Sage CRM 2026 R1 is now available
Sage is continuously bringing you new updates and improvements to ensure you’re getting the best performance and functionality from your Sage software. These updates are designed to make your systems faster, more secure, and easier to use.
The first Sage CRM release of 2026 introduces a series of important implementation improvements focused on strengthening the security, stability and resilience of the platform.
In this article, we highlight everything you need to know about Sage CRM 2026 R1.
What’s New?
Sage CRM 2026 R1 brings together a set of targeted security improvements across the application stack, infrastructure components and supporting technologies.
These updates are designed to:
- Support secure deployment in increasingly restrictive IT environments
- Reduce exposure to known vulnerabilities
- Improve system stability under real-world usage
- Align Sage CRM with current security best practices
Improved password enforcements
This release brings greater consistency in enforcing password policies and reduction in edge cases where password rules were not applied correctly. This enhancement ensures more predictable and secure user authentication behaviour across the system.
Improved integration with Exchange Online
In this release, the Microsoft Exchange integration has been enhanced to improve both reliability and security.
- Improved validation and handling of Exchange Online service responses
- More robust validation of connection data
- Streamlined permission requirements
This improvement reduces the number of required permissions, helping organisations apply tighter access controls, particularly in environments using Zero Trust security models.
Application server and infrastructure hardening
A key focus of Sage CRM 2026 R1 is the modernisation and hardening of underlying platform components.
Apache Tomcat Upgrade:
- Updated from earlier versions to Apache Tomcat 9.0.112
- Includes fixes for known vulnerabilities (including CVE-2025-48984)
- Improves stability of REST services, dashboards and integrations
Additional benefits include improved resource management under sustained load, better alignment with supported Java standards and increased reliability of core CRM services.
Modernised Java and Reporting Stack:
Sage CRM 2026 R1 continues the modernisation of its Java-based components:
- Updated PDF generation engine (Apache FOP 2.11)
- Improved memory handling and processing efficiency
- Better stability when generating multiple reports concurrently
While primarily a performance improvement, these changes also contribute to overall platform stability and reduce operational risk.
Additional security enhancements
Modern IT environments are increasingly adopting stricter security controls and Sage CRM 2026 R1 support these approaches by:
- Ensuring predictable behaviour under constrained network conditions
- Reducing unnecessary permissions
- Improving robustness of integration endpoints
As a result, you know get stronger protection against vulnerabilities and threats, as well as improved system stability under load and during integration. Additionally, simplified security configuration through reduced permission requirements.
While these changes may not always be visible in the user interface, they are key to ensuring that Sage CRM remains a secure and dependable platform for your business.
Your next steps
If you are currently using Sage CRM and are looking to upgrade, please contact your Account Manager directly.
If you have any further questions regarding Sage CRM, please get in touch.
