IFS AB has launched the first series of offerings, which will allow casual users to access ERP data using Microsoft Office applications like Excel. The new offering, Business Analytics will allow users to tap into data from IFS’s financial modules.
SAP, an ERP market share leader has teamed up with Microsoft Corp. to develop a series of self-service applications, named Duet, which uses Microsoft Office programs like Outlook, Excel, and Word as easy-to-use front ends.
IFS’s new offering, Business Analytics is different from Duet and the Dynamics Client for Microsoft Office and SharePoint, because it provides users with a direct link to more real-time ERP data. The Business Analytics is based on a smart client plug-in, which IFS has developed for Microsoft Excel and extensions to the metadata layer of IFS’s applications. The metadata extensions provides Excel through the plug-in with context for the financial data in the IFS system. Users can easily access and anlayse financial data like budget balances through IFS’s new offering. The company is trying to make its systems easier by implementing Microsoft Office applications like Excel as a familiar user interface. It links users directly into live financial data from the IFS ERP applications.
Rick Veague, IFS North America’s chief technology officer, said,
Until now, inexperienced users might have to get help from the IT staff to extract financial data or learn to write reports themselves. With Business Analytics, they can put their hands on this data with only a modest level of training.
Image Credit: IFS System & IFS Russia
