Sage 200 Upgrade Centre

Welcome to the Sage 200 Upgrade Centre

Here you will find all the information and links that you need to fully understand how and why Sage 200 upgrades are needed and achieved and what Sage 200 End of Support means for you.

Sage 200 – End of Support

Sage has a software lifecycle policy for Sage 200 meaning every year an older version of Sage 200 is moved into end of support. Full details of the ‘Sage Lifecycle Policy’ can be viewed here.

A summary of the Sage Lifecycle Policy:

The Sage 200 product lifecycle is the current version minus 2 previous versions.
i.e. The current version of Sage 200 is version 2022. Therefore versions 2020 and below will be moving into, or already be in ‘End of Support’.

Why do Sage do this?

It is not sustainable to keep products in support for the duration that has been experienced in the past. The industry has changed! Sage is unable to invest and develop the current product whilst supporting older software versions using outdated technology.

What does Sage 200 End of Support mean?

End of Support does not mean the software will stop working. The software can still be used, BUT Sage will withdraw support, updates, patches and legislative updates.

Note: There are limitations & risks if you stay on a version that is in End of Support.

Why do I need to upgrade?

Not keeping your Sage system within the mainstream support cycle presents various challenges, limitations, and risks.

The main ones are:

Major risk – If an issue arises that needs a patch from Sage to resolve – once the system is end of support Sage will not issue patches or updates.

Major risk – Xperience are unable to call upon Sage 3rd line support for issues if any arise for your system.

You are unable to keep up with legislative changes.

You are unable to keep up with technology changes (i.e., server operating systems, Microsoft Office).

You are unable to add user licences and module licences

What do I need to do to upgrade?

Upgrading your system ensures continued operation, keeping you within mainstream support and compliant.

An upgrade will usually involve Xperience completing the following:

Scoping & documenting the upgrade requirements – Statement of Work (SoW)

Compliance check with all data handling and GDPR policies

Installing a new instance of your Sage system and the Microsoft SQL database on a Virtual Machine (VM) or physical server (provided by others)

Testing the new platform & testing a data migration

Migrating your live financial data from your existing system

Testing the new system prior to ‘go-live’

Launching the new system

Training all users on new features

Post go-live enhanced support (Xperience service desk and project consultants)

Change to an alternative solution

As there are costs associated and time required with an upgrade (that keep getting more frequent) – Many users ask what alternatives are there?

The main alternative is a cloud-based, centrally managed, Software as a Service (SaaS) system.

This type of system will typically have several minor upgrades each year with the changes often being rolled out into the live environment without the end user noticing. New features and benefits are usually published periodically, maybe twice a year.

Because the core is centrally managed – additional, non-standard, functionality is typically added via Apps (extensions) that are written and extensively tested prior to launch.

Key benefits of a centrally managed and hosted in the cloud software (SaaS):

Users can work from anywhere – office/home/holiday home
Users can use any device that has a browser
Automatic, continuous, background upgrades

Want to learn more?