Tag Archive for 'business intelligence'

Sage Pulling F9 Financial Reporting

Published
by
Brian Rice
on August 17, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments
According to communications sent to Sage Business Partners, effective September 30, 2010, Sage will be adjusting their policy regarding the F9 Financial Reporting module (developed by Infor Global Solutions and marketed and sold by Sage). With the release of Sage MAS 90 and 200 version 4.40 (rolling in several Extended Solutions, and the discontinuation of the remaining catalog of Extended Solutions) Sage has been simplifying the number of products in the MAS 90 and 200 line. I can’t be certain by while this policy change falls in line, it also seems to fall in line with the release of Sage MAS ERP Intelligence.

  • As of October 1, 2010, F9 will no longer be available for purchase through Sage for Sage ERP MAS products . F9 will still be available for purchase directly through Infor. There is no mention of maintaining compatibility for future MAS 90 and 200 releases.
  • For customers who are current on a maintenance plan, Sage will continue to provide support until their maintenance plan is up for renewal when the F9 license can either be exchanged for equivalent licenses of Sage ERP MAS Intelligence or contact Infor directly to purchase an F9 maintenance plan.

An official communication will go to current on-plan F9 customers including an exchange offer.

Sage MAS Intelligence: Available for Download

Published
by
Brian Rice
on August 13, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments

With the retirement of FRx, Sage went on a journey to find a replacement. While we tend to favor the structure and features available from BizNet BizInsights, Sage eventually selected (and re-branded a solution) Sage MAS ERP Intelligence which is now available for download (by logging on to Sage Online). The Sage MAS ERP Intelligence website is home to loads of information including a product brochure, FAQ, White Paper, and Installation Guide.

Log on and view your account to obtain your unlocking keys.

Sage’s Recommended FRx Replacement

Published
by
Brian Rice
on May 13, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 2 Comments

The search began several months ago when Microsoft announced the retirement of FRx and in June 2010, Sage MAS Intelligence will be introduced by Sage as their recommended FRx replacement. Sage MAS Intelligence is powered by Alchemex and is built on the framework of Sage Accpac Intelligence and Sage Simply Intelligence.
Sage MAS Intelligence allows users to build reports within the familiar Excel application with access to all available modules; FRx only allowed access to General Ledger data. While FRx allowed access to multiple company databases for consolidated reports, Sage MAS Intelligence will require an additional license in the form of a Connector. These details are not official until Sage publicly releases a statement but the plan is to supply all current, on-plan end-users with a license of Sage MAS Intelligence Report Manager allowing a user to:
  • Author new reports (organizing, creating, editing), as well as filter and aggregate data based on existing data containers.
  • Run, edit and clone the standard report templates for management (financial reports, dashboards, financial trend analysis), as well as general ledger, sales, purchases, and inventory transactional reports
  • Set permissions/security on all reports.
  • Connection to one ERP company database at a time (if running two or more companies, user can redirect to relevant company connection)
  • Optional Import/Export functionality requires the purchase of an additional Report Manager License, the Designer Module, or Connector Module
  • Optional Report Scheduling requires the purchase of an additional Report Manager Licence or, the Designer Module, or Connector Module
  • Connections to other types of databases or more than one Sage MAS company database at a time requires the purchase of a Connector Module

Specifically the Connector Module allows access to information from multiple sources and consolidation of data from multiple companies. The Connector Module allows for consolidations and connectivity to unlimited ODBC data sources and includes a graphical join tool to simplify database queries.

Although it isn’t particularly clear how, the Report Designer extends the flexibility of the the Report Manager.

System requirements for Sage MAS Intelligence users Excel 2003 or Excel 2007 but to run the Report Designer, Excel 2007 is required.