Tech Talk by Paul Holborow–The New Sage 50

Tech Talk – 18 New Sage 50

In this newsletter Paul Holborow, Head of IT Services at RMT Accountants & Business Advisors and resident expert on all things to do with Sage 50, takes a look at the new version just released by Sage.

I have to admit, I rather look forward to this time of year as I, along with the thousands of Sage users, get my hands on the new release of Sage 50. Always keen to see what Sage have added, this year there seems to be a few new features that are radically different.

Firstly, Sage has redefined the underlying database engine to claim dramatically improved performance across busy multi-user network environments handling large volumes of data. Speed and reliability are improved and the new architecture has been tested with over 20 concurrent users and 1 million transactions.

Secondly, the user interface is more configurable so you can set the layout to suit your needs, making it easier and faster to find your way around. Hiding unwanted modules gives an uncluttered and more tailored experience.

Next, it’s backups. Forgetting to take a backup is something we have all experienced at some time but this can be a thing of the past. The New Sage 50 version has a facility to schedule backups and data checks at predefined times, and run even while a user is still logged in. I think this will be a very attractive option for existing users in busy offices.

Accessing Sage from a remote location – whether it’s from home or when you are on the road – is now no longer something that requires investment in network connections back to the office server. New Sage 50 now has an option to utilise cloud servers to allow you to share your data and store it in the cloud in much the same way as you share documents online with Office 365 or google drive. You will need New Sage 50 installed on the computer you are using to access these drives, but then you’re connected as if you were in the office. It’s an ideal feature for home workers, branch offices and even your accountant. Sage are also introducing some new Mobile applications that will use your cloud based data.

So, some interesting new features this year and it doesn’t end there. The annual wait for a new version is also changing as New Sage 50 will continuously update itself online as new features are developed. This means that there is no longer the need for an annual major new release and corresponding year numbered name. Because of this Sage have dropped the year number from Sage 50’s name and this new version is just called “New Sage 50 Accounts”.

For more information, please email paul.holborow@r-m-t.co.uk or call on 0191 256 9550