Sage Transform 2024 Live Blog: Sustainability and AI Software News for SMB Technology Partners
February 28, 2024 by Joe Panettieri
A the Sage Transform 2024 conference in Las Vegas, the software company is emphasizing AI-enabled applications to further automate small and midsize businesses. The event also involves extensive Sage Earth sustainability and net-zero strategies for SMB customers and partners.
Surinder Sond, sustainability strategy and execution director, Sage
Sage, founded in 1981, develops accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and midsize businesses worldwide. The software and cloud services company also develops Sage Earth -- a carbon accounting software platform that allows partners and customers to "measure, mitigate and manage" their carbon footprints. Sage Earth is based on the Spherics acquisition of 2022.
Fast forward to 2024. The Sage Transform 2024 conference -- featuring numerous executive team members -- is unfolding February 26-29 in Las Vegas. Sustainable Tech Partner is on-hand blogging live at the customer and partner conference.
Sage Transform 2024: Sustainability Software & Business Strategy Updates
Check back regularly for ongoing updates -- before, during and after the event. Here's what we know so far...
February 28: Multiple updates...
Aaron Harris, CTO, Sage
Keynote - Sage's AI Strategy: Sage CTO Aaron Harris is walking attendees through the company's AI strategy and related services. Among the things to note: Sage developed its own AI software -- rather than using off-the-shelf options from Microsoft and Amazon, for instance -- because of workflow-specific needs for finance and accounting. The company is building Small Language Models specifically for accounting, he noted. Related: Check out the Sage Copilot AI announcement, and AWS-Sage partnership.
"Trust is the Biggest Barrier to AI Adoption": With that reality in mind, Sage is taking four steps to ensure its AI software is trustworthy for customers and partners. Specifically, the company (1) matches its investments in automation with investments in trust and confidence; (2) leveraging Sage AI Factory to protect customer data, automate training and deploying AI, and continuously learn and adapt; (3) prioritize research into detecting and preventing AI hallucinations; and (4) commits to transparent AI development practices.
February 27: Multiple updates...
Marc Monday, senior VP of sales, Sage
AI Software for SMBs: The company unveiled Sage Copilot -- a forthcoming generative AI capability designed to help channel partners and SMB customers to automate finance, accounting, HR and sustainability functions. The software is expected to arrive sometime in 2024.
Interview - Marc Monday: We sat down with Marc Monday, VP of U.S. partner ecosystem sales & partner strategy. Monday is a familiar name within and across the IT channel. He previously held key posts at Citrix, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, SAP and VMware. Stay tuned for a recap.
February 14, 2024: Ahead of the event, the company said:
Conference Overview: Sage plans to integrate its Sustainability & Society initiatives into the event, "not only offering attending business leaders counsel and support on how to become more sustainable, but also giving them opportunities to join fundraising and volunteering programs benefitting local communities in Las Vegas," the company said.
Strategic Meetings: "Let’s Talk Sustainability" sessions will allow attendees to sign up for 1:1 conversations with Sage’s Sustainability Strategy & Execution Director Surinder Sond. The sessions are "designed to help attendees further their sustainability ambitions – whether they relate to net-zero goals, supply chain issues, or packaging and materials use."
November 2023: In a podcast with Sustainable Tech Partner, Sage Executive VP Elisa Moscolin described how SMBs can begin the sustainability journey. She also hinted that sustainability would be a key theme for the Sage Transform 2024 conference.
Channel Partners and Sustainable IT Solutions
In many ways, Sage is leading the SMB sustainability conversation at a time when many channel partners need guidance.
Indeed, 55% of North America partners and 48% of Latin America partners are not yet tracking sustainability KPIs (key performance indicators), compared to 29% in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and 34% in APAC (Asia-Pacific), Canalys reported in 2023.
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