Sage Software, a leading supplier of business management software, has said that its cost reducing enterprise solution Sage ERP X3 is drawing attention from companies seeking to reduce IT infrastructure costs.

Sage ERP X3 offers significant savings and benefits to businesses, the solution addresses the demand for affordable, easy-to-use and quick-to-install integrated ERP solutions, according to a report.

This gains in importance at a time when more than 40 per cent of GCC companies have reported an overall loss of $5 billion so far in the year.

Furthermore, the scalability of the solution makes it highly suitable to cope with multiple government legislation, currencies and languages while offering local customisation and multiple platform options, said the report.

Packaged software is expected to comprise 13 per cent of IT spending in the Gulf in 2009, according to IDC, following a revision of over 6 percentage points from its initial IT expenditure projection, which was released before the global economic crisis hit the region. The decline in the forecasted IT spending further underlines the importance of Sage ERP X3, said the company.

“Through Sage ERP X3, we have been providing companies with an ERP solution that covers the majority of their requirements, and conforms to the local accounting practices of the countries in which their business is done,” said Vikram Suri, managing director, Sage Software Middle East.

“We have designed this solution to provide mid-sized businesses, as well as subsidiaries and divisions of large corporations with an exceptional tool that will give them a competitive advantage amidst the current economic condition.”

The regional SMB market, which is expected to reach $10 billion by 2009, poses tremendous growth prospects for Sage Software, he added.

Particularly, the company has recognised the Middle East’s propensity to undertake massive strides in modernisation, especially in the SMB sector, which is projected to account for up to 80 per cent of businesses in the Middle East by 2011.

Earlier, the company announced sizeable global revenues for 2008, and has pointed towards the Middle East’s ever-growing small and medium businesses (SMBs) as a potential-laden sector to target in its global expansion plans.

Supporting Windows, Unix and Linux platforms, Sage ERP X3 covers all of the planning, operational and administrative functional areas.

The application integrates the planning, transaction and decision support functions of the organisation while simultaneously optimising the flow of information with customers, suppliers and other key business partners.

The provision of this solution demonstrates Sage Software’s commitment to offer customers a choice of high quality solutions, which meet their evolving needs and can be easily integrated with their existing IT infrastructure.

“Our aim is to tap into the regional SMB market not only by enhancing our current range of products but also through our strategic partnerships with leading resellers in rapidly growing markets such as the UAE,” Suri added.

“With the growth of SMBs and their IT spending, which is expected to rise by more than 33 per cent in two years, we are committed to developing our business in the region by introducing more breakthrough technologies in managing enterprise, customer relationship and human resources.” – TradeArabia News Service