What is the Avantgarde AI Club?

The AI Club is our partner programme for IT service providers, Sage partners and system integrators who want to offer the Avantgarde Co-Pilot to their customers. Partners get access to the solution, training, sales material and joint marketing activities – and, on request, a white-label interface that lets them offer the Co-Pilot under their own brand.

It is based on a uniform, lean set of contracts: partner agreement, non-disclosure agreement and data processing agreement. That was important to us: partners should be able to focus on their customers, not on contract negotiations.

How far along is onboarding?

Over the summer we finalised the contract documents with more than 20 partners. Almost all of them are now fully set up – a pace we would hardly have expected at the start.

More important than the number is what comes out of it. Together with several partners, including PC Tutor, Kinzel and Bösen & Heinke, we are already running joint webcasts for end customers. The format has proven itself: the partner brings its customers and industry know-how, and we demonstrate the Co-Pilot live on Sage data. Customers experience both – the technology and the contact person who will later support them during the introduction.

A September full of events

• 10 Sep – AVA Future Forum in Neuss: our in-house event with Sage, Co-Pilot, Modern Work and DocuWare – with lots of concrete questions from practice.
• 16 Sep – Zukunft Personal Europe in Cologne: conversations about AI in HR, an area where we see a lot of potential.
• 22 Sep – Datatronic Digital Future Forum in Worms: present at our partner Datatronic’s in-house event.
• 22 Sep – KI.Forum.NRW in Cologne: KI.NRW’s fully booked annual conference on AI agents.

And there is more to come: in October we will attend our partner Softfolio‘s event and AI Catalyst in Cologne, and at the end of October the NRW regional meeting of the German AI Association.

Why do we focus so strongly on partners?

Because AI arrives in mid-sized companies where customers already have a trusted advisor – their IT service provider or Sage partner. These partners often have known their customers’ processes for many years. They know where things get stuck, which reports are laboriously compiled every month and which enquiries pile up in sales.

We bring the AI platform and the know-how for the ERP connection. Together, that becomes a project that actually works in everyday business – instead of a technology that disappears into a drawer after the first test.

What do the partners’ customers get out of it?

A short path to AI. Instead of looking for a new service provider, they talk to their usual contact. The Co-Pilot builds on the existing Sage system, with no data migration and no system change. And data sovereignty stays where it belongs: with the company itself.

Can you still become a partner?

Yes. The AI Club is open to further IT service providers, Sage partners and system integrators – including a white-label version of the Co-Pilot web app for Sage 50 and Sage 100. Via the Model Context Protocol, the Co-Pilot can also be connected to the AI tools customers already use.

Thank you to all our partners for their trust and the fast, uncomplicated cooperation – and to the whole Avantgarde team who made this September possible. Interested in the AI Club? Write to us at office@avantgar.de.

Der Beitrag More than 20 partners in the AI Club: a September packed with events erschien zuerst auf Avantgarde.

How did the prediction game go?

Throughout the World Cup, customers, partners and colleagues submitted their predictions match by match – with plenty of ambition, a few surprises and the odd heated discussion on the phone.

In the end there were four people on the podium, because two players had exactly the same score and shared third place. The prizes were footballs and jerseys.

Who won?

Two of the balls went to our customers:

• Rütex: I personally handed over the ball to Mr Doffek. Congratulations!
• Lottmann Reinigungsbedarf from Paderborn: our colleague Siegmar Stücher personally presented the ball to Mr Oliver Lottmann.

We deliberately chose not to just pack the prizes in a box and post them. A prediction game thrives on community – and for us that includes congratulating the winners in person. Some of the prizes found their way to their winners at our in-house event, the AVA Future Forum on 10 September.

Why was this win special for Mr Lottmann?

Because persistence finally paid off. Mr Lottmann is an old hand at the World Cup and European Championship prediction games that our colleague Siegmar Stücher has been organising for around 25 years. Until now, though, it always followed the same pattern: there was a prize on the table in the end – but it was won by either his wife or his daughter.

This year, it finally happened. Mr Lottmann not only came out on top at home but finished third overall. We are delighted for him.

If you are looking for hygiene paper or cleaning supplies in and around Paderborn, Mr Lottmann and his team at Lottmann Reinigungsbedarf are the right people to talk to.

