Dan Miller: How Sage's EVP of Product thinks about partners to drive trust in AI solutions
Inside PartneringShow Notes
At Sage FUTURE in San Francisco, I sat down with Dan Miller, EVP of Financials and ERP at Sage, to talk about how Sage is thinking about AI, ecosystem partnerships, and the future of ERP platforms. One of the clearest themes from the conversation was this: finance leaders are not resisting AI. They simply want transparency, accountability, and confidence in the outputs. For partner leaders, ISVs, and ecosystem builders, that creates a very different opportunity than the generic “AI transformation” messaging dominating the market right now. Dan framed it around trust. “What finance and operations professionals really want is confidence in the tools that they’re deploying are doing exactly what they are expected to do.” That requirement shapes how Sage is building both its AI capabilities and its broader partner ecosystem. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
AI Adoption in Finance Requires Transparency Dan pushed back on the idea that finance organizations are inherently resistant to innovation. Instead, he described a customer base that is willing to experiment with AI - as long as the systems remain explainable. “It’s not that they don’t want to experiment. It’s that they want to know when they experiment, there’s going to be a good result.” That distinction matters. Sage is positioning its AI capabilities around visibility into how outputs are generated, rather than treating AI as a black box. Dan described how Sage customers can inspect the reasoning behind cash flow predictions, financial close recommendations, and other AI-generated outputs. “It’s not a black box. It’s actually transparent. You can see into how the steps were determined.” That transparency extends into Sage’s Copilot capabilities, where users can interrogate how the system arrived at a recommendation or prediction. For CFOs and finance teams, that creates auditability and confidence. For partners, it creates an environment where AI adoption becomes easier to operationalize with customers. The Partner Opportunity Around AI Enablement One of the more interesting parts of the conversation was how Sage views AI through the lens of partner enablement, not just customer productivity. Dan talked about how Sage is helping partners accelerate implementations and reduce deployment friction. “One of the most important things for a partner is to have a pipeline of new business being delivered.” He connected that directly to Sage’s recent acquisition focused on accelerating Intacct migrations from systems like QuickBooks. The idea is straightforward: if Sage and its partners can reduce migration complexity and implementation timelines, partners can onboard more recurring revenue customers faster. That’s an important point for ecosystem leaders. AI is not only being positioned as a feature set for end customers. It is increasingly becoming an operational multiplier for partners themselves. Why Open Ecosystems Still Matter Dan was also very clear that Sage does not believe a single company can build every workflow or every vertical solution customers need. That philosophy continues to shape Sage’s ISV strategy. “We believe at our very core that we need to be open. We know there’s no possible way that we could invent every piece of technology that solves for every vertical, every micro vertical, every workflow.” Instead, Sage is leaning heavily into ecosystem extensibility. The company works with a broad range of ISVs integrating into Sage platforms, while also creating tighter strategic relationships in priority verticals like nonprofit, healthcare, manufacturing, distribution, and financial services. In some cases, that means co-development. In others, it means packaging and selling integrated solutions together. The more interesting extension of this strategy is how Sage is now applying the same thinking to AI agents. AI Agents Become the Next Ecosystem Layer Dan de
More from Inside Partnering
Samrah Khan on partner specialization, faster customer outcomes, and Google Cloud’s evolving ecosystem strategy The system integrator business is undergoing a fundamental transformation. For years, the traditional model was relatively straightforward. Technology vendors sold platforms, customers selected implementation partners, and SIs delivered projects that could stretch across multiple years. AI is changing that equation. Customers want more than technology implementation. They’re looking for partners who can help define their AI strategies, identify business opportunities, develop specialized solutions, and deliver measurable results in months rather than years. In my latest Inside Partnering conversation, I welcomed back Samrah Khan, Director of Google Cloud SI/GSI Ecosystem North America, to explore how these changes are reshaping the partner ecosystem. Samrah leads Google’s SI/GSI partner relationships at a particularly interesting moment. Google Cloud’s business experienced an amazing 82% year-over-year growth in Q2! But the more interesting story isn’t the growth itself. It’s how the expectations of customers, technology providers, and partners are changing. Here are six insights from our conversation. 1. Customers Want a Unified AI Strategy, Not Another Technology Implementation One of Samrah’s clearest observations is that enterprise customers are approaching AI very differently from previous technology transitions. They’re no longer simply shopping for infrastructure or selecting a systems integrator after choosing a platform. Instead, they expect technology providers and partners to work together from the beginning, bringing a comprehensive perspective on business transformation. “Customers are looking at both the partners as well as the hyperscalers or technology providers to come in and look at the whole enterprise from A to Z.” Thanks for reading Inside Partnering! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
For partner leaders, one of the hardest questions isn’t identifying your best-performing partners. Most organizations already know who they are. The harder question is: Who should you invest in next? That question sits at the center of my conversation with Kenneth Fox, CTO and founder of ChannelScaler. Kenneth has spent his career in channels and partnerships, and his perspective combines the technology side of partner management with the practical realities of running partner programs. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit insidepartnering.substack.com
At Sage FUTURES in San Francisco, Gretchen O’Hara delivered a clear message to partners: the market is shifting fast - and the opportunity is massive. But despite the noise around AI, one thing hasn’t changed. Partners are still at the center of how businesses win. “The channel is one of the most important things because our partners are the ones that have the deepest industry expertise and are closest to customers that can really solve their unique, unique business challenges.” AI may accelerate execution, but it doesn’t replace the need for domain expertise, customer proximity, and trusted advisory. In fact, it amplifies it. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
For years, partnerships with global systems integrators were often viewed through a narrow lens - implementation, services, and support. Rajiv Batra challenges that assumption directly. “A lot of times when we work with GSIs… there is a notion that it’s more focused on process consulting… I will say that’s not fully true.” Instead, GSIs are increasingly central to building differentiated, industry-specific solutions. The real value is not just delivery - it is co-creation. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.