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What Makes Microsoft Axapta Different?
When reviewing any
accounting software solution, I think that it is important to understand how the
product is different from its competitors. All products are developed with
different tools, different philosophies, and with different objectives in mind.
All products are targeted towards different sized customers, and different
industries. When evaluating products, it is easy to get bogged down in the
overwhelming complexity of the systems. The reality is that all accounting
systems have a general ledger with account numbers and financial reports; they
all have an average accounts payable module that works fine; they all have a
bevy of standard features. Studying these common elements of an accounting
system will get you nowhere. It is the key differences that provide keen
insights that will allow you to effectively identify and select the right
product for your needs. With this spirit in mind, presented below are the key
characteristics that set Microsoft Axapta apart from its competitors:
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Very Powerful -
Microsoft Axapta has developed a reputation for being extremely
powerful with a deep set of features. For example, when I select all
of the inventory and manufacturing features in the Accounting
Library tool which profiles the top 150 accounting software
products in the united States, Axapta is rated as the number one
product, edging out other powerful Tier 1 ERP products such as SAP (by
a margin of 99% to 94%), PeopleSoft (by a margin of 99% to 93%);
and JD Edwards (by a margin of 99% to 83%). Partial results of this
test are shown in the screen below.
Simply
put, Axapta has great features and customization capabilities. To give
you an idea of how sophisticated the system is, you need only look at
the extensive capabilities of each module. For example, the warehouse module
allows you to set up multiple warehouses, the number of aisles in each
warehouse; areas for primary storage, buffer storage, and picking
locations; the number of shelves on each isle; the height, depth, and
width of each self, outbound and inbound docks, etc. Axapta also asks
the user to define all forklifts including the forklift's function such
as whether it is equipped to move pallets, pipes or other materials.
Users can even schedule blocking causes where it is known in advance
that a particular aisle will be blocked temporarily for various reasons
such as restocking. All of these factors are then used by Axapta to
recommend where products should be stored, what order items should be
picked, when items should be picked, etc. It is very impressive, not to
mention complex.
-
Very Fast - Axapta is an extremely fast
product. In October 2001, a
test conducted by Compaq and Oracle showed that Axapta set new
records for transaction processing. In this test, more than 315,000
sales orders were processed in just one hour by 3.600 simultaneous
users. Wow.
-
Low
Cost - Even though Axapta has the power and functionality of a
Tier 1 ERP product, it is priced very reasonably. A typical 10 user
implementation of Axapta will generally price out at $80,000 to
$120,000 for the software, and approximately $150,000 for a 50-user implementation.
The typical consulting fees for Axapta are usually 1.5 to 1 - or one
and half times the cost of the software. This is a great price
considering Axapta is equivalent to or more powerful than other Tier 1
ERP systems which typically cost millions , and even tens of millions,
of dollars.
- Customization
- Like it's twin cousin Navision Attain, Axapta is highly customizable -
even more so than Attain. Axapta has a unique feature in which newly
created customized fields are assigned to a category. With this
assignment, the newly created field then shows up throughout the
Axapta product on the appropriate user screens. For example, in both
Navision Attain and Axapta the user can add new data fields. However
in Attain, the user must then visit each data input screen (user form) to insert and
position the new field. However Axapta has
no such requirement for editing data input screens. Simply add the
field to the tables and it shows up everywhere. As an example, assume that a newly
created field keeps track of the name of the customer's boat (useful
for boat marinas). In
Axapta, that new field automatically appears everywhere with no
additional customization effort. That's really cool.
- Multiple
Databases - Axapta can be deployed on either the Microsoft SQL
Sever or Oracle databases. This translates to high-end scalability.
- World-Wide
Features - Each implementation of Axapta includes all features
from around the world. If for some reason you wanted to enable the
Spanish version of the order entry module or Euro multi-currency
capabilities in Axapta, you need only type in the correct registration
key. The Spanish version is already loaded on all Axapta installations
and ready to go.
- All-in-One
Product - 100% of the Axapta product has been developed in house
and written with the Axapta tools. Many other products have been
pieced together when the vendors purchase third part add on products.
For example, the MAS 500 product line has incorporated the
Hi-Tech add on module as it's manufacturing solution. Epicor contains similar
integrations. This
does not mean that Axapta's method is necessarily better, but I think
that it is easy to see how this approach could result in a more
consistent look and feel and tighter integration.
- High
Reseller Standards – Navision is
well known for high reseller standards which includes extensive training and testing requirements.
For example, in order to be an Attain Solution Center (reseller),
you must have five people attend extensive training and they must each pass
a fairly tough test. Three of these people must be trained in the Attain
product, and two of them must be trained in customizing the Attain product.
In 1999, Navision reportedly fired 25% of their 120 resellers because they
did not pass the tests, or because they were providing shoddy work. By
contrast, most other accounting vendors make little or no requirements of
their reseller channel. To some accounting software companies, their
reseller test amounts to seeing whether or not the reseller’s check will
clear. I believe that Navision's requirements result in much higher caliber Solution
Centers, which in turn translates to higher customer satisfaction.
Presently, the standards described above do not fully apply to the
Axapta product line, but measures are being taken to define the Axapta
reseller standards to resemble those of the Attain resellers.
- Foreign
Language and Foreign Currency –
Axapta is a widely deployed product around the world. Because Axapta is deployed in so many countries, the product has developed excellent
multi-currency and foreign language capabilities. By contrast, many
accounting software products developed in the United States either do not
include foreign currency and foreign language capabilities, or they add them
later as an after-thought.
-
Built-in Remote Access - With most high-end accounting
software systems, remote solutions such as Citrix or Terminal
Services are required to provide remote access. This is not the case
with Axapta because it has it's own built-in remote capabilities
which is included in the price of the product.
-
Questionnaires - Axapta's CRM solution includes a wizard that
makes it relatively easy to create questionnaires that may be
scheduled days, weeks, months or years in advance. At the appointed
time, Axapta sends the questionnaires out to the designated
recipients, and upon return, Axapta automatically computes the
results and compiles a detailed report showing the number of
questionnaires sent, number of responses, and analysis of responses
including standard deviation. This type of tool provides is great
for gathering business intelligence on your existing customers,
missed customers, employees, or other targeted groups.
Weaknesses - Axapta
is certainly not without problems – as with any top product, Axapta contains weaknesses, missing features, missing modules and shortcomings.
For example, Axapta has no payroll module, does not work with FRx, and
offers few third-party add-on solutions. Axapta is
not targeted towards businesses of every size, nor is it ideally suited for
every industry. We have compiled a detailed list of these weaknesses, including
screen-by-screen evidence of some of the key weaknesses. Click
here if you are interested in learning about Axapta's weaknesses
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