Hello from Denver and the Sage Summit afternoon keynote. Assuming I have wireless or some sort of ‘Net connection (pretty please, Sage?), I will be live-tweeting the event, so if you follow me on Twitter, I apologize for clogging up your stream. If you like that sort of thing, you can follow me @laurenmizzou, or search Twitter for #SAGE for more Sage micro-bloggers. In addition to Sage product announcements and strategies at today’s keynote, Olympic decathalon winner (and recent reality TV star) Bruce Jenner is here to talk about finding the champion within during tough economic times. (Something tells me that Jenner didn’t collaborate with step-daughter Kim Kardashian on this presentation.)

Just yesterday, Sage altered its branding a bit, dropping “Software” from its title to align more closely with the Sage global operations, Sage Groupl plc. Also yesterday, the business management software provider hosted a run and walk along the Cherry Creek Greenway in Denver led by Jenner, of course.

Early this morning David van Toor, general manager for Sage CRM, delivered a CRM-specific keynote that introduced new features and enhancements to the three Sage CRM products: SageCRM and SageCRM.com, SalesLogix, and Act! by Sage. Look out for a detailed destinationCRM.com news story on the new releases early tomorrow. To whet your palate, here are a few highlights which I expect will be expanded by the Sage exective team during the keynote:

• A greater commitment to Web 2.0 and Social CRM in all three products. The basis of this will be through the use of mashups. 
• SalesLogix 7.5 will “spoon feed” users who struggle with filtering through data and accounts. Includes new filters, tabs, groups, and timelines, to see the whole picture of the customer.
• Act! Mobile Live supports new operating systems. Sync Act! to virtually any handheld — even the new Blackberry. 

I expect much of this conference to focus on how to get the most out of your business given the economic climate. I attended a presentation this morning given by Sage CRM champion, Bill Hoffman on using CRm to drive business value in a tough economy. Hoffman had a unique view on the role SMBs can play — and he doesn’t see scaling back as an option. “In the small-to-midsize business market, we have an opportunity to thrive,” he says. “Your competition does not have CRM systems and you competition does not have communicative sales skills. They are backing off on marketing and training … When they back off, move full speed ahead.”