Global research shows tech savvy businesses grow, differentiate, compete and flex better when they commit to technology

RICHMOND, BC--(Marketwired - Apr 11, 2017) - According to new research, almost a third of small businesses who commit to technology show demonstrable growth. The whitepaper which launches today and is titled 'Tech-Savvy Businesses do it better' was commissioned by market and technology leader in cloud accounting, Sage, and conducted by IDC.

With over 1 million new customers following Sage to the cloud in 2016, it is clear that small businesses are beginning to see the advantages of technology. Nevertheless, the research shows that over half (56%) of all small businesses interviewed have yet to adopt digital technologies -- preferring to maintain their business with traditional methods, despite the rewards shown in the findings, which include:

Automation Drives Innovation: Small business owners that are digitally mature dedicate more time to innovation.

• 32% of small businesses that have a significant focus on digitally innovating their business reported growth of more than 10% last year
• Despite innovation featuring in the top three challenges overall, only 8% of small businesses indicated that they spend quality time on innovation:
  • In contrast looking at tech-savvy businesses, this jumps to around 29%.
• Overall, 79% of small business owners very much enjoy working for their own business; with this percentage rising to 94% among those that use IT very well.

Digital Focus Enables Opportunity: With tools to automate and free up time easily available, many small business owners are seeing the opportunity.

• 57% of the respondents see new digital business models as an opportunity for their business with 1/4 of the total calling it a "significant opportunity."
• Also, over 57% are focused on digitally innovating their business

Getting on Track with Technological Adoption: Some small businesses feel they have fallen a little behind their peers in terms of their use of technology.

• 13% of business owners feel they are 'a bit behind' their peers in their use of technology with an additional 2% feeling that they are 'far behind'
• 30% say they need to improve on their IT skills to make full use of the IT tools they have

Jennifer Warawa, EVP of Product Marketing, Sage commented: "With the stakes high for business owners, Sage is solving for our customers' needs with the following outlook: We want to make the cloud a reality for businesses of all sizes, without the need for them to migrate from their much loved Sage business management solution. We want to give our customers mobility choices and enable them to work from wherever, whenever in a way that that suits the way they run their business. Above all, these solutions need to be cost effective and part of the journey that our customers experience as they grow their businesses -- we don't want growth to be prohibited by difficult choices."

Driving a world of Invisible Admin

With the research showing high rewards of adopting technology, Sage is on a mission to drive a world where admin is invisible for businesses of all sizes with world class cloud products that free business builders up to focus on what is important to them.

"This second round of new cloud product releases in 2017 sees us move our customers closer to a professional environment for entrepreneurs where admin is invisible by 2020, freeing up business builders to follow their dreams," said Nick Goode, EVP of Product Management at Sage. "We have our foot on the gas and will continue to deliver the solutions to market that our 3 million customers worldwide are demanding."

These product launches include:

• Sage Live - A customizable and cost-effective cloud accounting solution, built on the Salesforce Lightning user interface, enables customers to manage multiple locations and currencies all in the palm of their hand. Available now on both iOS and Android operating systems in US, Canada, France, UK, Spain, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
• Sage X3 - A fast, simple and flexible business management solution for the demanding Enterprise users. Available in 24 countries, today's release includes new functionality for faster financial, supply chain and production management, and expands the global availability of the solution in the Cloud with data centers now also supporting operations in Germany and South Africa.
• Sage 50c - Sage's trusted accounting solution now gives its customers greater flexibility and power with the integration with MS Office 365. This new version is designed to give Sage 50 customers complete control over their accounts. Following the launch in the UK, this product is now available in US, Canada, France, Spain and Germany.

"Together, with partners like Sage, we're focused on making it easier for small and medium businesses to move to the cloud and seize the opportunities ahead," said Charlotte Burke, Head of Innovation for Small and Medium Sized Businesses at Microsoft Canada. "The new Sage 50c offering, which is integrated with Microsoft Office 365, helps to enable customers to manage their business across multiple devices and numerous locations."

Sage Summit 2017

Sage will be delivering ideas, inspiration and insight as well as showcasing its full suite of business management solutions at Sage Summit and Sage Summit Tour events running across 2017. Click here for more details.

About Sage

Sage is the market and technology leader for integrated accounting, payroll and payment systems, supporting the ambition of entrepreneurs and business builders.

Today, business builders measure success in strong relationships, partnerships, and communities. It's why Sage helps drive today's business builders with the most intelligent and flexible cloud-enabled software, support and advice to manage everything from money to people.

Daily, more than 13,000 Sage colleagues in 23 countries work with a thriving global community of over 3 million entrepreneurs, business owners, tradespeople, accountants, partners and developers to champion the success of business builders everywhere. And as a FTSE 100 business, we are passionate about doing business the right way, supporting our local communities through the Sage Foundation.

Sage -- a market leader for integrated accounting, payroll and payment systems, supporting the ambition of the world's entrepreneurs. www.sage.com