Get access to Great Plains information without the pains

Microsoft solution provider, IS Partners, has concluded an agreement with US-based Professional Advantage for the local distribution and support of Webhouse, a specialised business intelligence (BI) solution for the Great Plains environment.

Caron Mooney, director of IS Partners, says the initial aim is to appoint a limited number of value-added resellers (VARs) that will be in a position to offer their Great Plains client base accelerated BI functionality at a far lower cost than current alternatives.

Webhouse marks an entirely new way of looking at Microsoft Great Plains. The current reality for these users, according to Mooney, is that while it is relatively easy to extract information from their database, presenting this information in an intelligible, usable format is not that easily accomplished.

"Reports from Great Plains typically create more questions than answers. Third-party reporting tools can also introduce an array of problems in the form of information inconsistency and detail matching between the ERP system and reports. Users also have little independence in so far as report customisation and speed of information delivery is concerned as other parties are invariably involved in these processes," she says.

Mooney adds that costly consultants and equally expensive best-of-breed solutions are also not the ultimate panacea. ROI, integration concerns and lengthy implementation cycles typically come into play in these scenarios.

"While users need a powerful means of reporting on, and analysing their Great Plains data, the solution should be easy to use, inexpensive and put anyone in the organisation with access to a Web browser in touch with their vital business information," she says.

"Getting the information you need hinges on direct interaction with your data. Addressing simple business questions should also be a no-brainer involving little more than a few mouse clicks, and not a mindless abyss of never-ending question marks and more reports.

"The value of information also depends on the speed with which it`s delivered to your desktop. Not having to wait for queries to complete and reports to run, means getting answers to questions before even asking them."

Webhouse marks the end of a fairly long road to available, commoditised applications that address the reporting needs of Great Plains users, of which, according to Microsoft, there are around 600 in the country.

Says Brent Hitterdal, General Manager North America at Professional Advantage: "The MBS market in SA needed a workable BI solution, as this space is highly underserved. We believe IS Partners is in an excellent position to not only deliver BI to this market space, but to offer effective information access without the lengthy, costly and frustrating experience it has come to represent."