The history of Sage
Starting life as a local start-up in 1981, Sage is now a global success story – providing an array of accounting systems and solutions to customers. Sage is also a leading provider of enterprise resource planning software (Sage ERP). Although the company now works with businesses worldwide, their headquarters remain based in Newcastle upon Tyne – where Sage was founded in 1981. But why was Sage software originally created and how has it evolved over the years?
Creation
Born from humble beginnings, Sage’s inception came about when small business owner, David Goldman, set out to find a way to automate the print estimating and basic accounting process in his printing business. To do so, he hired two University students – Paul Muller and Graham Wylie – and tasked them with developing software which could automate these processes. Impressed with the software they created, Goldman soon realised that other companies could also benefit from the product. In 1981, he formed Sage with Muller and Wylie to begin selling their software – first to printing companies, and then to a wider market through a network of resellers.
Evolution
As desktop PCs became widespread, Sage began to grow their range – taking their business from strength to strength. In 1984 the Company launched Sage Software, a product for the Amstrad PCW word processor. Within its first year, Sage Software sales escalated from 30 copies a month to over 300. In 1998, Sage’s Professional Accountants Division was established and in 1999, Sage entered FTSE 100 – where they remain to this day. Sage acquired the product line which would become Sage ERP (now Sage X3) in 2005. This remains one of Sage’s most popular products. Sage transformed the future of business payments with Sage Pay in 2015, and in 2017, the company introduced Sage Business Cloud – providing Cloud software solutions for accounting and estimating, allowing users to enjoy 24/7 service, wherever they have access to an internet connection.
Future
So what’s the next chapter in the history of Sage? Today, Sage has approximately 6.2 million businesses around the globe and the company is the world’s third largest supplier of enterprise resource planning software. Many small businesses rely on their professional accounting and estimating programs, in every corner of the planet. With innovation and entrepreneurial spirit at heart, Sage seems set to continue developing products while moving more and more of their customers to Sage Business Cloud Accounting Software – which includes Sage 200cloud, Sage 50cloud – enabling businesses to run smarter, faster and more connected than ever before
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