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MIS Group Customers Should Contact Sage For Assistance

July 7, 2009 by Wayne Schulz

mis-group-texas1

If you’re a customer of the recently closed MIS Group you should contact Sage for additional assistance with support or any questions on your next steps for finding a consultant. Sage’s phone number is 866-996-7243.

According to a report by Computer Reseller News Sage is offering 30 days of free support to any customer who did not already have a Sage support agreement.

Here’s What We Know or Have Heard

Over the July 4th holiday we received information that MIS Group was going to close on Monday. At first we thought that meant each of the management level employees would leave with their respective customers. Instead what happened is the MIS Group itself closed for good. The doors were locked and phones were placed on auto-attendant with a message that callers should contact Sage for assistance.

The MIS Group was a big reseller. And they were well respected too. So far I have found nobody to tell me a bad thing about any of the people that work there – and that’s rare.

The last estimates of their revenue that we’d seen was approximately $30 million. They had been twice awarded (2007 and 2008) Sage’s Business Partner of The Year. This means they sold the most product of anyone in the Sage NA channel. They were also number 6 on the Source Media VAR 100 with estimated 2007 revenues of $30 million.

If They Sold So Much Software Then Why’d MIS Group Close Their Doors?

Based on discussions with several different people it seems there had been ongoing issues with financing. This much was also confirmed on the company’s own web site when they closed July 6, 2009. At the recent IT Alliance conference in Atlanta the group was notably absent and rumors where openly swirling that there may be some type of cost cutbacks or financial issues.

Some estimates place MIS Group’s share of the entire Timberline installed base at 40% (a number we’d happily update is someone had better information). If this number is accurate, then the firm had a large exposure to the declining construction market in the United States. To a large part it seems the demise of MIS Group was due in large part to the economy.

Why Not Reorganize Under Bankruptcy?

Good question and we don’t have the answer. Though we can speculate that one possible reason they did not choose to reorganize under bankruptcy may have had more to do with large debts owed to software and hardware vendors.

Let’s just assume that a large debt was owed which a bankruptcy was able to erase. That debt erasure would not assure that a newly re-organized entity would be re-authorized for software or hardware products they formerly represented. Especially not if the vendors lost a great deal of money in a potential bankruptcy.

So, again hypothetically, what could happen is that the parts (individual consultants) becomes greater than the whole (a potentially bankrupt entity that possibly has trouble becoming re-authorized for products they used to sell).

Individual consultants (the real assets of any consulting firm) could take their existing “book of business” with them to a new consulting firm and start anew. An option that might not have existed for a reseller emerging from bankruptcy with a potentially bruised relationship with key suppliers.

What’s Sage’s Reaction?

Sage is in the process of emailing impacted customers and promising that within 30 days they will have some options as to who they obtain as a business partner to manage their accounts. (Update: Read the statement Sage provided to us here).

At Schulz Consulting we’ve reached out twice to Sage offering to help spread the word on what customers of MIS Group can do. If Sage takes us up on our offer we’ll have more to post on our site.

If you’ve been in contact with a former MIS Group consultant then chances are good that you may form a new relationship with that person for support or ongoing consulting. We’ve heard that the consulting staff were invited to contact former clients of MIS Group so long as they do not mis-represent themselves as being from MIS Group.

How Do You Prevent Signing Up With “Another MIS Group”?

One question that we think will arise from the ashes of the MIS Group is how a company can prevent signing on with another reseller only to have them go away without notice.

Short answer is that you can’t.

What we think will evolve from the ruins of MIS Group is that bigger isn’t always better. Simply signing up with the biggest reseller has been demonstrated not to be a safeguard against that reseller unexpectedly going out of business.

Instead we think it makes more sense to select consultants by:
-Industry reputation
-Skill level
-Years of experience in the business
-Responsiveness

Place less emphasis on fancy offices, pretty brochures, extravagant user group meetings, etc.

Will Sage Re-Assign All of MIS Group’s Customers To Another Consulting Firm?

As of now nobody knows. We hope that MIS Group’s customers will be offered a fast response and the ability to select whatever consulting firm they would like. As we learn more we’ll update our web site.

UPDATE: Sage has provided us an official statement on how they are managing the notification and assignment of MIS Group clients. You can read the full text of it here – including the email message that was sent to all known customers.

Based on conversations within LinkedIn we expect within 30 days most of the customers will have been contacted (or have already arranged) to work with the same consultants that they had a relationship with at the former MIS Group. Many of these consultants appear to be in the process of either setting up their own consulting firms or joining already established organizations.

Does This Mean Sage Or Their Products Are In Trouble, Not Selling Well, Etc?

Not from what we’ve seen or heard. The closing of MIS Group seems to be a case of a company with heavy exposure to construction clients and what appears to have been a high overhead that drained their financial resources. We’re sure that in the coming days more information will come about regarding the firm. For now we see no indication that lack of demand for Sage products specifically played any role in this. A study by AMR actually ranks Sage at #3 world wide in terms of revenues – while Microsoft trails farther behind in #7 place.

Sage Software – 866-996-7243

Filed Under: Consultants, Sage 100 ERP Tagged With: dallas, erg, mas200, microaccounting, mis group, misgroupusa.com, reseller, Sage 100 ERP, texas, var, Wayne Schulz

MIS Group client base under attack on Twitter

July 7, 2009 by Wayne Schulz

Social Media to the rescue!

In prior years we might have seen firms take out expensive Google Adwords to solicit the clients of a failed competitor. Right now we’re seeing the free social media service Twitter being used by competitors seeking to woo clients of the former Sage Business Partner of The Year The MIS Group.

