How choosing the right Sage Summit 2015 sessions makes the flight & hotel totally worth it

The conference topics are broad, so use this guide to make the most of your investment.

What is Sage Summit 2015?

Sage Summit 2015 is the place for small and mid-sized businesses to get and share ideas. It is the capstone annual conference for Sage North America customers.

When and Where?

Sage Summit is July 27-30, 2015 in New Orleans.

How to choose your Sage Summit sessions in the smartest way possible

Sessions include everything from solving general business issues (like improving cash flow), to Sage 300 ERP deep dives, to hands-on labs, to peer events where you can meet and share ideas.

You must review the agenda and know your strategy before you go. In order to succeed at Summit, think about whether you need to prioritize improving business processes, increasing your technical skills, or recruiting talent. This will help with every subsequent step.

Where to Find the Content

Sessions are searchable on the conference agenda site (click here).

The Agenda ‘Advanced Search’ allows you to input keywords like “Sage 300 ERP” ; ‘Cloud’; Excel”; or ‘Technology’.

(Using these keywords really helps.)

Choosing your “Profile” to Guide Your Choices

The below sample sessions are grouped by “Profile.”

Profile A: I have C-Suite Concerns and Want to Improve the way I Run the Business

MM-117: Business Intelligence:

Are you sharing too much, too little or the wrong information with managers and employees? Employees and managers want to see how your company is doing. So, you created dashboards and put monitors on the walls to rally the team. Now, with mobile, everyone can see these on their smartphones. But, should they? Just how open should you be about your company’s performance? In this session, we will share how business scoreboards, collaboration, transparency and gamification are powerful tools if used wisely. Moving from insight to action is critical to success as long as you’re moving in the right direction as a team. We’ll show ways to help you create alignment and raise accountability in your company using smart technologies and thoughtful scoreboard design.
TL-117: The 8-hour MBA in 30-minutes.

If you don’t have the time to complete an MBA degree but still want to understand the key concepts then this course is for you. This course is designed for managers, professionals, and business owners who want to develop a broad perspective to deal more effectively in today’s rapidly changing and increasingly complex business environment. Objectives: Participants will gain a high-level but thorough understanding of the key elements and components of a traditional MBA, learn to look strategically at an organization from a holistic perspective to improve business planning and decision making, and understand how different business processes drive results. Topic for traditionalists: financial analysis

TL-150: Affordable Care Act: a year in the rearview mirror and what’s next.

In recent years, as millions of individual consumers coped with new and different kinds of health insurance, small businesses got some breathing room. Millions of small businesses nationwide–an estimated 70% to 80% of small firms that offer employee health insurance–haven’t yet faced all the sweeping changes that resulted from the Affordable Care Act. But older policies that were in place before 2014 will ultimately be phased out. In this session, we’ll look at the changes that have taken place so far under the ACA,and the healthcare issues businesses will consider going forward.

Profile B: I’m Technically Inclined and Need to Know the Latest on Cloud, Mobile and Technology

MM-153: Creating technology change agents in your distribution business.

ERP technology has long aided wholesalers and distributors in their quest for profits, and the new business environment calls for technology that is more collaborative and more predictive and enables enhanced agility. While this new technology requires new skillsets from employees, it is also a key differentiator when attracting new talent. The new breed of business professionals looks to be employed by organizations that utilize technology that is not only on the cusp of technology advancement, but is also clean, intuitive, mobile, and usable. This presentation examines the adoption of social, usable, mobile, predictive, and open solutions in wholesale distribution and notes how organizations can pair this technology with the change agents that they have identified within their organization.
MM-119: My head is in the cloud, but my business is not.

The cloud matters to the future of any fast-growing business, particularly ones that are small to medium size. While the cloud may seem new and maybe even a bit risky, when you learn all the facts, it’s clear it’s key to securely managing your business, growing the bottom line, improving operations, managing your IT spend, and securing your data.
SP-103: Futureproofing your on-premises Sage ERP.

With the expanding adoption of cloud ERPs and customer-facing solutions, learn how your company can successfully utilize the cloud with your current on-premises Sage ERP. A cloud-based front-office solution will quickly give you the scalability your company needs to get, keep, and grow your customer base without the pain of making an ERP heart transplant.

Profile C: I’m a Subject Matter Expert With Technical and Product Focus

SP-113: AP automation adoption: the challenges, benefits, and true value across the enterprise.

Join this session to explore the current state of A/P automation and associated challenges, evaluate benefits of “end-to-end” automation and positive outcomes for your organization, and learn essential steps in achieving automation and eliminating manual processes.
SA-56: Excel gurus toolbox.

Beyond PivotTables, which many users consider Excels most powerful feature, Excel has many other great features and add-ins. In this session, you will examine the top Excel features and add-ins to make you more productive. Examples include Fuzzy Lookup, Analysis ToolPak, ActiveData, Conditional Formatting, Evaluate Formula, Custom Views, the Camera, Slicers, Sparklines, top hot keys, and much more. This is a must-see session if you want to improve your Excel skills.

MM-113: Are you leveraging all the reporting capabilities in your Sage ERP 300 and 500?

You have many reporting capabilities within your Sage ERP 300 and Sage ERP 500, plus other reporting solutions that can integrate with your Sage ERP. Learn more about what you already have built in and what could be best for your business needs. In this session, we’ll cover Business Insights Explorer, SAP Crystal Reports, and Sage business intelligence solutions.
MM-110: Learn more about Sage Enterprise Intelligence reporting for Sage 300 ERP.

Sage Enterprise Intelligence goes beyond the world of spreadsheets and report writers to provide an intuitive, unified view of integrated data from various sources. It enables every business user, executive, and manager to create a view of data that is meaningful to their role and to analyze data with complete drill down, drill through, and slice and dice analytics that simplify the view and use of business intelligence.

Profile D: I’m the Go-To Guru for Marketing and Sales

TL-104: Create a million-dollar digital presence with 1 hour and $25.

People think you need thousands of dollars, a designer, a programmer, an agency, a personal assistant, and lots of luck to create a web presence that impresses. Not true! With tools available today, you can create an impressive presence for just $25 and an hour of time. In this session we’ll help you know tools available to help you affordably design a beautiful and effective website, responsive email, and much more. This session is ideal for small business owners, startups, and entrepreneurs looking to create a marketing impression that stands out and is affordable.
TL-160: Next two years: sales and marketing technology trends that will increase your cash flow.
These are only a few of the major trends that are having a significant impact on how we do business, generate leads, sell, and service our customers. We’re looking at much change ahead. The next few years will bring big changes in the way we do business and how we drive revenues. What decisions should you be making now that will increase your company’s brand awareness, value, and increase revenues over the next two years.

Ok, I’m in. How Much Is Sage Summit?

Get in for $99 with the promotion code JESTERS if you sign up here by July 24.