Sage Signs on as Gold Sponsor in agcXML Initiative

IRVINE, Calif. (August 14, 2013) – Sage North America today announced that Sage Construction and Real Estate signed on as a gold sponsor for the agcXML initiative, geared toward bringing better information exchange among all construction companies and the systems they use.

The initiative is supported by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Burger Consulting Group was engaged by the AGC to serve as the Steward for this initiative. It brings together a core group of software developers and industry professionals to build greater software interoperability standards and practices and to enable the reliable exchange of transactional data involved in a typical construction project including submittals, RFIs, payment data, and addenda.

“Sage Construction and Real Estate is excited about this initiative and to support it as a gold sponsor. The willingness within the industry to deliver true interoperability is at an all-time high. This agcXML initiative is occurring at the right time, when the industry is truly looking for improved project efficiencies,” said Dennis Stejskal, vice president of product management for Sage Construction and Real Estate. “Sage is looking forward to working with the AGC, Burger Consulting and other industry vendors to help deliver the real benefits that can be accomplished with the efficient exchange of project information.”

The initiative was first launched in 2009 to address the lack of transactional standards and transport mechanisms that have long plagued the construction industry. It resulted in a set of XML schemas designed to facilitate the exchange of data allowing software developers the ability to modify applications to import and export data in a standard format. Activity around the initiative had slowed over the past few years, but as demand grew for interoperability and the technology to support it improved, the AGC, through its IT Forum Steering Committee, resurrected the effort.

“The AGC is very pleased with the support, participation and expertise of Sage Construction and Real Estate on this initiative,” said Fara Francis, chief information officer at the AGC. “Its understanding of the importance of bringing open standards and adoption of agcXML to our industry is a testament to the company’s forward-thinking strategic positioning. Sage has been engaged in this conversation of open standards and interoperability for a long time, and therefore, we look forward to continued collaboration with them on this important industry initiative.”

The newly formed group of industry leaders will inject momentum into this renewed initiative by developing new schema, documentation and possible transport options and by updating existing schema. The agcXML project management office will be presenting the standards to contractors and software developers as well as working with software vendors on the technical specifications and structure.

“Having industry-leading software developers like Sage involved in the agcXML development initiative is essential,” said Christian Burger, president and founder of Burger Consulting Group. “They bring technical expertise, the voice of a large contractor customer base, and some important financial backing. We couldn't be happier to have the Sage commitment.”

To learn more about agcXML, visit: http://agcxml.org/. For more information about Sage Construction and Real Estate visit: SageCRE.com

With more than 40 years of industry experience, Sage keeps projects moving with the most job-ready and people-connected solutions for construction and real estate. Its 40,000 customers manage more than 400,000 jobs, 5.7 million subcontracts and 622,000 rental units each year with Sage products, including: Sage Construction Anywhere, Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate (formerly Sage Timberline Office), Sage 300 Trade Specialty (formerly Sage Timberline Enterprise), Sage Estimating (formerly Sage Timberline Estimating), Sage 100 Contractor (formerly Sage Master Builder) and Sage 50 Construction Accounting (formerly Sage Peachtree Premium Accounting for Construction). Follow Sage Construction and Real Estate on Twitter® (www.twitter.com/sageconstruct), Facebook® (www.facebook.com/SageConstructionandRealEstate) and LinkedIn® (http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Sage-Construction-Real-Estate-3729866) and through its Plumb Bob Square Rants blog (blog.sagecre.com).

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