The first prediction game at Avantgarde

What makes it especially nice: it was the first prediction game Siegmar organised at Avantgarde. His many years of experience showed – from the organisation and scoring to the personal handover of the prizes. And it is certainly not meant to be the last.

Will there be another prediction game? of course with Jürgen Klopp!

We certainly hope so – by the next European Championship at the latest, the predictions should start again. Anyone who wants to take part can simply get in touch with Siegmar Stücher or write to office@avantgar.de.

Congratulations to all winners – and many thanks to everyone who predicted, cheered and debated along with us. See you at the next tournament!

Der Beitrag World Cup prediction game: footballs delivered to Rütex and Lottmann erschien zuerst auf Avantgarde.

In our upcoming webcast on 6 October 2026, we show how recurring work in everyday Sage operations will start by itself. The focus is on two questions: which processes are really worth starting with – and why this requires neither a new large-scale project nor a specific tool. (The webcast is held in German.)

From asking to preparing

During the webcast, we use concrete examples to show where automation comes into play in everyday work:

• Price lists: changed supplier prices are ready and prepared instead of being typed in by hand.
• Delivery notifications: the notification e-mail is read and the line items are prepared.
• Open items: overdue items report themselves in the morning.
• Master data, orders and reports: recurring transfers between two systems.

It becomes clear: it is not the technology that matters, but the question of which process costs time every week.

Do you need a new platform for this?

No. We clear up this common misconception right away. The trigger is interchangeable – the Co-Pilot stays at the centre:

• Whether automation tool, existing interface or scheduler – the trigger can come from anywhere.
• On-premises operation is possible; the data stays where it belongs.
• The Co-Pilot remains the point where everything is checked against Sage 100.
• A small, clearly defined process is enough to get started.

Does the AI then decide on its own?

No. Automatic does not mean unsupervised. We explain what the EU AI Act means for processes like these:

• Classification: why Annex III does not apply here.
• Human in the loop: the process prepares, a person decides.
• Traceability: for every value, it is clear where it came from.
• AI literacy as part of due diligence – including training for your employees.

Live demonstration

In the live part, we use an example to show how data is automatically read in and handed over to the Co-Pilot – and how it then processes the data further and checks it against Sage 100.

Who is the webcast for?

• Sage 50 / Sage 100 customers (business departments and IT)
• Sage partners and ISVs
• Consultants and integrators
• Decision-makers who want to automate recurring processes without giving up control

What you will take away

After the webcast you will know:

• what automation in combination with the Co-Pilot means in concrete terms
• which processes in everyday Sage operations are worth tackling first
• that the trigger is interchangeable and no specific tool is required
• how the EU AI Act classification works and why the human stays in the loop
• which single process is the best way to get started

Date and registration

Tuesday, 6 October 2026 4:00 – 4:30 pm (CEST) Microsoft Teams Free of charge

Do you have specific questions or your own use cases? Feel free to submit them in advance – we will address them in the webcast.

Register for the live webcast here!

How the Co-Pilot can be connected to any AI is shown in our post on the last webcast: MCP: The Avantgarde Co-Pilot inside every AI. Read-only access to the Co-Pilot is free at app.ava-co-pilot.de; questions in advance to office@avantgar.de.

Der Beitrag Webcast on 6 Oct 2026: automation with the Avantgarde Co-Pilot erschien zuerst auf Avantgarde.

What is new in the Avantgarde Co-Pilot?

In short: the Co-Pilot is no longer just a tool inside the ERP system, but an AI assistant that works where your people already work – in the browser, in the AI of their choice and soon directly in Outlook. The data stays in Sage, and Sage remains the leading system.

Behind this are four developments that we demonstrated live at the event.

1. The new web app

Since the summer, the Co-Pilot has been available as a standalone web app with a completely redesigned interface. It is faster, clearer and can be used without any local installation. At the event we showed how questions about Sage data are answered in a dialogue: “Which orders from customer X are still open?”, “How have sales of item group Y developed?” or “Which suppliers deliver item Z?” – without exports, without pivot tables.

