Sage, the provider of accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), is expanding its partnership with tech giant Microsoft, enhancing operational efficiency and innovation for SMBs.
As part of Sage Copilot’s reporting and analytics capabilities, Sage Instant Analysis integrates Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to empower SMBs by unlocking their data.
Embedded within Sage Active, this tool quickly accesses financial data from various in-product forms, enabling customers to glean financial insights that they couldn’t previously.
With this, users receive actionable insights about their company’s financial health, including detailed assessments of strengths, weaknesses, and critical areas such as the balance sheet, cash flow, working capital, and gross profit. This integration makes it easier to manage business activities, boosting productivity and streamlining routine tasks.
Amaya Souarez, EVP of cloud services and operations at Sage
“Our partnership with Microsoft aims to give small and medium-sized businesses the tools they need for success in today’s digital age. These updates offer fresh ways to improve customers’ operations and increase productivity,” said Amaya Souarez, EVP of cloud services and operations at Sage. “This collaboration is about bringing our strengths together. It shows our united effort to spark innovation, support growth, and deliver the latest solutions for the ever-changing demands of the business world.”
Sage Instant Analysis also promises to delve into the details of a company’s year-to-date financial performance by using accounting data already in the system. The service dives beneath the surface of financial reports, using advanced large language model (LLM) engineering through Azure OpenAI Service that not only reads numbers but truly understands them – calculating key ratios and providing a rich context for decision-making.
Improving efficiency for SMBs
Sage Network integrates into the broader Microsoft ecosystem with connectors to Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365. These integrations enable users, as well as users of other third-party accounting products and the Sage portfolio, to create an integrated global network – enhancing efficiency by reducing manual data entry and speeding up financial processes.
Sage Connect, the user interface enabling Sage Network business interconnectivity, offers a simplified, secure platform for managing financial transactions and automating accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) workflows, leading to faster payments and improved compliance, including e-invoicing.
For SMBs and Sage’s partner ecosystem, this means accessing a unified platform that not only streamlines financial operations and AR and AP digital workflows, but also opens up new opportunities for collaboration, efficiency, and growth within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Alvaro Celis, vice president of global ISV commercial solutions at Microsoft
Alvaro Celis, vice president of global ISV commercial solutions at Microsoft, said: “Our collaboration with Sage is strategically designed to make operations simpler and more secure for SMBs, while leveraging the power of the Microsoft Cloud and AI to create a connected and efficient future. We are committed to the success and resilience of SMBs in a fast-changing market.”
Enhancements include integrating HR tasks within the flow of work through Microsoft Teams, starting with the highly utilised absence and time off feature of Sage People.
Employees can now request various types of leave directly via a chatbot in Microsoft Teams, with approvals managed through the platform and synchronised with Microsoft Outlook calendars to streamline processes.
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