Sage has expanded its Sage Partner Cloud program to the UK and Ireland.

Launched in North America in December 2020, Sage designed the program  to enable partners to move customers to the cloud. This, it says, expands customers’ ability to work remotely, while controlling costs.

Powered by the Sage Provisioning Portal on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, the program “automates, simplifies and reduces the time needed to get customers live.” It automates the deployment of Sage business management solutions (BMS) in the cloud using Microsoft Azure IaaS (infrastructure as a service).

Sage says this reduces time to provision in Azure from between a day and a half to two days, to just one hour. It also provides remote access and enables partners to provide integrations and customisations for customers. This, it adds, provides an additional service and revenue stream opportunity for partners.

The vendor says partners can leverage existing investment by deploying current BMS solutions into the cloud without major training or project costs. Similarly, they can manage multiple virtual machines within a single subscription​ and no significant costs.

Sage provides the training and certification required for the Sage Partner Cloud free to partners.

“This program is about enabling partners to support customers on their journey to the cloud, at a speed that is right for their business,” says the firm.

In the UK and Ireland, partners reselling Sage 200 Professional can now access the program by becoming a managed service provider (MSP).

Anytime, Anywhere Access

Sage’s Aziz Benmalek

Sage’s global partner chief says driving cloud solutions and SaaS revenue is a priority for the firm. Executive VP Aziz Benmalek said global events have accelerated the need for “anytime, anywhere” access to business-critical information.

He said customers are looking “for freedom and flexibility to customise their requirements and future-proof their business processes.”

He added that with Sage Partner Cloud, customers can continue their journey to the cloud using Sage products that work for them. At the same time, they can “leverage the benefits a proven Microsoft Azure cloud platform.”

Chris Smith is managing director at London-based Sage partner Smith Cooper System Partners. He says the “win” provided by the Sage Partner Cloud Program is the control and autonomy it offers.

“Our customers are first and foremost in everything we do. With control over the end-to-end service delivery, we can ensure they receive the level of service they’ve come to expect across their entire Sage 200 implementation. It is amazing how quickly we can deploy Sage 200 on Microsoft Azure.”

Sage Partner Cloud will be available in other markets over the coming months.