For Sage partners, the interface is also available as a white-label version for Sage 50 and Sage 100, so partners can offer the Co-Pilot under their own brand.

2. MCP: the Co-Pilot inside every AI

Many employees already use an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT. Via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), the Co-Pilot can be connected right there. The language model thus gets controlled access to ERP data – through the interfaces and permissions the Co-Pilot defines, not through direct database access.

The advantage: companies do not have to commit to a single AI model. The connection to Sage stays the same, whichever AI sits in front of it. Background in our post MCP: The Avantgarde Co-Pilot inside every AI.

3. Coming next: the Co-Pilot in Outlook

A large share of requests reaches companies by e-mail: price enquiries, orders, questions about delivery dates. Today that means reading the e-mail, looking things up in Sage and writing a reply. That is why we are working on an Outlook integration. The Co-Pilot will prepare replies with the right Sage data directly from the e-mail – a person checks and sends.

4. Sage 100 AI Business Agent powered by Avantgarde

For Sage 100 customers, our solution is also available directly through Sage as the Sage 100 AI Business Agent powered by Avantgarde. The principle stays the same: Sage 100 is the central data source, and AI supports concrete tasks – in sales and customer service, purchasing and inventory, accounting and controlling, and production and quality.

Does the AI get its own permissions?

No. This was one of the most frequently asked questions at the event. The Co-Pilot works exclusively with the permissions defined in the company and logs what it does. Anyone who has no access to payroll data in Sage will not get it through the AI either. This is the prerequisite for using AI in line with the GDPR and the EU AI Act.

Do you have to change your ERP system?

No. The Co-Pilot builds on the existing Sage installation – on-premises or in the cloud. There is no data migration and no system change. That lowers the entry barrier considerably: you can start with a single use case and expand step by step.

Is there funding?

The NRW.BANK.Impuls KI funding programme was a big topic at the event. In the meantime, however, NRW.BANK has closed the application portal due to high demand. Whether and when it will reopen is still open. We keep the current status up to date in our post on NRW.BANK.Impuls KI.

Would you like to try the new features yourself? Read-only access to the Co-Pilot is free at app.ava-co-pilot.de. For a demo on your own data, contact us at office@avantgar.de.

Der Beitrag What’s new? Co-Pilot highlights from the AVA Future Forum erschien zuerst auf Avantgarde.

What is the KI.Forum.NRW?

The KI.Forum.NRW is the annual conference of KI.NRW, the artificial intelligence competence platform of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, based at Fraunhofer IAIS. It brings research, business and politics together. This year the event was fully booked – a clear sign of how great the interest in the topic has become. Avantgarde is a member of KI.NRW and listed on the state’s AI map.

What was this year’s focus?

The main theme was “Entrepreneurship in the universe of AI agents”. The questions behind it: what is behind the agent hype? What value is actually created? And how can companies and employees respond to the disruption that comes with it?

Speakers included NRW Economics Minister Mona Neubaur, astronaut and aerospace engineer Michaela Benthaus, and representatives of BMW Group, DEUTZ AG, REWE digital, Deutsche Telekom, Carglass, ControlExpert, n8n and RWTH Aachen University. The range extended from physical AI in component manufacturing to agent workflows in retail and insurance.

In the exhibition area, visitors could experience AI hands-on, including the KI.Guide by KI.NRW, the Lamarr Institute and WestAI. The day closed with networking in the south foyer overlooking the Rhine and Cologne Cathedral – for me, as always, the most valuable part of the day.

Have AI agents already arrived in mid-sized companies?

Yes – but differently than the hype suggests. The examples from industry and retail showed that agents deliver value where they are connected to real processes and real data and have clear boundaries. An agent that does not know which orders are open or which suppliers deliver which items remains a toy.

That is exactly the approach of the Avantgarde Co-Pilot: the AI works inside the ERP system, with the permissions the company defines, and the leading system stays in charge. The agent prepares, the person decides.

What did Worms have to do with it?

More than you might think. At the Datatronic Digital Future Forum in the morning, the same questions came up – just from the perspective of an IT service provider and its customers. How do companies get AI into their existing software landscape without rebuilding everything? Who handles the introduction, who provides ongoing support? Datatronic is a partner in our AI Club, and events like this show how important cooperation with IT service providers is: they know their customers’ processes, we bring the AI platform.

