Quarterly releases provide the latest updates for enhancements, stability and performance of your system, and are firmly recommended for all Sage X3 Version 12 (V12) customers.  This document lists the latest X3 releases and Technology patches for Sage X3 V12. This articles has been taken from the Sage website and has some helpful links to further information.

NOTE: since June 2020, Version 12 lifecycle is per quarterly release.  Each quarterly release has 3 months “Current” support,followed by 6 months of “Standard” support, then another 6 months of “Extended” support   (See KB article Id 105518 “Sage X3 Lifecycle Policy” for more details)

Make sure to read the included documentation, README and Release Notes. From version 2020 R1 (12.0.21) and higher, the patch is a cumulative patch. The minimum version required to apply this patch is 2019 R4 (12.0.19)

For a new installation with the iso file, a zip file exists under the PATCH directory in the ISO file, it is MANDATORY to install it after the installation of the version. Run the installation from the Updates function of the Syracuse server (Administration > Update > Updates).

IMPORTANT UPDATE: PLEASE READ.

This delivery contains important usability enhancements including a new Visual Process Editor. 

The 2020 R4 (12.0.24) release contains additional changes related to the new Visual Process Editor that replaces the Flash component used until now to create and modify Visual Processes. This is the second delivery of Flash replacement components.

If you use heavily customized Visual Processes, we strongly recommend you install this release on a test system to validate the display and modification of your Visual Processes in the new Visual Process Editor.

Please refer to 0285.Visual Process Editor in 2020 R4.pdf documentation in the X3V12\Patches\FlashUpdate folder for more detail of new features of the Visual Process Editor in this release of Sage X3 V12.

If you plan to install Syracuse 12.9 on a patch level lower than 2020 R4 and wish to benefit from the new Visual Process Editor, please read the Sage City Post “ALERT: New Flash Component Hotfix for X3 V12 Patch 23 and below“

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a critical issue identified with 2020 R4 whereby X3 Work centre deletion is not completed and are unable to save a replacement work centre or a capacity variation.  If this issue would effect your system, do not apply 2020 R4   See “ALERT: X3 Work centre deletion not completed & unable to save a replacement work centre or a capacity variation 2020 R4” for more information

NOTE – You should also review the guidelines discussed in the PDF document “Node.js Sizing for Enterprise Management V1.pdf” which is also available to download from the FTP site. This will help you configure and tune Syracuse to meet your performance and stability needs

Did you know we also offer a HealthCheck of your Sage X3 software, think of it like an MOT! Healthcheck is a specially designed application which allows you to verify at any point in time over 50 different elements of your Sage system.

The fastest and most effective system audit you’ll ever do!

HealthCheck is intended to address issues with Sage X3 performance, product usability or functional setup. Using HealthCheck you will receive a full report detailing all aspects of your Sage software and hardware.

If you’d like to find out more or book your system Healthcheck, click here.

NOTES

[1] Ensure you review the information in the patch documentation, which you will find in the extracted ZIP file. You will find the installation instructions and the list of fixes. For further information on the fixes contained in all patches, including this patch, see our new Version 12 specific Patchfinder which is now available.

[2] Sage UKI Customers and Business Partners can download all patches and documentation from the Sage X3 FTP site

[3] The DVD images have also been refreshed as at Version 2020 R4 (12.0.24), you can download ISO Images of the full installation media from our FTP site at URL “https://ukienterprisedownloads.sage.co.uk/Support/SageX3/V12/ISO_Images/”

[4] Sage strongly recommend you upgrade to the latest version of Elastic Search.  The licensing of Elastic Search from v6.4 onwards has changed: Sage will not deliver the Elastic Search setup in future deliveries on our official media for on-premise Customers. Partners and customers will have to download the setup files when deploying Sage X3. You can download the latest version of Elastic Search that is certified with Sage X3 from www.elastic.co. Read the included documentation for further instructions and also refer to Sage KB article 99424 “Additional notes when upgrading ElasticSearch”

The world of business is changing at a rapid pace. And for the finance department, that sentiment couldn’t be clearer.

