Alchemex launches integrated BI solution for Sage ERP MAS in North America to replace Microsoft's FRx

Alchemex (Pty) Ltd today announced the successful launch of Sage MAS Intelligence, an integrated Excel-based business intelligence solution for Sage ERP MAS 90/200 and Sage ERP MAS 500, powered by Alchemex.

Sage ERP MAS is a mid-market ERP product with an approximate 25 000 install base, predominantly in the United States of America. Sage MAS Intelligence (SMI) is the third Sage North American OEM integration, following in the steps of Sage Accpac Intelligence and Simply Accounting Intelligence, to be developed by South African-based software vendor Alchemex, and launched by Sage North America.

The product was launched to business partners in August and released to Sage ERP MAS customers this week.

The Sage MAS Intelligence project was embarked upon by Sage North America primarily to ensure a quality replacement product was available to fill the financial reporting gap left by Microsoft's discontinuation of FRx, but it soon extended beyond simply replacing the FRx offering to addressing customers' needs for ready-to-use Excel-based report templates for operational reporting (sales, purchases, inventory, trends) as well as management dashboards for real-time summaries of key business indicators.

Stephen Coull, Alchemex OEM Director for Mid Market Applications, explains: “The product ships with 10 out-the-box report templates to provide an organisation with presentation-quality reports for informed decision-making and instant visibility into its data, which provides an immediate return on investment. SMI also allows users to report off non-MAS databases such as CRM, HR, etc.”

Being the official FRx replacement product from Sage North America, Sage MAS customers currently using FRx as their financial reporting tool will receive SMI as a substitute at no cost. In addition, customers currently using F9 also have the option to receive Sage MAS Intelligence as a replacement product.

Coull says: “I have been extremely encouraged by the positive response from partners and end-users alike re SMI, and people just want to get their hands on the product to start playing around. The fact that SMI extends into areas of the enterprise beyond just financials can really add value to decision-makers, and because it is an Excel-based reporting and BI solution, adoption is quicker and wider through an enterprise, which is what BI is ultimately all about.”

To support the launch of the Excel-based BI product, free 'Discovering Excel' and product training is available online on the Sage University. SMI customers can also purchase 'Excel on Steroids' training (http://www.alchemex.com/TrainingCourses.aspx) on the Sage University. These are specialised Excel reporting workshops, also powered by Alchemex, that have a two-month-long waiting list for the classroom-based version in South Africa.

Coull says: “This is a real value-add as we have found that people are hungry for Excel skills. BI in Excel eliminates spreadsheet chaos in an organisation by providing automated reports on request from trusted ERP data. An accomplished Excel user can then view, manipulate, analyse and distribute the data in the familiar environment of Excel, making for improved collaboration and quicker, more meaningful decision-making across the business.”

More information on Sage MAS Intelligence can be found at http://www.sagemas.com/lp/sagemas/SMI/index.html.