Our key takeaways

• Agents need context: without a connection to ERP data, AI remains an experiment. Value is created where agent and business process come together.
• Boundaries build trust: clear permissions, logging and the human as the final authority are not a brake but the prerequisite for productive use.
• Regulation is a framework, not a brake: companies that build in transparency from the start are ready for the EU AI Act.
• The demand is there: a fully booked forum and a state funding programme whose application portal closed after just a few weeks due to high demand speak for themselves.

Part of the AI ecosystem in NRW

In addition to KI.NRW, Avantgarde has also been a member of the German AI Association since 2025. Events like the KI.Forum.NRW are where we bring the practical perspective of mid-sized companies into the discussion – and take new ideas back into our projects. A big thank you to the KI.NRW team for the organisation and to Datatronic for a successful morning in Worms.

My conclusion: the agent hype is real, but the value lies in the details – in a clean connection to the systems companies work with every day.

Would you like to know what AI agents could look like in your company? Contact us at office@avantgar.de.

Der Beitrag KI.Forum.NRW 2026 in Cologne: AI agents between hype and practice erschien zuerst auf Avantgarde.

On 17 August 2026, the funding programme NRW.BANK.Impuls KI was launched for small and medium-sized enterprises based in North Rhine-Westphalia – with a grant of up to 25,000 euros to get started with artificial intelligence. In our webcast we summarise what is funded, who is eligible and what to watch out for when applying. The content remains relevant should the programme reopen. (The recording is in German.)

Who is eligible?

Applications are open to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as defined by the EU, with registered offices in North Rhine-Westphalia. The grant covers 50 percent of eligible expenditure, up to a maximum of 25,000 euros within two years. The minimum threshold is 5,000 euros – smaller projects are not funded.

Applications are submitted through the NRW.BANK customer portal. Each company can receive a maximum of two grants within two years.

What is funded?

The programme consists of two modules that can be combined:

• Module A – Consulting: conceptual work to prepare for the use of AI. This includes AI strategy workshops, identifying suitable use cases and establishing structures for responsible AI use.
• Module B – Testing: building and testing an AI system for a specific use case, including external services and – to a limited extent – software licences, hardware rental and access to test infrastructure.

In other words, the funding covers exactly the phase in which AI projects in mid-sized companies are actually decided: from the first idea to a solid proof of concept.

What applicants should watch out for

• The project must not have started yet. Companies that have already begun lose their eligibility – so the consulting has to happen before the project starts.
• Maximum project duration of six months. The scope has to be cut accordingly.
• ESG funding requirements of NRW.BANK apply.
• Registered office in NRW is mandatory – companies located elsewhere in Germany need to look at other programmes.

How we support you

The services this programme funds are exactly what we have been delivering for years: the AI strategy workshop, the selection of the right use cases and the proof of concept with the Avantgarde Co-Pilot – the AI layer for existing systems such as ERP, DMS and CRM.

The advantage: at the end of the funded phase you do not hold a concept paper, but a working use case inside your own system landscape.

Feel free to contact us – we will keep you informed about a reopening of the programme and then align the approach and schedule with the funding.

Can you still apply for NRW.BANK.Impuls KI?

No, not at the moment. NRW.BANK has closed the application portal due to the high number of applications received. Above all, this shows one thing: mid-sized companies have a strong need to get started with AI in concrete terms.

What can companies do now?

• Be prepared: collect and prioritise use cases internally so that an application can be submitted quickly if the programme reopens. Important: the actual project must not start before funding is approved.
• Use funding advice: NRW.BANK offers individual advice on other public funding programmes (phone +49 211 91741-4800, beratung@nrwbank.de).
• Start small: read-only access to the Avantgarde Co-Pilot is free of charge. This lets you check, without funding and without risk, which use case brings the greatest benefit in your own business.
• Stay informed: as soon as the programme reopens or a new funding programme is launched, we will announce it on this page and in our newsletter.

Video, details and contact

The full briefing is in the video above. For an informal conversation about your project, reach us at office@avantgar.de. To get a first impression of the Avantgarde Co-Pilot, read-only access is available free of charge at app.ava-co-pilot.de.

