Rival backs Sage after software security scare

Support: Sage headquarters

Sage has received support from an unlikely source – one of its rivals – after a security scare forced it to withdraw a new web software product.

Last month Sage withdrew the early version of the product, SageLive, while it addressed security problems with the software.

SageLive is the company’s first move into Internet-based programmes – also known as cloud computing – which is tipped as the future of business software.

After Accountancy Age reported the product withdrawal, David Turner, the marketing director of accountancy IT providers, Coda, said: ‘SageLive is only in beta – an early release where you test software to discover any issues before putting it on full release.’

[Sage was] brave in making the beta available to all, which shows an openess that is uncharacteristic and to be applauded. The security issues may have been surprising, but at least they’ve now been highlighted’ he added.

Clive Gray, head of SageLive said last week ‘Security is an absolute priority for us but as with any Beta [version of a product], we do realise that there are still some issues that we need to address and our SageLive teams are continuing to deal with these in order to improve the experience for our customers.’