  Two recently developed theoretical approaches are applied to the
Shastry-Sutherland lattice, varying the ratio $J'/J$ between the couplings on
the square lattice and on the oblique bonds. A self-consistent perturbation,
starting from either Ising or plaquette bond singlets, supports the existence
of an intermediate phase between the dimer phase and the Ising phase. This
existence is confirmed by the results of a renormalized excitonic method. This
method, which satisfactorily reproduces the singlet triplet gap in the dimer
phase, confirms the existence of a gapped phase in the interval
$0.66<J'/J<0.86$
