While most companies are pointing to the growth in subscription model, Epicor Software turned in a strong performance in old-fashioned software revenue for the first quarter ended December 31. License revenue grew by 25 percent over a year earlier, the second straight quarter that license sales had increased by more than 25 percent, CEO Joseph Cowan said in this week's earnings conference call. He also pointed to the company's ability to increase sales of web-based products without cannibalizing the installed base.

The shift from license sales to subscription revenue continued at nonprofit vendor Blackbaud for the year ended December 31. And the company turned in sharp gains on the bottom line for both the most recently ended quarter and the year. Fourth-quarter earnings of $11.8 million were nearly four times the $3.3 million a year ago. There was an even bigger jump for the 12-month results with 2013 net income hitting $30.5 million, compared to $6.5 million in 2012.

NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson said this week that 2014 "the year we kill Sage in the U.K." That was a remark delivered at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference 2014 conference. And he immediately conditioned his statement with "It's hard to kill them." But he clearly thinks it's time his cloud-based company can do damage in Sage's home turf. Nelson's reason goes back to Sage's growth by acquisition of other companies and characterized Sage as not a software company, but a roll up.

Sage North America has hired Microsoft veteran Donald Deshaies as the new VP of channel management. Deshaies has been out of the midmarket channel for four years while serving as managing partner of Live Consulting Global from November 2009 through 2013. But before that he was with Microsoft (including Great Plains before its acquisition) for one month short of 14 years.