Sage has announced a new hosted option for Sage 50. If you’re not familiar with hosting, it means that instead of maintaining the Sage 50 application and data on your workstation and/or server, they are kept on a server that Sage maintains and you access it through your web browser or a special application.
This is NOT a cloud version of Sage 50. It is the same Sage 50 software you currently run on your desktop. So you get the benefit of being able to access your accounting from anywhere you have internet access, without the headache of migrating data and learning new software.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HOSTING?
- The number one benefit of Sage 50 Hosted is that you can access it from anywhere you have an internet connection. If you have employees in multiple cities, or want to work from home or on the road, hosting offers a simple way to make Sage 50 available to people in multiple locations.
- You don’t have to invest in or maintain a server. You could set up your own Terminal Server to allow your employees to access Sage 50 from anywhere with an internet connection. But not everyone has the expertise to do that or wants to make the up-front investment in hardware and software. Hosting achieves the goal without a large up-front cost or the responsibility for ongoing maintenance.
- No complex data synchronization. Up until now, Sage’s solution for connecting users in multiple locations was Remote Data Access (RDA), a feature that synchronizes changes between each each user’s location via the cloud. With hosting, your data stays on the server, eliminating the speed and reliability issues many RDA users have experienced.
- Automatic backups are included with the hosting service. And since it is the same Sage 50 software, you can still make a backup at any time, in addition to the automatic backups.
- Maintain multiple companies. Just like Sage 50 on your desktop, Sage 50 Hosted allows you to create multiple companies at no additional charge, unlike cloud-based software that charges per company.
- Mac users can access Sage 50 Hosted, because all you need is a browser. You can even use an iOS or Android device.
WHAT ARE THE DOWNSIDES OF HOSTING?
- You cannot access Sage 50 Hosted without an internet connection. So if you don’t have reliable internet access, hosting is probably not a good option for you.
- You need to make sure the hosting provider supports all of the applications you want to run. Currently, Sage’s hosting does not support any third party add-on products, including Paya and XLGL. They are working towards supporting certified add-on products but are not there yet.
Of course, hosting includes an extra fee on top of your normal software subscription. But in most cases will be relatively low compared with buying and maintaining your own server.
