Atlanta, GA – 6 October 2025 – Sage, a leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid sized businesses (SMBs), today announces the acquisition of Criterion, a unified human capital management (HCM) platform. The move expands Sage’s AI-powered product ecosystem, unlocking new capabilities for finance and HR teams looking to automate, simplify, and scale all on a platform built for the way work is changing.
“At Sage, we’re not just embedding AI into software, we’re rethinking how work gets done," said Jonathan Cowan, EVP, Human Capital Management, Platform and Services at Sage. “Criterion fits perfectly into that vision. With embedded intelligence and an intuitive experience layer, we can deliver HR and payroll that’s no longer just compliant or automated, but truly trusted and proactive.”
As mid-sized organisations scale, they face rising admin burdens, fragmented HR systems, and increased compliance risk. Criterion’s unified solution, which brings together Core HR, Payroll, and Talent Engagement, removes silos and simplifies workflows, helping businesses stay compliant and agile as they grow.
Criterion already integrates with Sage Intacct and Sage 300 CRE, and this acquisition lays the groundwork to deliver modern, out-of-the-box, cloud native HR and payroll solutions to SMBs as well. With the Sage Platform serving as the unified environment where workflows, applications, and data come together, Sage and Criterion will offer mid-sized businesses a single, intelligent ecosystem that scales with them domestically and internationally.
“Our mission with Criterion has always been to make HR a growth driver, not a blocker,” said Sunil Reddy, CEO of Criterion. “With Sage’s backing, we can take that vision global, developing and delivering practical, human-first AI that’s purpose-built for the real world of business.”
“From the beginning, we built Criterion with a deep focus on people and innovation,” added Uma Reddy, Co-founder of Criterion. “This next chapter with Sage gives us the scale and reach to make that vision a reality.”
Criterion is a US based company, which serves over 80,000 users in more than 10 countries, with a strong focus on mid-sized organisations in North America.
About Sage
Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses (SMBs) served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.
About Criterion
Criterion offers an HR platform people actually love, combining built-in flexibility with a commitment to the unique needs of customers.
Our purpose-built platform enhanced by ch.ai - our unique AI capability - seamlessly adapts to each organisation's specific challenges, delivering a unified, intuitive, and powerful user experience. With a focus on realised ROI, Criterion simplifies complex HR tasks, boosts efficiency, and ensures customer satisfaction. We proudly serve customers across 10+ countries, achieving a 95% satisfaction rate and 100% uptime.