Innov8 and Sage mark 25 years of partnership

The word trust is one highly valued across the channel, and when it is earned and treasured, it results in long-standing relationships that span the decades.

Innov8 is now marking 25 years as a Sage partner, exemplifying what a trusted relationship between a vendor and its channel can look like and how that benefits not only the customers but Sage itself, as it gains access to feedback from the coalface from industry experts.

Innov8 started its partnership with Sage back in 2000, attracted by the firm’s pedigree in the accounting market and its close location in the North East of England.

Carl Maher, managing director of Innov8, said that it had recognised the advantages of working with a firm that could cover a wide spectrum of customers and enable its channel to grow with its users from the start of the partnership.

“One thing that attracted us to Sage at the very beginning was the comprehensive nature of the range of solutions. So, from very small business through to very large business, you can have this ‘Sage for life’ mentality, that you might grow as a business, but that doesn’t mean you outgrow Sage,” he said.

“That had a great weight in our initial decision. One thing that has reinforced that is Sage’s commitment to the products over those years so development and in R&D and staying abreast of modern technology, and of course, what’s going on in the current climate in terms of dealing with businesses and their challenges. So, we certainly feel like we back the right horse.”

Innov8 sells to a range of customers, with the sweet spot those between £5m to £20m in turnover, and a range of verticals including construction, manufacturing and distribution as well as to general business customers. The needs of those verticals and SME customers have evolved over the 25 years, and the pressure on the channel to become more than just a product supplier has increased over time.

“In terms of how that partnership has evolved and what they’re looking for, the subtle difference is now they’re not looking to buy something. They’re looking to be in a relationship where you are the trusted adviser. Having a comprehensive reach in terms of your own products and knowledge is important,” said Maher.

He added that its ability to feedback on those changes to Sage and have an impact on strategy was also a crucial part of its relationship: “We’re not just a reseller. We are an integral part of the ecosystem, and that is exactly what Sage encourage you to be. You are encouraged to innovate. To embrace technology is sometimes not easy.

“For SMEs, these are often owner-managed businesses whose specialty is what they do, what they make and what they sell. Embracing technology isn’t something they do readily sometimes, and having that hesitation, our job is to reassure and make sure that they get the most out of that technology transformation.”

Juha Harkonen, vice-president of partner ecosystem and marketplace strategy at Sage, agreed that the customer demands had changed and it had to make sure its channel was able to deliver: “What are customers looking for out of any kind of a vendor relationship? They’re looking for opportunities to grow their business, opportunities for innovation to be more productive and efficient, and, whenever there is a technology transformation or an evolution, they’re also looking for ways to de-risk that and get to outcomes faster. That’s where I think partners play a crucial role.

“There are three fundamental truths about partnering and partners. Is there an opportunity to grow with a publisher? Can the publisher provide innovation and stay with the times? And can we also, as a partner, help you to cross the chasm and de-risk any kind of a technology shift on the partner side?” he added.

Maher said that channel partners had choices about the vendor relationships they entered, and staying with Sage for 25 years was a result of feeling a valued part of a partner ecosystem,

“I guess the secret sauce is that you’re valued. But the ecosystem is something where we absolutely are encouraged to add value, so our voices are heard – our input is not just accepted, but encouraged,” he said.

“We see that our opinion matters, and that often our input influences the product. We can have direct input into the direction of product, because our voice is directly to those SME customers whose opinion matters also, and that there is an absolute symbiotic relationship in that whole process.”

Harkonen said that if customers were going to be able to exploit the benefits of cloud and AI, then partners were key in supporting that process, and Sage valued those that could support that process. He added that when it came to Innov8, the 25 years of partnership underlined just how a valued relationship could work.

“It’s a great example of what great channel partnerships look like,” he said. “Great partnerships ... look like this: When Sage and the partner are in a meeting [discussing], ‘How do we serve our customers better?’, you can’t really tell apart who’s working for Sage and who’s working for the partner when you walk into the room because it’s so collaborative. And this is an example of relationships that we’re looking to foster and build.”