SAGE IRELAND this week launched its “Sage in the cloud” campaign, as the business software provider encourages its customers to take a free trial of its online offerings.

To use the service, customers will have to sign up to a subscription service online. Prices of products range from €20-€40 per month.

Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product. Benefits include lower costs and centralised security.

Sage’s more expensive options will offer online tech support and guidance in sectors such as marketing, sales and customer services. Sage says this will still be “substantially cheaper” than the management costs of using software installed at the customers’ premises.

Chief executive Liam Mullaney said: “We are inviting people to trial our software and experience the cloud by exploring our trials online. We will continue to serve our on-premises/desktop customers, while evolving in the cloud and offering hybrid solutions.”

Although Sage points out it has been providing hosted online software for a number of years, it has recently introduced cloud versions of a number of its products.

These include Sage One Accounts, aimed at start-ups, small and microbusinesses, and Sage CRM, which allows businesses to track their customers.

Sage Ireland is the local subsidiary of the British software company. It has 40,000 customers in Ireland and employs 230 people.