Why partnership is Sage’s superpower in the age of AI | Sage Advice US

Sage Future for Partners 2025 in Orlando had that rare conference energy where momentum feels tangible.

Over three days, leaders from every corner of Sage’s partner ecosystem—VARs, accountants, integrators, and technology innovators—gathered to see where Sage is heading and how they fit into that future.

North America sits at the center of Sage’s growth strategy, and its partners are the engine driving it forward. Chief Commercial Officer Derk Bleeker and North America Managing Director Mark Hickman made one thing clear: partnership isn’t just a model—it’s the multiplier that powers collective success.

In FY25, Sage and its partners delivered record results and set the foundation for an even bolder FY26 built on shared ambition, growth, and AI innovation.

Here’s what we cover:

AI agents designed for real work

AI hype may dominate headlines, but the leaders in Orlando focused on what matters—outcomes. Chief Technology Officer Aaron Harris reminded attendees that Sage’s 40-year journey from DOS to the cloud to agentic AI has always been about transforming how businesses work.

Sage’s AI is not theoretical. Its agents combine human judgment with machine intelligence to move from insight to action, eliminating friction from processes like invoice entry, reconciliations, and period close.

Harris described this as Authentic Intelligence—AI that is transparent, trustworthy, and grounded in decades of domain expertise rather than hype.

This philosophy has shaped innovations like the Finance Intelligence Agent, built on Sage’s Model Context Protocol, which orchestrates multiple agents like the AP Agent to deliver continuous assurance and actionable insights. As Harris explained, these aren’t chatbots—they’re reasoning systems built for real-world finance.

Partners plus Sage = driving impact together

Sage’s partner ecosystem remains the heart of its success story. VARs, implementers, and service providers continue to take Sage into industries as diverse as healthcare, construction, professional services, tribal governments, and entertainment. Together, they’re building specialized solutions that deliver measurable results.

Mark Hickman celebrated the strength of these partnerships with the memorable line: “1+1=3″, noting record Q4 results and year-over-year growth exceeding 50% among several leading partners.

Programs like ABX and PTS collaboration, paired with Sage’s focus on micro-vertical strategies, are turning shared vision into real market momentum.

Nancy Sperry, VP of Partner Sales, reinforced that success stems from alignment and enablement. Sage has doubled down on programs, tools, and team resources to help partners scale confidently into 2026.

As Gretchen O’Hara, EVP Strategic Partnerships & Business Development, added, the goal is a “connected ecosystem”—partners expanding growth through AI and cloud innovation while building profitable, future-ready practices.

Results that matter: 90% less manual work

Sage’s AI-driven solutions are already delivering measurable value across industries. Over the past year, Sage’s AI agents have reduced manual data entry by up to 90%, automated millions of invoices, and shortened period close cycles from weeks to days.

The Finance Intelligence Agent and the AP Agent—both showcased in Orlando—represent the next evolution in applied AI. These agents learn from real data, automate complex workflows, and provide recommendations that can be verified and audited.

For finance teams, this means more time for strategic work and less spent reconciling data. For partners, it creates a powerful differentiator: AI solutions that are trusted, proven, and available now.

What’s new: Finance Intelligence Agent and the AI Gateway

The Orlando keynotes made clear that the next wave of innovation is already here. The Finance Intelligence Agent serves as the orchestration layer across Sage’s AI ecosystem, coordinating activities among other agents and surfacing real-time insights directly inside Sage Copilot.

Through the AI Gateway and Agent Builder, partners can now develop their own industry-specific AI agents, embedding them directly into the Sage experience. These new tools open the door for vertical and micro-vertical expansion, areas where Sage partners already excel.

As Derk Bleeker noted, the combination of innovation and industry depth positions Sage’s VAR community to lead the market.

Trust and responsible AI

Trust remains the foundation of everything Sage builds. Both Derk Bleeker and Aaron Harris emphasized that AI adoption depends on credibility and transparency. Sage’s AI Trust Label—announced globally and now live in Sage Intacct US—sets a new industry benchmark for responsible AI.

The Trust Label gives users clear visibility into how Sage’s AI systems reason, what data they use, and how decisions are verified. It keeps customers in control and fully compliant.

Harris called this the practical expression of Authentic Intelligence: AI that enhances human judgment without compromising security, accuracy, or ethics.

For Sage and its partners, that trust is decades in the making—and it’s now the differentiator that enables safe, scalable AI adoption across mid-market businesses.

Five things to do before scaling AI for your business

Start with outcomes, not experiments. Pick one critical pain point—closing the books, accounts payable, anomaly detection—and set clear success metrics. Measure cycle time saved, error rates reduced, and cash-flow improvements. Tangible business value from day one.

Put AI where decisions happen. Don’t create extra steps or side apps. Embed AI agents directly into the workflows your teams already use. When AI is part of the natural decision-making process, adoption is faster and impact is greater.

Tighten data hygiene before you scale. AI amplifies what it ingests. Clean vendor records, chart of accounts, and approval processes first. Good data means better predictions, fewer errors, and stronger trust in automated recommendations.

Write the guardrails and make them visible. Define what your AI agents can act on versus what requires human review. Document audit trails and approval flows so governance and compliance are built in, not bolted on later.

Explain the ‘why’ to build trust. Transparency drives adoption. Use tools like Sage’s AI Trust Label and clear communication to show leadership, auditors, and customers how AI works and why it’s safe. When people understand the process, they embrace the change.

The partnership imperative: Why 1+1=3

Throughout the Orlando conference, one theme emerged repeatedly: the power of true partnership. Hickman explained it this way: “That’s something I say a lot—one plus one equals three. Because that is what partnership means at Sage.”

He was explicit about what doesn’t work: “It’s not our three plus your zero. Or your three plus our zero… That doesn’t work. It’s your one and our one, creating something bigger together.”

The proof is in the numbers. Hickman celebrated record-breaking partner performance: “CLA, 81% growth. Net at Work, 57% growth. REDW, 81% growth.”

He added: “These results are spectacular and undeniable. They’re proof of what happens when strategy, enablement, and execution all come together in perfect sync, when Sage and our partners move forward as one team with one goal.”

Sperry reinforced this commitment: “Everything we’ve done, and everything we continue to do in 2026, is designed to help you thrive, even in a tough and competitive environment.”

Doubling down on ambition

Bleeker set an ambitious goal during his keynote: “We’ve set an ambition to double the size of our business. And we want you to match this ambition.” He explained why now is the moment: “The opportunity is here. And the strategy is clear. FY26 is our moment to lead.”

Hickman echoed this ambition: “Recognize that AI isn’t just the future—it’s the now. The partners who lean in today will dominate tomorrow.” He challenged the room: “We’re creating the biggest wave this market has ever seen, and every single one of you in this room has a chance to ride it.”

Questions to spark strategic conversations with your team

How can you use technology and human insight to shape your business’s future?

Where would a faster close and fewer manual touches change your planning?

How can finance move from reporting the past to driving strategy?

What decisions could your team make if data spoke the same language across systems and partners?

What steps can you take today to make transparency part of your finance culture?

AI isn’t replacing human intelligence—it’s partnering with it. Sage Future for Partners Orlando showed how Sage and its ecosystem are helping businesses move faster, make smarter decisions, and unlock new growth opportunities.

As Derk Bleeker and Mark Hickman reminded attendees, partnership is Sage’s superpower, and it’s one that turns innovation into impact.

With Authentic Intelligence as its foundation and North America as its growth engine, Sage and its partners are poised to lead the market into a new era of AI-powered performance.