Sage 100 ERP Phoenix, AZ

Sage Software has strongly marketed their top reasons to upgrade to Sage 100 ERP Version 2013 and compatible Sage CRM Version 7.1. The added features and benefits of both are numerous. Sage 100 ERP 2013 and Sage CRM 7.1 were released in December 2012. Service Update 2 is now available, and both products have been found to be stable. What does not seem to gain much mention is that today’s standards in software and hardware may not be compliant with versions that are currently being used by some of our Sage Software end-users.

Microsoft Windows 8 Professional and Enterprise

Microsoft Windows 8 has become today’s standard for installed Operating Systems on workstations through many distribution channels. Microsoft Windows 8 Professional and  Enterprise are only supported for Sage 100 ERP 2013 and Sage MAS 90/200 ERP version 4.50. Microsoft Windows 7 is supported for workstations, but is more limited in availability.

Some of our clients have already committed to Microsoft Windows 8 Professional as they replace aging workstations. Those that are on Sage ERP MAS 90 Version 4.50 and above have been successful when the latest Service Updates have been installed. Older versions of Sage MAS 90/200 ERP (below version 4.50) are not supported by Sage Software in a Windows 8 environment. While some clients seem to have found success with Windows 8 running older versions of MAS 90/200, others have not, or have not been satisfied with the necessary workarounds. We can attempt to assist in such matters, but cannot guarantee success.

Microsoft Office

Sage 100 ERP 2013 is compliant with Microsoft Office 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003. Sage 100 ERP Version 4.50 is compliant with Microsoft Office, all in 32 Bit, for 2010, 2007, and 2003.  Sage 100 ERP Version 4.40 is compliant with Microsoft Office, all in 32 Bit, for 2010 (with a required Service Update), 2007, and 2003.

We have noticed that as our clients upgrade their Microsoft Office to the newer versions this has placed a premium on the workstations resources. The newer versions of programs like Excel, Outlook, and Word need as much as 2GB of RAM each to run effectively, let alone the needs of the Operating System and Sage applications. Quite often, additional RAM has been required. At other times, the workstation was still not able to perform at the desired level of performance, which then required replacement anyway.

In either case, having more RAM is always better. We have not noticed a substantial performance increase when there is more than 8GB of RAM in a Windows 7 workstation unless a large number of applications are run concurrently. The established base for Windows 8 is not yet large enough to establish an opinion. XP Professional cannot support more than 4GB of RAM. The typical XP workstation is near or below Sage Software’s minimum workstation requirements.

Microsoft FRx

Microsoft FRx is no longer supported. FRx is not Windows 7 or Windows 8 compliant, even
if they are the 32 Bit versions. FRx must be run on either an XP Professional workstation or
be installed on what is known as XP Mode (Virtual XP) under Windows 7 or Windows 8.
When run in XP Mode, it is typically found to be much slower than on a native XP
workstation. Some of our clients who have yet to retire their FRx and who use virtual
solutions like Microsoft Hyper-V or VMware, have created a virtual XP workstation to
continue use of their FRx. Others keep a standby XP workstation available for use.
There is no known official position by Sage Software for how long FRX will actually work
with Sage 100 ERP versions. FRx is no longer noted as being compliant with any version of
Sage ERP, except for archival purposes. We must assume that at some point, FRx will no
longer function with Sage 100 ERP.

Written by Pete Dales, Senior Technology Consultant with ESC Software

Pete Dales is a Senior Technology Consultant with ESC Software, specializing in installation, configuration, upgrades and support for Sage 100 ERP. He holds a Technical Consultant Certification from Sage Software and is an expert in the technical aspects of Sage 100 Standard, Advanced and Premium as well as Sage CRM and Sage Fixed Assets integrations to Sage 100. He also works with several third-party products and report writers for Sage 100 ERP, such as Crystal Reports, BizInsight, KnowledgeSync and Microsoft FRx. Pete has worked in the technology field for over 30 years, with experience including network infrastructure, software development and software support.