Sage to be 'Best' across the Atlantic
UK accountancy software giant Sage has today rebranded its US operations to 'Best' after losing the rights to its name in a legal battle.
The US subsidiary of the Sage Group will launch the new brand from 1 January next year after being forced to the use of the Sage brand when US vendor Quick Technologies was granted an injunction against the company.
The jury in the case found there was a likelihood of confusion between Sage products and QTI’s accounting products – which have been sold under the Sage name since 1992.
Attempts by the company both in the UK and the US to play down the significance of the ruling are marred by the its own assertion that its brand is ‘one of the company’s strongest and most valuable assets’.
‘The purpose of this change is to create a unified presence in the US market place by combining our strong product brands under a well-established US corporate brand name – Best,’ said Ron Verni, chief executive officer of Sage US operations.
‘Our US divisions currently sell market-leading products under both the Sage and Best brand names. Moving to one well-established corporate brand will simplify the selling and marketing process and let prospects know that Best is the one brand that can meet all their business management software needs.’
The products that will be combined under the Best corporate name include the MAS 90 and MAS 200 business management solutions for companies with 10 to 500 employees; Enterprise Suite; Platinum for Windows by SSI; BusinessWorks; DacEasy; Timeslips; Carpe Diem Electronic Time Sheet; and TimeSheet Professional.
The company already uses the Best brand in the US for several other products.