill of Material (BOM) modules. IIG cannot guarantee full functionality due to 3rd party installs; pre-existing customizations to systems; Installed base lack of history with IIG; software and hardware compatibility issues; security issues; or code issues beyond IIG's control. Offer subject to change without notice. Offer has no cash value. IIG reserves the right to refuse service and/or support. IIG reserves the right to review, at its discretion, customers' operating system and installed software before installing or upgrading the ES on a case-by-case basis. For more information call IIG at (877) 956-3744.

Registration Open for Sage Summit in Atlanta

Registration for Sage Summit 2009 is open. Summit is the educational and networking event of the year for the MAS 90, MAS 200 and MAS 500 ERP user community. The event will be held November 9-12, 2009, in Atlanta. Information Integration Group will have a booth at the conference to show off our latest developments.

This year, Sage promises the most comprehensive content yet to give you the tools to do your job better, quicker, and more resourcefully.

Sage Summit highlights:

Peer Networking--Learn how others are advancing their organizations in today's climate.
Sessions for Beginners, Intermediates, and Advanced--Explore the topics that matter most to today's organizations at comprehensive breakout sessions.

Support, Face-to-Face--Schedule a real one-to-one conversation with an expert support analyst.

Roundtable Discussions--Chat peer-to-peer with those who utilize the same software and share similar job roles as you.

Trade Show--Discover the latest trends and innovations at the exhibit hall.
Keynote Speakers--Get inspired by compelling speakers discussing issues that impact you every day!

Online registration is now open; be sure to register early for the lowest prices and stop by to see us at the IIG Booth. To register go to www.sagesummit.com/registration.

Sage Tops Microsoft in ERP Sales According to AMR Research Report

A recent study by AMR Research, the leading research firm focused on the global supply chain and its supporting technologies show Sage Software as the third best selling ERP system with sales of $2.4 Billion in 2008.

Sage outsold Microsoft by nearly 2-to-1 in revenue and beat several other well-known companies on the list. Despite a tumultuous economic environment, 2008 overall proved to be a growth year for enterprise application software vendors, according to the AMR report.

For more information on SAG ERP systems, contact Dave Naftel at 818-956-3744 x225 or email dave@iigservices.com.

IIG Certified as QuickBooks Enterprise Solution Provider

Information Integration Group is proud to announce our certification as a QuickBooks Enterprise Solution Provider by Intuit. If your company has outgrown its current accounting and business management software, but you don’t have the budget for a high-priced ERP implementation, Intuit’s new QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 may be the answer you’re looking for.

Like other name brand ERP solutions, QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 helps you to streamline the critical operations of your business such as finances, inventory, sales, purchasing and paying employees. But it doesn’t stop there. Enterprise Suite goes beyond financial management with a new line of business software from Intuit that works seamlessly with QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions to help you manage your sales opportunities and activities, inventory across multiple warehouses, and workers and their work in the field.

QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions provides the key functionality you need with incredible ease of use. Designed for mid-sized firms with 20-500 employees, more than 57,000 growing companies have chosen QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions helping make QuickBooks the #1 financial management software.

Enterprise Solutions lets you scale up to 30 simultaneous users and has the capacity to add hundreds of thousands of inventory items, customers and vendors so there's virtually no limit to your growth. Plus, you can get real-time, instant access to the information you need to know about your business, when you want it and in the format you want it in, from Enterprise Solutions' 120+ built-in reports, such as Forecast Overview, Forecast vs. Actual, Profit & Loss Budget Performance, and A/P Aging Detail. In addition there are dozens of add-on modules available for specific business needs.

So if you’re current accounting and business management software isn’t keeping up with your growth, give us a call to find out more about QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions. We’ll even give you a 30-day free trial edition so you can test drive before you buy. For more information contact Dave Naftel at 818-956-3744 x225 or email dave@iigservices.com.

Sage Software Exits Professional Services and Custom Programming Business

If you haven't heard the news already, Sage is no longer offering professional services of custom programming for MAS 90 and MAS 200. Sage made the announcement official in the Sage MAS bulletin circulated last month. From the official statement:

As you may know, Sage has provided professional services and custom
programming to our business partners for the Sage MAS 90 and 200 products for
the past several years. We have recently decided to discontinue these services.
As a result, we will be directing all inquiries to our Development Partner
community who are very capable of providing such services to our
channel

At Information Integration Group we have been providing these services for more than 15 years and we are still going strong. We are currently offering special rates for organizations that were currently working directly with Sage and got caught "mid-project" in the transition. If you currently need help with an existing project or if you are looking for a stable development company for your next project, give us a call and let us show you what we have done for our other clients and what we can do for you.

