Sage and Microsoft are entering into a global agreement to collaborate on future product development.

As part of the agreement, Sage will build new products on the Microsoft platform. Additionally, the two companies will work towards a closer integration across their respective product portfolios.

The two companies have had a strategic partnership for the past two decades, but this extension of the relationship will aim to deliver cloud, on-premise and hybrid solutions globally.

Alan Laing, EVP, global strategic partnerships and alliances at Sage, said: "We have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with Microsoft for many years at a local level, but this new agreement is about taking a step back to look at the bigger picture.

"We’re imagining what could be made possible for Small & Medium Businesses if our two organizations worked more closely together on a global scale.

"We’re really excited about the possibilities – the greatest developer minds working on the very latest platforms to build exciting new solutions for Small & Medium Business in the long-term. That’s what Sage is all about and we’re delighted to share that vision with Microsoft."

Sage will deliver is next-generation of accounting and bookkeeping productivity tools built on Microsoft’s cloud solutions.