Source and binding conditions: NRW.BANK.Impuls KI – funding product. Information provided without guarantee – please check the current funding conditions directly with NRW.BANK.

Der Beitrag NRW.BANK.Impuls KI: application portal currently closed – webcast and background erschien zuerst auf Avantgarde.

What is the German AI Association?

The KI Bundesverband is a political association based in Berlin, founded in 2017. It represents the interests of more than 600 member companies from the AI sector towards politics, business and the media. Its stated goal is an active, successful and sustainable AI ecosystem in Germany and Europe – with artificial intelligence that follows European and democratic values.

Why we joined

The association brings together startups, research institutions and large technology companies. What appears less often in those circles is the perspective of those who actually introduce AI in mid-sized companies: where an established ERP system is in use, where processes have grown over years, and where the first question is what happens to the company’s own data.

That is exactly the perspective we contribute – from projects in mid-sized businesses, with the practical requirements for data sovereignty, GDPR and the EU AI Act that have to be answered there every day.

What this means for customers and partners

• Early orientation on regulation and funding: developments around the EU AI Act and funding programmes reach us sooner – and therefore our customers and partners as well.
• Access to a nationwide network: exchange with providers, researchers and users across the German and European AI ecosystem.
• A link to research and education: among other things as a connection point for our work in the scientific environment and for building AI competence.
• A voice for the Mittelstand: so that the framework conditions allow mid-sized companies to use AI economically and with legal certainty.

Part of a growing ecosystem

The membership complements our existing commitments: Avantgarde is a member of KI.NRW and listed on the official AI map of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, cooperates with research institutions in the environment of Ruhr University Bochum, and runs AI Campus Europe, a vendor-neutral knowledge platform for the practical use of AI in mid-sized companies.

How we implement the requirements of the EU AI Act in practice is described in our article Tech Deep Dive: How to Integrate AI into Sage 100.

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We look forward to the exchange within the association – and to bringing the perspective of the Mittelstand to the place where the future of artificial intelligence in Germany is being decided.

Would you like to see what AI could look like in your company? Read-only access to the Avantgarde Co-Pilot is available free of charge at app.ava-co-pilot.de. Questions are welcome at office@avantgar.de.

Der Beitrag Avantgarde is now a member of the German AI Association erschien zuerst auf Avantgarde.

What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard that AI assistants use to connect external systems. The Avantgarde Co-Pilot is that standard server. For Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude and any other MCP-capable assistant this means: one URL, and the rest happens by itself.

In the upcoming webcast we connect Microsoft Copilot to the Co-Pilot live, show what becomes possible afterwards, and then reverse the direction: how to connect any of your own systems as an AI tool — without programming.

One URL instead of an integration project

In Microsoft Copilot Studio you add the MCP server and paste the URL — the assistant discovers the endpoints and handles registration itself. Each user then signs in on a login page with their existing Avantgarde Co-Pilot account and confirms the authorisation. From that moment on, the assistant has the Co-Pilot’s capabilities at its disposal.

In the webcast we use concrete examples to show what this means day to day:

• Questions to Sage 100, Sage 50, Sage HR, DocuWare, CAS and BPI — asked inside the assistant you already use
• Follow-up questions in the same conversation, with context preserved
• Documents come along: Excel export, receipt PDF and DocuWare document arrive in the same answer
• The assistant knows in real time what this user is currently allowed to see — and answers accordingly

Does the AI get its own permissions?

No. This is the key point for IT and data protection: the AI does not get its own access. It always acts on behalf of a signed-in user, and that user works under exactly the same rules that apply in the Avantgarde apps — tenant, connector, views, endpoints, licence. Sign-in, every token renewal and every single request verify this again. If an account is deactivated, access ends immediately.

So when two users get different answers from the same assistant, that is not an error — it is their permission level. How we handle compliance in general is described in our article Tech Deep Dive: How to Integrate AI into Sage 100.

Connect any system — without code

The second direction: instead of developing an integration for every interface, an administrator defines additional endpoints on the existing connectors via the API Hub — entirely through the REST API. Address, parameters, description. Done.