Sage MAS 90 and 200 Extended Enterprise Suite 1.2 Now Available

You can now upgrade your MAS 90 and MAS 200 ERP system with CRM Features and Fixed Asset Updates using Sage Extended Enterprise Suite 1.2. The new upgrade allows you to help customers unite critical business functions on a single software platform. Both new and existing Sage customers will benefit through improved business efficiency, real-time transparency into data, and better collaboration.

Extended Enterprise Suite 1.2 has a host of new features, including:

• New CRM Branding Toolkit - change the look and feel of SageCRM screens using themes, add your company logo, and more
  
• Expanded Customer Relationship Management - create and view multiple relationships between primary entities, such as a holding company and its subsidiaries
  
• Enhanced CRM Email Management - produce professional e-mail campaigns with advanced editing and spell checker
  
• Enhanced CRM Integration - additional Outlook ® integration
  
• Updated Fixed Assets Tax Forms - includes the updated IRS Form 4562 - Depreciation and Amortization for 2008
• Updated Fixed Assets Tax Limits - complies with the scheduled updates to the Section 179 limits and luxury auto limits
  
• Many more Fixed Assets updates for compliance to new legislation - for more details, please read What's New in Sage MAS 90 and 200 Extended Enterprise Suite from within the product
  
• Q1 Tax Table Update (TTU) - included on the DVD is the Q1 2009 TTU, which will be installed automatically for new EES Payroll implementations, but will not be installed for upgrading EES customers to prevent inadvertent override of more current information. For more details, please refer to the release notes.

For more information, email Dave Naftel: dave@iigservices.com or call 818-956-3744 x225.

Sage Insights Conference Highlights Industry Challenges and Opportunities

We had a great time at Sage Insights 2009 this week in Nashville and for those of you who couldn't attend, you missed a wonderful event. Sage went all out with great conference events, tremendous networking opportunities, fabulous food and a rock-and-roll theme party that was a rockin' good time. Our hats off them for all the hard work it took to produce such a great event.

For those of us working hard to make our way through the maze of confusion and uncertainty that is the American economy in 2009, the conference was a chance to explore the many challenges we face as we strive to protect and grow our businesses. While attendance at the show was down, the consensus on the floor was that the quality of the attendees and exhibitors was better than ever. Indeed, participation in the event was a testament to the commitment and dedication of those who headed to Nashville in the face of significant uncertainty.

For Information Integration Group, the event was an opportunity to meet with old friends and strategize about the best way to navigate the road ahead. It was also an opportunity to make new connections and find new ways to cross-promote our products and services with like-minded companies and resellers.

On the final day of the conference, Cal Ripken, Jr. gave an excellent presentation on what it takes to succeed at whatever you do. In reflection on his comments, I came a way with three main strategies that I believe will help us all as we move forward:

1. Keep your head in the game - In baseball terms, our industry is in a slump. But no matter what you hear in the media about the economy or what the stock market does on any given day, there will still be companies that will benefit from our products and services. That is where we intend to focus our efforts, on building for the future while trying to navigate the rough waters of the present.
   
2. Forge new alliances – No individual can win a baseball game alone and no company will stand alone in the emerging economy. That is why, now more than ever, as the industry continues to consolidate, we intend to forge alliance with individuals and companies that will benefit from a working relationship with IIG.
   
3. Focus on the long term – When Cal Ripken Jr. played his first game in the major leagues he never could have imagined he would break the all-time record for consecutive games played. But taking it one day at a time, 17 years later, it happened. I don’t think anybody expects the current economic condition to last 17 years, but by taking it one day at a time, just as Cal did, we will probably find that the clouds clear up and the sun shines again much sooner than we would imagine. Those who remain in the game now are in it for the duration. Whatever happens next week or next month will be long forgotten when we start setting new records for business.

So thanks again to our friends at Sage and to all of the people we met with in Nashville. I know it was helpful for us. We look forward to seeing you next year. Hopefully be then we will all be hitting them out of the park again.

Dave Naftel
Marketing Manager