Key Findings & Highlights:

The Sage Group plc ("Sage"), headquartered in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, U.K., is a global provider of software solutions to small and medium businesses.

Seeking to automate his print business's accounting and estimating processes, David Goldman formed Sage in 1981 and began developing accounting software for small businesses.  Through steady adoption of its software and growth, Sage began trading on the London Stock Exchange in 1989.

Sage has continued expanding its portfolio of software solutions, primarily through organic development and through select strategic acquisitions, particularly its entrance to the HCM technology market.  The acquisition of Fairsail Limited in March 2017 launched Sage's cloud HCM offering, which it rebranded "Sage People." It was incorporated into its Sage Business Cloud offering when it launched in October 2017. 

In 2019 Sage divested its payroll services business to isolved. Later that same year, it acquired CakeHR and rebranded the product name to Sage HR, adding a cloud-native HR platform for small businesses to its Sage Business Cloud offering.

Sage Business Cloud is Sage's cloud ecosystem portfolio that provides client companies with technology solutions to support the critical elements of its business, encompassing everything from 'money to people.' The Sage Business Cloud suite of ERP solutions include the following platforms:

• Accounting: accounting and payroll software for small businesses
• Sage Accounting: cloud-based accounting software for small businesses
• Sage People: a global platform for HR and People Management for medium-sized businesses
• Sage X3: ERP; including financials, supply chain, production, and operations, etc. for product-centric medium-sized businesses
• Sage Intact: financial management platform for small to medium-sized businesses
• Sage HR:  cloud HR platform for small businesses.

This profile focuses specifically on the Sage People platform.

The Sage People platform is a cloud-based (SaaS) global HR and people management system built on the Salesforce.com cloud platform across a single code-line and database. It provides comprehensive human capital management capabilities across the end-to-end employment landscape. Sage positions its offering as a global cloud HR and people management system.

Sage People consists of the following suite of modules:

• People Management (core HR)
• Attendance and Leave management
• Workforce Experience Management
• Reporting and Analytics
• Benefits (for U.S.-based organizations)
• Performance and Talent Management
• Talent Acquisition and Onboarding
• Resource and Succession Planning
• Reward Planning (Compensation)
• Payroll: Sage People Payflow.

Sage People specifically targets multinational mid-market organizations with 100 to 5k employees. However, its platform can scale up to support larger clients; its largest client has >10k employees.