• Every existing HTTP API becomes an AI tool — on premises or in the cloud
• Individually permissionable, like any other resource
• Changes take effect in the next conversation — no code, no deployment, no update

An outlook on Outlook

To close, we show what we are building for Outlook. The guiding idea: an opened email is checked against your systems instead of being plausibly guessed.

• By design the check is read-only — it cannot create, change or delete anything, which is why it may run automatically
• Evidence instead of assumption: the card states what was found in the system, what was searched for and not found, and what could not be checked — including the reason
• Administrators maintain workflows centrally for the organisation and assign them via the existing role management — no longer hard-compiled into a client
• Write actions only after preview and approval
• Sign in with your Microsoft account and stay signed in across Outlook restarts

Who is this webcast for?

• Sage 50 / Sage 100 customers (business departments and IT)
• Sage partners and ISVs
• Consultants and integrators
• Microsoft 365 administrators
• Decision-makers who want to connect existing AI assistants to their own systems

What you will know after the webcast

• what MCP is and why it saves one integration project per assistant
• how Microsoft Copilot is connected to the Co-Pilot — step by step
• what is possible inside a connected assistant, including files
• why connecting it does not add a single permission
• how to turn your own systems into AI tools without programming
• where the Outlook integration is heading

Date and participation

Tuesday, 1 September 2026    4:00 – 4:30 p.m. (CEST)    Microsoft Teams    free of charge

Do you have specific questions or use cases of your own? Feel free to submit them in advance — we will pick them up during the webcast. Simply register using the button.

Would you like to take a look beforehand? Read-only access to the Avantgarde Co-Pilot is available free of charge at app.ava-co-pilot.de. To see how AI works directly inside the Sage 100 Smart Client, read Sage 100 9.0.11 + AI in the Smart Client. Questions in advance are welcome at office@avantgar.de.

Der Beitrag MCP: The Avantgarde Co-Pilot inside every AI – plus an outlook on Outlook erschien zuerst auf Avantgarde.

Der Beitrag Sage 100 9.0.11 + AI in the Smart Client – Financial Statements Directly Integrated into Sage erschien zuerst auf Avantgarde.

From buzzword to architecture

The Avantgarde Co‑Pilot is designed as a technical component that fits seamlessly into real ERP landscapes. In this session, we go beyond high‑level descriptions and focus on architecture, APIs, and implementation details.

The webcast is aimed at Sage developers, partners, ISVs, and developers of proprietary solutions who want to understand how AI can be integrated, controlled, and extended within Sage 100 – rather than treated as a black box.

We will take a detailed look at:

• the technical architecture and concept of the Avantgarde Co‑Pilot
• API usage and integration via REST
• testing and connecting integrations using Postman
• embedding and extending the Co‑Pilot directly in Sage 100 using the AppDesigner

Prompt design in the ERP context

A special focus will be placed on prompt design for ERP use cases. While prompts are often discussed in generic terms, ERP systems require structure, stability, and reproducibility.

We will show how to design prompts that:

• align with business processes
• deliver consistent and reliable results
• can be reused and adapted for different use cases

All examples are drawn from practical developer scenarios – including extensions of existing add‑ons and custom solutions.

Why this webcast matters

After the session, participants will have a clear understanding of:

• how the Avantgarde Co‑Pilot is built
• how to implement their own integrations via API
• how to extend AI functionality directly within Sage 100
• how to design prompts specifically for ERP processes

This webcast is explicitly technical and focuses on implementation, not sales.

Join the Tech Deep Dive

If you are working with Sage 100 and want to integrate AI in a way that is clean, controllable, and production‑ready, this session is designed for you.

Questions and concrete use cases can be submitted in advance and will be addressed during the webcast.

We are looking forward to a focused, technical exchange and an open discussion around AI in real‑world ERP systems.

Artificial intelligence in ERP systems is discussed everywhere – but real value only emerges when AI is technically sound, transparently integrated, and practically extendable.

Especially for developers and solution architects, this raises a crucial question: How does AI actually work inside an ERP system like Sage 100?

Der Beitrag Tech Deep Dive: How to Integrate AI into Sage 100 – Inside the Avantgarde Co‑Pilot erschien zuerst auf Avantgarde.