Sage Intacct is now listed on the AWS Marketplace. The AWS Marketplace is a location where AWS customers can find software and services running on the Amazon Web Services. Currently, the listing is only available for US customers. The intent is to target SaaS companies starting on the AWS platform looking for a mature financial management application that they can grow with.
Aziz Benmalek, EVP of Partners and Alliances, Sage, commented: “Listing Sage Intacct in AWS Marketplace provides companies with a frictionless, digital experience from the get-go. We know from speaking to our customers that investors expect early-stage SaaS companies to prove different aspects of their business model at each stage of growth to achieve their next round of funding. Therefore, it is critical for them to have a scalable, modern financial management system at the core of their business – making Sage Intacct available in AWS Marketplace makes it even easier for them to achieve just that.”
Sage on AWS
Enterprise Times also asked Benmalek some questions about the announcement. First, how did this come about? Who approached whom? Benmalek replied: “This is a joint opportunity which both Sage and AWS are very excited to launch together to deliver Sage’s award-winning, multi-tenant cloud financial management system on the leading cloud platform marketplace.”
When will Sage offer Intacct on other AWS regions?
Benmalek replied: “Sage Intacct is hosted on AWS in UK, Australia, South Africa currently. We are very excited to launch with the AWS marketplace in the U.S. We will continue to look at market opportunities for international expansion with our Sage Intacct offering. “
The AWS listing has some basic information and includes a case study of a client, CODE42, the provider of a SaaS-based insider risk solution. The software is not available to download, and instead, interested parties can contact Sage Intacct via email. Sage Intacct is not a solution that most people can just download and install. ET asked Benmalek how they would find a partner to help with implementation. He replied: “Sage is launching alongside three leading partners who will implement with the customer, providing support as they grow with Sage.“
Sage did not provide any further information about the three partners it will work with for AWS leads. Stating: “Sage is not disclosing partners at this time.”
Will this be a success?
With so little information on the solution within the marketplace listing, Enterprise Times asked Benmalek what projections for organizations selecting Sage Intacct through this channel do Sage expect by the end of 2021?
“While we’re not able to provide specific projection number, we do expect that this partnership with AWS will introduce Sage to new, joint customers as we launch this offering with one of the world’s largest B2B Marketplaces, aligning to the new way customers are buying and consuming cloud services.”
The proof of that will be in a few months.
The Sage Intacct advantage
Sage Intacct is a sophisticated financial management solution that runs as a multi-tenant solution on the AWS platform. It provides a comprehensive ASC 606-compliant cloud accounting and subscription billing solution. With its multi-dimensional ledger, organisations can scale and report on different financial metrics across their business with ease. Typical KPI measures that it can track include
- customer acquisition costs (CAC)
- customer lifetime value (CLTV)
- contracted monthly recurring revenue (CMRR)
- customer churn.
Contract and Subscription Billing, SaaS Metrics, and Revenue recognition are all available as add-ons to the basic Sage Intacct solution.
Strangely, Sage cited a different SaaS-based customer in the release, detailing the benefits that Zest Ai, a fintech company, received after implementing Sage Intacct across eleven entities. Key benefits included:
- shortened its monthly close process by 33%
- cut annual accounting contracting costs by 60%
- adopted ASC 606 practices
- supported due diligence for its $15 million capital raise
- maintain 100% year-over-year growth.
Walter Luceno, director of accounting at Zest AI, commented: “We saw a great opportunity to put scalable processes, financial controls, and the right software in at the ground level in order to make us more productive. With Sage Intacct, we now have accurate, timely financials in any managerial format we want, so everyone has more confidence in the numbers.”
Will Sage Intacct appear on other marketplaces?
Sage also has close ties with Microsoft with other products hosted on Azure. Will Sage look to list Sage Intacct on Azure or GCP in the future? Will it have listings on their marketplaces?
Benmalek replied: “We are always looking at opportunities to expand our product offerings and assessing the cloud platform providers based on customers’ demands. The launch of Sage Intacct on the AWS marketplace in partnership with our key partners provides a new route for our customers who are looking to elevate their work, digitally transform their businesses, and focus on work that drives real value to their end-users.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
The listing of Sage Intacct on the AWS Marketplace perhaps says more about AWS than it does Sage. Few companies will look to the AWS Marketplace to locate their next ERP solution. Many of the other solutions listed include the ability to activate the services straight from AWS.
AWS has a huge number of SaaS applications running on its platform. Many that are easy to install are targeted at the IT function rather than the business and finance teams. As it adds more applications, it will need to find a way to attract the right people to the listings. It also needs to improve how these prospects can interact with the vendors to deliver information, perhaps through an online chat function. Sage Intacct is a great addition to the marketplace and a partnership that might help attract others.
Chris Grusz, Director of Business Development, AWS Marketplace, Service Catalog, and AWS Control Tower, AWS. Commented: “Sage and AWS have a longstanding history of delivering leading cloud business management solutions for customers who are looking to elevate their work, digitally transform their businesses, and focus on work which drives real value to their end-users. We are proud to have Sage Intacct available through Private Offers to our North American customers in AWS Marketplace.”
AWS will also need to update its indexing or Sage its entry. The link above provides a direct link to the Sage Intacct listing. However, searching (as of writing) for “Sage Intacct”, “Sage”, “ERP”, or “Financial Management” does not find the listing at all.
