Global provider of business software solutions Sage says the ability to adapt to change and remain relevant is one of the main challenges facing businesses in Africa today. To help the market, the company believes its mid-market-into-enterprise offering ERP X3 is a viable alternative to that which dominates the top tier space.

At a customer and partner event held in early June in Johannesburg, the company demonstrated the capabilities and functionalities built into the multinational, web-based platform.

This was used as an example of how the company believes businesses can- and should adapt to what are described as 'four key areas of disruptive change': changing workforce, changing customer, changing world and a changing workplace.

'Staying relevant in a changing marketplace' using technology to leverage speed, mobility and agility was a central theme to emerge from the event.

The ERP X3 is designed as a break-away from what Sage ERP Africa MD Jeremy Waterman described as "big bang monolithic approach to enterprise software".

The company emphasised the strategic importance of Africa saying it had experienced 54% growth within the AAMEA (Africa, Asia, Middle East and Australia) region, and has also strengthened presence on the continent with the opening of a new office in Angola.

Keith Fenner, Sage ERP Africa specialist, described migration to the cloud and mobility as key business drivers, and that this migration was happening in Africa, but would take a bit longer than other regions.

Waterman made reference to the company's 'customer for life' strategy which is based on guiding customers through the evolution of infrastructure and benefiting from a natural progression of product integration and application.

The move towards integrated HR and payroll, and the 'unification of financial and HR data, is a recognised trend in Africa, as is growing interest in big data analytics, consolidation of information and dashboard application within information management.