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Tech Topics In This Article: Atlanta companies, SaaS, office space
Global software company Sage has officially opened up its new office in Atlanta, a two-story build out that will serve as its North American headquarters.
Its goal? Besides just hosting employees, customers, and partners, the new space is about further integrating Sage into the Atlanta tech and business ecosystems.
“We don’t just want to be a software company in a city. We want to be part of that community and invest in the community,” Mark Hickman, Managing Director of Sage’s North American operations, told Hypepotamus.
From the outside, the Sage lettering stands out on the busy Ponce De Leon Ave road. The building, known as 619 Ponce, is instantly recognizable directly next to the Ponce City Market’s historic brick building. The new structure, which has retailers like Pottery Barn on the bottom, is a unique architectural story in and of itself. Built in Georgia-grown mass timber (the first of its kind in the state), the 619 Ponce building was designed from the ground up to be sustainable.
From its location selection to the smallest detail on the walls, the space is a master class in intentional design fitting the needs of today’s tech-savvy workforce. Paying homage to its name, the Sage office is covered in plants, succulents, and various shades of green. The space includes wellness and multi-faith rooms on each floor, as well as two full coffee bars with baristas on staff. The 150 work stations and desks built out are designed to accommodate the hybrid workforce that is coming in a few days a week. And it has seemingly endless pockets of places to work…from small nooks for heads-down work to sound-proof pods for team meetings.
Sage Roots in Atlanta
But you don’t read Hypepotamus for interior design takes, do you? You come here for the tech story.
Despite being based in the United Kingdom, Sage’s story is deeply rooted in Atlanta’s startup ecosystem. Those roots go back to its 1998 acquisition of Peachtree Software, one of the “OG” startups founded by Ben Dyer, Ron Roberts, Steve Mann, and John Hayes, for US$145 million. After the acquisition, Sage built up its offices in the Atlantic Station neighborhood and in Lawrenceville.
Sage joins a growing cohort of global tech companies that have already established a significant presence in and around Ponce City Market, including industry leaders like FanDuel, Mailchimp, and OneTrust. Sage’s Atlanta-based workforce, currently 320 people strong, has a heavy concentration in sales, communications, finance, as well as some C-Suite roles. Looking towards the future, Sage is looking to expand their numbers in Atlanta to over 400 soon.
The “Genius Bar For Sage Products”
The two-story office is optimized for both employee experience and customer engagement. While one level is dedicated to empowering Sage’s Atlanta-based workforce, the other is the Sage Discovery Center, a dedicated space for meaningful interactions with customers and partners.
The dedicated customer-facing floor is anchored by what Sage playfully calls the “Genius Bar For Sage Products.”
The Sage team views the Discovery Center as a space to create “human-to-human connections” between the Sage team and its customers. Giant screens facilitate immersive walkthroughs of Sage’s latest software and AI-powered offerings, allowing small and medium-sized business owners to directly engage with the technology and the experts who support it.
As Sage officially opened the doors to its new home in Atlanta, it is immediately clear that it isn’t just an office expansion. 619 Ponce is part of Sage’s strategic commitment to hiring locals and supporting the local business ecosystem. By creating a space that seamlessly blends employee well-being with dedicated avenues for client interaction and technological exploration, Sage is signaling its intent to not only thrive within Atlanta but to actively contribute to its continued growth and innovation.
Following the office opening, the company is gearing up for its Sage Future’s event this summer, an event in Atlanta geared towards “forward-thinking finance professionals.”