As you may know, MIS Group suddenly shut their doors on July 6, 2009 leaving their clients and employees to fend for themselves. There was no advance notice given of this shutdown and many of the clients are enrolled in MIS Group support and maintenance plans which they rely on to keep their businesses running.

Here’s a small sample of a few Tweets I noticed openly advertising for MIS Group clients.

New York based Net@Work chimes in:

As well as Microsoft reseller Simcrest out of Texas:

West Reading, PA Keystone Software Solutions:

CRM VAR Harris Technology – Houston Texas

Filed Under: Sage 100 ERP, Technology, Twitter Tagged With: mas200, mis group, Sage 100 ERP, twitter, Wayne Schulz

MIS Group – Dallas Texas – Sage Business Partner Of The Year 2008 Ceases Business According To Their Web Site

July 6, 2009 by Wayne Schulz

According to a post today on the company’s web site, MIS Group (Management Information Services) – Sage North America’s 2007 and 2008 Business Partner of The Year – is ceasing all business operations.

Callers to the company’s phone number are greeted with an announcement stating that “the company regrets it’s no longer able to conduct ongoing business operations” and refers callers to the MIS Group web site and encourages customers to call Sage support at 866-996-7243. 

This is a rather unexpected and surprising announcement from a consulting firm that had posted the highest total sales of Sage services and products from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008 and was the Sage Business Partner of The Year for both 2007 and 2008.

As recently as 2006 former CEO of Sage Ron Verni said in a letter sent by ERG announcing their merger with MIS Group that “MIS Group is a pioneer in defining the next generation of Sage business partner.”

With their main office in Dallas, MIS Group also had offices in Denver, Houston and Phoenix. MIS Group used to resell several Sage products, including: Sage MAS 90 ERP, Sage MAS 200 ERP (including the Sage MAS Extended Enterprise Suite), Sage MAS 500 ERP, Sage Timberline Office, Sage Master Builder, Sage SalesLogix, SageCRM, Sage Abra HRMS, Sage FAS Fixed Assets, and Sage TimeSheet.

Here’s the announcement from the company’s web site that “effective July 6, 2009 it will cease all business operations“.

This action appears unprecedented in North America – especially from such an award winning, and by all appearances successful, consulting firm.

Their company had been formed in part by a series of mergers with several well regarded Sage Business Partners . Their product offerings included Sage Timberline Office , SageCRM, Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200, Sage Master Builder, Sage SalesLogix, Sage MAS 500 and other products. Their web site also claimed they were one of the largest North America Dell VARS.

The web announcement (posted below) appears to signify that creditors have taken control of the MIS Group. It is unknown what arrangements are in place for their client base or how those customers are obtaining support. Several inquiries to Sage have produced replies that indicate that Sage is still formulating a plan to address affected customers.

At the time of their closing the MIS Group leadership team consisted of:

Robert Muir – CEO
Greg Boyd – President
Bill Harris – Executive VP of Services
Lee Hagen – Executive VP of Sales
Mar Rossouw – CFO
Tom Cofer – VP Sales – CRE
Chuck Reeves – VP Technical Services & Marketing
Chris Spivey – VP of Business Process & Project Leadership Services
James Rikkick – VP of Professional Services – CRE
Dennis Stejskal – VP of Software Services
Don Zelezny – VP of Strategic Alliances
Keith Stone – VP of Service – BMD

Here’s a video from the firm’s YouTube channel that describes the types of services the group offered:

We’d been tipped that this was in the works over the weekend. At least one person Tweeted the rumor over the July 4th holiday.

However the official word did not arrive until July 6th when the official MIS Group Web Site posted a press release which announced the following.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 6, 2009
Management Information Services, Inc./MIS Group
5310 Harvest Hill Rd., Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75230
www.misgroupusa.com

July 6, 2009-Management Information Services, Inc./MIS Group announced today that effective July 6, 2009 it will cease all business operations. “As a result of the current economic crisis, the lack of available credit and market circumstances beyond our control, we unfortunately are not able to be viable as a business and continue to service our customers”, stated Robert Muir, Chief Executive Officer. “Although the company has attempted to manage and restructure itself to remain solvent, regrettably after considering all available alternatives, the company determined this as the only course of action. We appreciate the long-term relationships with our employees, customers and partners and are saddened by the outcome and hardship on all parties involved. We also want to recognize everyone’s efforts in working through this difficult period”, said Muir.

MIS’ senior secured lender will assume control and responsibility over the assets of the company.

MIS Group provides business process services, data management services and business applications published by Sage® Software including Sage MAS 90 ERP, Sage MAS 200 ERP, Sage MAS 500 ERP, Sage Timberline Office, Sage Master Builder, SageCRM, Sage SalesLogix and Sage Abra HRMS. In order to provide continuity to its customer base, MIS is advising all Sage customers to initially contact Sage directly at
866-996-7243 for assistance. Additional customer and vendor information will be provided over the next several days as it becomes available at the MIS website at www.misgroupusa.com.

About MIS Group
MIS Group is a technology services organization that provides a unique blend of business process services, business software applications and data management services, giving you a single source for your technology needs. Based in Dallas, Texas, with offices in Houston, Denver, and Phoenix, MIS Group serves customers throughout the central and western United States as well as Canada and Mexico.

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Filed Under: Consultants, Sage 100 ERP Tagged With: mis group, sage, sage north america, vars, Wayne Schulz

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