Pegasus VARs fly to Sage

Former Pegasus resellers are turning to rival Sage at an increasing rate after losing faith with the financial software vendor.

Former Pegasus resellers are turning to rival Sage at an increasing rate after losing faith with the financial software vendor.

Andy Arthur, general manager at Sage's software division, told Computer Reseller News that it has seen a "significant increase in the number of ex-Pegasus resellers making enquiries at Sage" since the company was taken over by Freecom.net earlier this year.

At the same time, Sage launched the latest version of its accountancy software, Sage Line 50, which it claimed "makes it even easier for businesses to control their management and accounting information".

Resellers were subjected to a difficult period in the channel when Pegasus was acquired by Freecom.net for £55m in February. The company also bought Systems Union for £31.9m in May.

All three companies have been incorporated under the umbrella of the Systems Union Group.

But despite an influx of interested resellers, Sage has not taken advantage of the situation and still considers the company's business plan before making decisions, Arthur claimed.

"As with every other application, we look at the individual merit of each one and make a decision based on a number of factors, the most important being a sound business plan," he said.

"The reseller channel is crucial to our continuing success and therefore we are always delighted to hear from anyone who is seriously interested in becoming a Sage reseller."

Despite the claims, Paul White, managing director of Pegasus, said the company was not worried about resellers doing business with their rivals.

"We are launching the next version of Opera 2 to VARs and the feedback we have had so far has been very positive."

It is really easy to do business with our VARs," he added. "We don't have any major hang-ups about people doing business with our competitors as long as their business with Pegasus continues to grow."