Sage Iberia closed fiscal year 2025 as one of the best performing regions within the Sage group worldwide. This was highlighted by José Luis Martín Zabala, managing director of Sage Iberia, during a recent meeting that took place with the specialized press, in which the company also outlined its results, offered its strategic vision for 2026, talked about alliances and AI projects, and the company’s positioning in the face of the extension of the deadline for the entry into force of VeriFactu.
At a global level, Sage has had one of the best years in its history, with a growth of 10%, driven especially by the increase of 11% in recurring revenue and 13% in its cloud portfolio. “It has been an exceptional year in general terms for the Group, and especially positive in Europe, which is one of our great regions,” stressed Martín Zabala. Although the on-premise business continues to have weight, the transition towards subscription models and cloud solutions continues to gain prominence. The group’s financial strength is also reflected in a customer loyalty level of 101%, which allows the company to consider new strategic acquisitions.
In this context, Iberia is consolidating itself as an engine of growth in Europe, being the region that has grown the most within the continent. Spain and Portugal recorded a 10% increase in total revenue and a 12% increase in recurring revenue, in addition to a 40% growth in everything related to cloud solutions. “Iberia is demonstrating that the change in the cycle towards the adoption of new technologies is a reality,” stated the managing director, also highlighting an 82% penetration of the subscription model and a 102% loyalty for the region.
Expansion and strengthening of the ecosystem
Among the keys to this evolution, the company’s capacity for expansion stands out. During the last financial year, Sage Iberia incorporated 10,500 new clients and carried out more than 2,000 migrations to connected cloud solutions. One of the great drivers of this growth has been the Sage Active solution, launched worldwide, but with particularly notable performance in the Iberian region. “Iberia has been the region that has grown the most in Sage Active, with 1,500 new clients,” stressed Martín Zabala.
The Human Resources management area also shows positive evolution, with 500 new clients in solutions such as Sage HR and Sage SSM. Added to this is the reinforcement of the partner ecosystem, with the incorporation of 16 new VARs and 20 new technological partners. “Our growth is not understood without a strong ecosystem; partners are a natural extension of Sage in the market,” he noted.
In the regulatory field, VeriFactu has concentrated a good part of the market interest. Sage was the first company to receive certification and registered more than 10,000 registrations for webinars related to this regulation over the past year.
Strategic vision towards 2026
Looking ahead to 2026, Sage articulates its roadmap around five major strategic axes. One of the main ones is the leadership in the Small Business segment, where the company includes professional offices. The objective is to attract 3,500 new customers, relying on the partner ecosystem. “The professional firm is evolving and is beginning to be a key partner for its clients in everything that has to do with billing and anti-fraud,” said Martín Zabala.
In this context, Sage 50 evolves by incorporating artificial intelligence capabilities, with dashboards that allow companies to control the key indicators of their economy in real time. “We are not only improving the customer experience, but training Sage’s artificial intelligence with real and practical use,” he added.
The managing director also referred to the impact of VeriFactu in 2025, a year that he described as especially complex. “The market collapsed with the arrival of VeriFactu; the peak in demand in October stressed the entire ecosystem,” he recalled. From his point of view, the postponement of the regulations has its ups and downs, but it has been positive for the business community. “An additional year of deadline allows us to rethink the strategy and arrive on time; many companies were not prepared. We are offering clients training and training during these months,” the manager commented on this section.
Sage will continue to promote Sage Active for small businesses and professional offices and will address a restructuring of the ecosystem of technological partners in Portugal, in response to the consolidation process that is taking place.
Productive AI and new alliances
Another strategic pillar is the move from experimental Artificial Intelligence to productive AI. The launch of Sage 200 Smart Edition is part of this line, which incorporates artificial intelligence capabilities aimed at commercial efficiency and supply. “We want to make better use of technology and for AI to add real value to the business,” said Martín Zabala.
The commitment to AI with Sage Copilot is reinforced with new alliances, such as the exclusive agreement with Augusta Labs
In the corporate segment, Sage aims to consolidate its positioning with solutions such as Sage X3 and XRT, with the aim of achieving double-digit growth. “We have specialist partners who know the product and the market very well, and that makes the difference,” he said.
The commitment to AI with Sage Copilot is reinforced with new alliances, such as the exclusive agreement with Augusta Labs, a Portuguese startup specialized in Artificial Intelligence. “This agreement is the seed of the center of excellence in AI that we want to implement in Portugal so that it has a global reach,” explained the manager.
Social commitment and technological hub in Barcelona
Beyond the business, Sage is very active through its Foundation. With the launch of the Sage Grow program, the company seeks to boost the social impact of SMEs in the tertiary sector through growth-oriented consulting services. “It is a unique initiative in Europe and we are very proud to develop it in Spain,” highlighted Martín Zabala.
Finally, the company announced the creation of a new technology hub in Barcelona, with more than 50 engineers from different countries, whose institutional inauguration is scheduled for February 18. “It is a clear commitment to talent and the strategic role of Sage Iberia within the group,” he concluded.
