Sage Group
The Sage Group plc, commonly known as Sage, is a British multinational enterprise software company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As of 2017, it is the UK's second largest technology company,[3] the world's third-largest supplier of enterprise resource planning software (behind Oracle and SAP), the largest supplier to small businesses, and has 6.1 million customers worldwide.[4] It has offices in 23 countries.[5] The company is a patron of The Glasshouse, Gateshead music venue in Gateshead.[6]
"Sage Software" redirects here. For other uses, see Sage § Software.Company type
27 April 1981[1]
Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK
Offices in 23 countries
Worldwide
- Andrew Duff (chairperson)
- Steve Hare (CEO)
£ 2,184 million (2023)[2]
£ 456 million (2023)[2]
£ 211 million (2023)[2]
£ 3,936 million (2023)[2]
£ 1,407 million (2023)[2]
11,565 (2023)[2]
Sage is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History[edit]
1981 to 2000[edit]
The company was founded by David Goldman, Paul Muller, and Graham Wylie in 1981 in Newcastle upon Tyne, to develop estimating and accounting software for small businesses.[7]
A student at Newcastle University, Graham Wylie, took a summer job with an accountancy firm funded by a government small business grant to write software to help their record keeping. This became the basis for Sage Line 50. Next, hired by David Goldman to write some estimating software for his printing company, Campbell Graphics, Graham used the same accounting software to produce the first version of Sage Accounts. David was so impressed that he hired Graham and academic Paul Muller to form Sage, selling their software first to printing companies, and then to a wider market through a network of resellers.[8]
In 1984, the company launched Sage software, a product for the Amstrad PCW word processor,[7] which used the CP/M operating system. Sage software sales escalated in that year from 30 copies a month to over 300.[7] The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1989.[7]
In 1991, Sage acquired Dac Software, Inc., a pioneering American accounting software developer, from Insilco Corporation who were undergoing bankruptcy reorganization at the time. Dac Software were well known for their DacEasy software suite, which was one of the first integrated accounting software titles to retail for well under $100, when most of its competitors sold suites with equivalent functionality for thousands of US$.[9]
In 1994, Paul Walker was appointed Chief Executive. In 1998, Sage's Professional Accountants Division was established. In 1999, Sage entered FTSE 100[7] and launched a dedicated Irish division, based in Dublin as well as its e-business strategy. In that same year the UK acquisition of Tetra saw Sage enter the mid-range business software market.[10][11]
Sage was the best-performing UK share in the 1990s, increasing in value by 28,000%.[12]
Operations[edit]
Founded and headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, the company has grown organically, through acquisitions and, more recently, through subscription services.[36]
In June 1991, Sage Group moved into their first dedicated headquarters building, Sage House, in Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne, having previously been located in the Regent Centre office park.[37] In 2004, the company completed their £50 million headquarters in the Great Park area of Newcastle upon Tyne.[38] In 2021 Sage's Newcastle headquarters moved to Cobalt Park.[39][40]
The company's US headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia, the Canadian headquarters are in Richmond, British Columbia, the Africa, Middle East & Australia headquarters are in Johannesburg, South Africa and the French and Continental European headquarters are in Paris, France. Sage has 6.1 million customers and 13,400 employees across the world. Key industry focus includes: Healthcare; HR & Payroll; Construction/ Real-Estate; Transport/ Distribution; Payment Processing; Accountancy; Not-for-Profit; Manufacturing; Retail; Automotive Distribution.[41]