The Sage Group plc's decision to appoint Ron Verni president and chief executive to oversee all U.S. operations is just one in a string of events that suggests that the battle for the mid-market company is getting tougher.

The Verni move puts Peachtree's Verni in charge of the U.S. Peachtree, Sage, and Best lines. But also, in recent months, Great Plains acquired Solomon and Real World. AccPac, a part of Computer Associates, scooped up SBT. So, with Navision the battle for the mid-market has quickly settled down to four major contenders. And yet, they are running hard.

The reason, as in so many businesses today, is the Internet. A whole new breed of upstarts, which promises to deliver and service companies' software needs cheaply and seamlessly over the Web, are entering the fray. And it's no accident that the up-and-comers are using and adapting technology designed for the Fortune 1000, making companies like Lawson, SAP, Ariba, and Oracle sudden new factors in the mid-sized and small-business markets.

In just the last few weeks, for example: 

• Chicago-based FiNetrics made a deal with eReliable Commerce Inc., a Naperville, Ill.-based business-to-business e-commerce services provider to launch of the first private-label version of FiNetrics' online accounting application, OutNumber, which is powered by high-end accounting software vendor SAP.
  
• Los Gatos, Calif.-based Intacct, meanwhile, has hooked up with Fort Worth, Texas-based CBS Payroll, and plans a fourth-quarter launch that would challenge providers such as Margate, Fla.-based Virtual Payroll, at virtualpayroll.com; Ceridian, based in Pine Brook, N.J., maker of Powerpay.com; and San Mateo, Calif.-based NetLedger.
  
• Speaking of Netledger, the San Mateo, Calif.-based company, which is backed by Oracle, is working with San Francisco-based eBenefits to develop fully-integrated, virtual human resource services.
  
• New York's Silicon-Alley-based Virtual Growth, which is powered by Lawson, is rolling out the Web-based Virtual Accountant with initial sales into 30 companies.

Chief executives Verni at Sage, Doug Burgum at Great Plains, Randy Keith at Navision US, and David Hood at AccPac certainly have their work cut out for them.

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