Let’s face facts. There is no shortage of ERP solutions on the market. As a result, I regularly hear questions from companies about the difference between one system and another. Here are three of the most frequently asked questions I hear about the difference between Intacct and Microsoft Dynamics GP (“GP”) and what I’ve found to be true.
“I see that Intacct is only cloud-based, yet GP can be deployed on-premise or as a hosted solution. What is the difference?”
On-premise means your company assumes all responsibility, including data security, storage, and up-time. The software is housed on your own servers. Hosted means you outsource the servers that run the software, but you still have to coordinate the installation, configuration, and regular software maintenance with your ERP vendor; and your company continues to assume responsibility. Many ERP companies are moving away from these options.
With a truly cloud-based solution, such as Intacct, all software is housed and managed in the cloud. This means no IT maintenance, better information security, and more reliable up-time, along with a shift in responsibility for all of these functions to the software-as-a-service (SAAS) provider.
“GP is built on a single tenant architecture and Intacct is multi-tenant. What is the difference between the two environments, and why is one better than the other?”
With single tenant architecture, the “tenant” purchases their own copy of the software, and the software is customized as necessary, using code specific to that instance, to meet the needs of that business.
With multi-tenant architecture, every customer runs the same version of the product and has access to all of the sophisticated features, which may be configured -- often without coding -- for the customer’s specific needs. In today’s cloud environment, ERP solutions built on a multi-tenant architecture offer more financial benefits, better integration capabilities, pain-free upgrades, and easier access to information on any device. Here is a great resource for additional information on this topic.
“How easy is it to integrate third party software applications with GP and Intacct?”
All Intacct third-party solutions are built for the cloud. The system was constructed with integration as a primary intent beginning with initial architectural design.This means integration is extremely easy. It is as simple as visiting Intacct’s marketplace and selecting the solution you want, using a development partner, or using the available system tools on your own. Many integrations can be done with writing code, using system tools.
Integration with GP can be a little more time consuming and costly, primarily going back to the issue single tenant architecture and that each company operates in a unique instance.
While these three questions are ones I hear often and know the answers to be true from first-hand experience, it is important to consider the facts that relate to your business and your unique attributes. Every company faces different challenges, so I encourage you to talk to representatives for multiple ERP solutions before choosing the solution and partner that fits your company best. In a previous blog, I suggested some key questions to ask potential cloud vendors; feel free to reference it in your search for a new ERP solution.
For more information about Intacct or a free consultation to determine whether Intacct and BTerrell Group are the right fit for your organization, contact us today.
866.647.2611