Macola ES

[bbove]

We are a process manufacturing company that is looking at new ERP software. We have been quite impressed with the demos we have seen of Macola ES. However, we are also aware that there has been some controversy regarding getting it fully implemented.

I would like to hear people's thoughts and experiences regarding Macola ES. Is it a stable product? Can it be be implemented? Are any manufacturing companies in North America currently up and running on it? Can anyone provide a reference that we can talk to?

Thanks.

 

[dgillz]

Please give me an email I have a great ES reference in Pensacola, FL.

dgilsdorf@trianglepartners.com

Software Sales, Training, Implementation and Support for Exact Macola, eSynergy, and Crystal Reports

http://www.trianglepartners.com

 

[Macoladownunder]

We are looking at migrating to ES at the end of this year. I spent some time in the US looking at it and will spend some more time looking over the next few months. But from what I have seen, we need to wait for Exact to develop a data migration tool for history etc, but everything else seems OK. I am investigating the use of Crystal reports and the 'data dictioneries' that ES is supposed to have. I dont; want to spend the same time redeveloping the multitude of Crystal report we have in use.

dgillz is in touch with all these issues.

MacolaDownUnder
Aussies using Macola

 

[vbajock]

Great Plains is another to consider.

 

[MacolaHelp]

The ES licensing is tied to your network user ID, I believe. So you can sign on to another workstation with your network ID. Whether or not you can sign onto multiple workstations with one ID might be a question. Don can enlighten us on this.

They are still working on the conversion utility & I understand master files do work. If no macola reseller has done the history files yet, I'm sure it won't be long. The distribution & manufacturing shouldn't be that big a task since the database didn't change radically.

AR & AP open files, though, will be a pain to convert. If you convert today, you are looking at loading these files through the macola/exact/globe user interface.

 

[vbajock]

Macola faces stiff competition, no doubt, but they have an installed base that will generate enough revenue to keep them around for a while in one form or another. As an expanding company doing a lot of new installs, I agree with you, I doubt if they have much future. Microsoft wants that market space, so I think they are all dead, Syspro, Mas whatever and Macola included, in the long term. Microsoft is rolling Commerce Server and Biztalk all into one nice little package with Great Plains at the foundation, and most of the small companies I am dealing with are starting to need the kind of inter-company connectivity that offers, especially if they are working with Walmart or Amazon.

 

[MacolaHelp]

Though microsoft would love to dominate the ERP world, they haven't really made great inroads yet. We are definitely seeing consolidation in the software world. Since Exact now owns JobBoss & Keywill as well, we may see some merging of these products with macola some day. It does seem like the development effort is in the eSynergy world right now. ES seems to be taking a long time to "get to market", especially if you need manufacturing modules or web orders/web views. The strategy that Exact has for the integrated business process manager & ES suite is fairly unique in the ERP world & they may definitely have some success with new site sales over time. The integrated product seems targeted to a much larger company than I usually work with. Exact needs fewer big site sales to provide the same revenue stream that 10,000 smaller users provide. Some industry pundits think that Exact may well be one of the last 5 standing when the consolidation dust settles. That's still a few years away.

I think the user interface will be the main selling point on the progression to ES upgrade. I'm not crazy about losing screen design in accounting & am not convinced the user defined fields are going to make up for the loss. Accountants will like the Excel look & feel of the financials. Today's new site sales are going to be driven by a more enterprise based approach than traditional ERP systems. This would make Syspro a good acquisition target, as I think they'll have difficulty maintaining a competitive advantage as the software ranks dwindle.