"It gives the company a focal point for their customers," said Andrew Goloboy, a senior analyst for International Data Corp., a research firm headquartered in Framingham, Mass. "It gives them a focus for internal leadership and external relations."

Gary Boomer, CPA and chief executive of Manhattan, Kan.-based Boomer Consulting.

In an effort to construct "a strategic umbrella" for the company, Sage Group plc named Ronald F. Verni president and chief executive of U.S. operations, which includes Peachtree Software, accounting software for small businesses; Sage Software, accounting software for mid-size businesses; Best Software, human resource/payroll, fixed asset and planning solutions; and Sage Time Division, time and billing software.

Under the new structure, the heads of the four units will no longer operate autonomously, but will now report to Verni, who, in turn, reports to the British parent company, the Sage Group. This model, which Goloboy said is not unusual, suggests Sage is committed to becoming a U.S. leader in the small to mid-size marketplace.

Gary Boomer, CPA and chief executive of Manhattan, Kan.-based Boomer Consulting, agreed.

"The market has been somewhat confused in the U.S. concerning Sage's strategy," said Boomer. "Naming a CEO and providing a vision should be a positive move."

Like many companies, the Sage Group has grown in breadth and depth much in part due to acquisitions, the most recent being the purchase of Reston, Va.-based Best Software earlier this year. The acquisition boosted the group's annualized revenue of its U.S. operations to more than $300 million and expanded its client base to 1.2 million, the company reported.

While the Sage Group, which is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, is a major player in the U.K., Boomer speculates that Intuit's hold over the small business marketplace in the U.S. could pose a problem for the company. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company, which markets and develops Quickbooks, recently reported fiscal 2000 revenue of $1.1 billion, an increase of 16 percent over fiscal 1999 revenue of $940.4 million. In addition, Intuit reported that QuickBooks added nearly 500,000 new users in fiscal 2000 to reach 2.9 million registered users.

"Sage is the predominant player in the U.K.," said Boomer. "The U.S. market will be more difficult as Intuit has established themselves as the leader with both accountants and their small business clients."

Boomer added that, "It will take a significant marketing effort and the development of relationships with accounting professionals for Sage to compete. I doubt that they can overcome Intuit in this market. The MAS 90 products are positioned more in the middle-market and I believe Sage is a viable competitor in that market."

While it appears that the Group still has a lot of ground to cover, creating the position of president and chief executive of its U.S. operations may be a step in the right direction.

"What (Verni) will work through is how the products will work together and how to migrate Peachtree users to mid-range accounting software. He's coming from a Peachtree unit and he understands the opportunities there," said IDC's Goloboy, of Verni who has been the president and chief executive of Peachtree Software for the past five years. "The opportunities are there, he just has to act on it."

-- By Antoinette Alexander

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