As we move to a digitised world, CFOs and finance teams are being required to move away from basic tasks such as manually inputting numbers and reporting on the figures. Now, when it comes to financial management, they are moving to interpreting real-time data.

However, the next step is to become a visionary within their businesses.

But what does that mean for you as a CFO and how can you make that a reality for your role and your company?

CFO 3.0: Digital transformation beyond financial management is a new guide that looks at the evolution of the chief financial officer.

It will show you how technology such as artificial intelligence and automation can help you take your finance team and your role to the next level.

CFO 3.0: Digital transformation beyond financial management covers the following topics:

• Driving digitalisation – from historian to visionary
• Managing uncertainty – the evolution of finance
• Riding the technology wave

An excerpt from CFO 3.0: Digital transformation beyond financial management:

The intersection between technology and human interaction has created an opportunity for leaders to re-imagine business.

Fundamentally, the nature of business is evolving in all manner of ways: end users are changing, employees are changing, and the availability of tools is changing.

All impact the way work happens and how we construct, organise and operate companies. Finance heads have, in the past, used their gut to interpret the figures and understand what it means for their business.

They had no more to go on other than their intuition and experience. But data has changed that and altered the dynamics of decision making. If we look to startups, the impact of technology is clear.

Modern breakout businesses use artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to enhance connections with their customers and employees. Their ‘new age’ and tech-first approach looks very different to past business models.

They have successfully fused human needs with technology, rethinking the way we conduct business from top to bottom.

In mid-sized and larger companies, however, where technology wasn’t birthed at inception, the tide is turning.

All business leaders need to move with the times and digitisation is key to the transition. Knowing where to go, and how to get there, are two very different sides of the same coin.

While the burst of e-commerce has brought about many opportunities, its digital nature also brings about concerns of fraud, cybersecurity and the changing landscape of job roles. But behind all these changes is one driver: the finance department.

Why? Because the very essence of finance is evolving.

The finance professional now needs to be more closely aligned to individuals with the company’s managing director or CEO. They are not just the right-hand person with their finger on the financial pulse of the business anymore.

They are essential in providing up-to-date information, financial analysis and forecasting for rapid response decisions. It’s a far cry from the traditional way of doing business.

Finance professionals used to look in their rear-view mirror to provide business information – always looking behind them while trying to steer in front.

The introduction of predictive analytics is all about understanding data and looking forward, rather than back.

Today’s CFO is transforming into a real-time analyst. Tomorrow’s CFO will be a visionary.

SOURCE: Sage

The major disruption caused by coronavirus has prompted many companies to think about business continuity. What happens when staff can’t get to work or if a key member of the leadership team becomes ill?

How will you cope if a major client or supplier announces they’re shutting down for the next few weeks? Having a strategy ready to handle these challenges is essential.

More generally, though, in these times of economic and political uncertainty, and sector disruptors, it’s a good idea to have a business continuity plan ready to go, for all kinds of circumstances.

This could cover a fire at your offices, a flood, a power cut, supply chain issues, or a major IT outage.

Very often, though, this essential part of a company’s business strategy is missing as leaders focus on more immediate and productive issues.

According to a survey published by Mercer, a global consultancy firm, more than half of companies (51%) around the world have no plans in place to combat a global emergency.

The good news, though, is that a business continuity plan, also known as an organisational resilience strategy, isn’t as difficult to devise and implement as many people might think.

The knowledge that the business has regularly updated contingencies in place can be good for staff morale as well as reassuring clients and investors.

How to create a business continuity plan

So, how do you write and implement a plan for this kind of situation? Start by assessing your risk.

A well written business continuity plan includes contributions from every part of the company, including the people on the shop floor.

Operational staff – those working at the coal face of the business – often have the most important inputs, based on their practical experience.

Allocate roles

You’ll need to allocate roles for both the researching and writing of the report and the implement of the procedures.

Getting input from throughout the company will ensure your staff are not only familiar with your plan but they also buy into it.

Identify risks

As well as issues such as fire, flood, electrical failure, building closures, staff sickness and IT problems such as cyber-attacks, identify the risks that are relevant to your particular sector. Talking to other companies in the same industry and contacting your industry body will help with your research here.

Then think about the impact of a threat and balance it with the likeliness of it actually happening.

A plane crashing into your building during working hours, for instance, would be catastrophic but it’s very unlikely. At the other end of the scale, a much-used printer suddenly grinding to a halt could easily happen but it’s hardly a disaster.

Focus on the risks that are quite likely to happen and that would also have a serious impact.

Calculating the cost to per hour, per day and per week to your business of each department being out of action will help you to prioritise procedures to support them.

Focus on policies and resources

Your business continuity plan will have two elements. The first part consists of the arrangements, measures and policies that you’ll put into practice should your business be hit with a crisis.

The second constituent is the resources. This involves the personnel, the spread of information internally and externally, as well as the facilities, equipment, legal support and funding for effective business continuation.

As well as threats, consider your key business areas and prioritise them. Identify tolerable downtimes too. In other words, how many hours or days, for instance, could the business manage without IT support or a major warehouse that is suddenly no longer operational?

Split your services

It’s a good idea to divide your services into three categories.

Essential or vital services should be up and running again within 48 hours of the crisis hitting. Category two – important services – might have a target of two to five days.

Meanwhile, in the third category, non-essential services could be allowed eight to 10 days before they’re working again.

Look at your organisational structure and identify the interdependencies in the company – if one department is out of action, how will this impact on others?

Clarify roles

Assemble your team, both for writing your plan and for its implementation. Business continuity is everyone’s responsibility but you’ll need specific people to adopt specific roles.

It’s also important to be clear on lines of authority and reporting. Will a member of your emergency team, for instance, have authority over the head of a department when the plan swings into action?

You need to clarify this point before you’re forced to implement your business continuity plan.

Usually a member of the senior management team will lead and coordinate both writing and preparation but also implementation. A programme coordinator can help by managing budgets and people.

It’s also a good idea to have someone responsible for managing information about the crisis and how the plan to mitigate the situation is being implemented.

They’ll probably work closely with your HR people for internal communications and your PR agency or marketing people to talk to customers, suppliers, shareholders, regulators and others.

Depending on the size of your company, it might be useful to assemble a small committee drawn from representatives from the various departments.

Clear goals and actions to take

The finished plan should clearly state the overall goals in any particular crisis situation, be that keeping financial losses to about 80%, fulfilling two thirds of customer orders on time, moving employees to a remote working setup, or getting the business fully operational again in two weeks.

Looking at your balance sheet, your profit and loss, and other financial indicators will help to guide you here.

However, when the IT system first fails or when staff are told to leave the office urgently and go home because of a virus, their immediate concerns will not be the long-term strategy but what they have to do in the next hour or so.

It’s important, therefore, to differentiate between the ultimate goals and strategy on the one hand immediate action to be taken on the other.

A simple, clear list of actions to take for each department should come first in any manuals and communication.

Testing and revising your plan

The temptation once a business continuity plan has been written is to put it into file and tick it off the to-do list. However, it needs to be circulated for comment from all parts of the business and then constantly updated.

As the company and the wider trading environment change, so the plan must change too.

It should also be regularly put into practice. Every six months or so it’s a good idea to run a simulation.

This can just take a matter of hours and it allows staff to become familiar with and the company’s plan as well as providing an opportunity for them to give feedback on it.

The Business Continuity Institute and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development both have more information on how to create a plan to manage coronavirus and other threats.

Conclusion

It’s often said that crisis and opportunity are two sides of the same coin.

The rapidly growing threat that coronavirus presents to all businesses provides an opportunity to create or update your plan in order to protect your business and your staff – whatever fate might throw at you.