• Very Powerful - Microsoft Axapta has developed a reputation for being extremely powerful with a deep set of features. For example, when I select all of the inventory and manufacturing features in the Accounting Library tool which profiles the top 150 accounting software products in the united States, Axapta is rated as the number one product, edging out other powerful Tier 1 ERP products such as SAP (by a margin of 99% to 94%), PeopleSoft (by a margin of 99% to 93%); and JD Edwards (by a margin of 99% to 83%). Partial results of this test are shown in the screen below.  

Simply put, Axapta has great features and customization capabilities. To give you an idea of how sophisticated the system is, you need only look at the extensive capabilities of each module. For example, the warehouse module allows you to set up multiple warehouses, the number of aisles in each warehouse; areas for primary storage, buffer storage, and picking locations; the number of shelves on each isle; the height, depth, and width of each self, outbound and inbound docks, etc. Axapta also asks the user to define all forklifts including the forklift's function such as whether it is equipped to move pallets, pipes or other materials. Users can even schedule blocking causes where it is known in advance that a particular aisle will be blocked temporarily for various reasons such as restocking. All of these factors are then used by Axapta to recommend where products should be stored, what order items should be picked, when items should be picked, etc. It is very impressive, not to mention complex.

• Very Fast - Axapta is an extremely fast product. In October 2001, a test conducted by Compaq and Oracle showed that Axapta set new records for transaction processing. In this test, more than 315,000 sales orders were processed in just one hour by 3.600 simultaneous users. Wow.

• Low Cost - Even though Axapta has the power and functionality of a Tier 1 ERP product, it is priced very reasonably. A typical 10 user implementation of Axapta will generally price out at $80,000 to $120,000 for the software, and approximately $150,000 for a 50-user implementation. The typical consulting fees for Axapta are usually 1.5 to 1 - or one and half times the cost of the software. This is a great price considering Axapta is equivalent to or more powerful than other Tier 1 ERP systems which typically cost millions , and even tens of millions, of dollars.

• Customization - Like it's twin cousin Navision Attain, Axapta is highly customizable - even more so than Attain. Axapta has a unique feature in which newly created customized fields are assigned to a category. With this assignment, the newly created field then shows up throughout the Axapta product on the appropriate user screens. For example, in both Navision Attain and Axapta the user can add new data fields. However in Attain, the user must then visit each data input screen (user form) to insert and position the new field. However Axapta has no such requirement for editing data input screens. Simply add the field to the tables and it shows up everywhere. As an example, assume that a newly created field keeps track of the name of the customer's boat (useful for boat marinas). In Axapta, that new field automatically appears everywhere with no additional customization effort. That's really cool.

• Multiple Databases - Axapta can be deployed on either the Microsoft SQL Sever or Oracle databases. This translates to high-end scalability.

• World-Wide Features - Each implementation of Axapta includes all features from around the world. If for some reason you wanted to enable the Spanish version of the order entry module or Euro multi-currency capabilities in Axapta, you need only type in the correct registration key. The Spanish version is already loaded on all Axapta installations and ready to go.

• All-in-One Product - 100% of the Axapta product has been developed in house and written with the Axapta tools. Many other products have been pieced together when the vendors purchase third part add on products. For example, the MAS 500 product line has incorporated the Hi-Tech add on module as it's manufacturing solution. Epicor contains similar integrations. This does not mean that Axapta's method is necessarily better, but I think that it is easy to see how this approach could result in a more consistent look and feel and tighter integration. 

• High Reseller Standards – Navision is well known for high reseller standards which includes extensive training and testing requirements. For example, in order to be an Attain Solution Center (reseller), you must have five people attend extensive training and they must each pass a fairly tough test. Three of these people must be trained in the Attain product, and two of them must be trained in customizing the Attain product. In 1999, Navision reportedly fired 25% of their 120 resellers because they did not pass the tests, or because they were providing shoddy work. By contrast, most other accounting vendors make little or no requirements of their reseller channel. To some accounting software companies, their reseller test amounts to seeing whether or not the reseller’s check will clear. I believe that Navision's requirements result in much higher caliber Solution Centers, which in turn translates to higher customer satisfaction. Presently, the standards described above do not fully apply to the Axapta product line, but measures are being taken to define the Axapta reseller standards to resemble those of the Attain resellers.

• Foreign Language and Foreign Currency – Axapta is a widely deployed product around the world. Because Axapta is deployed in so many countries, the product has developed excellent multi-currency and foreign language capabilities. By contrast, many accounting software products developed in the United States either do not include foreign currency and foreign language capabilities, or they add them later as an after-thought. 

• Built-in Remote Access - With most high-end accounting software systems, remote solutions such as Citrix or Terminal Services are required to provide remote access. This is not the case with Axapta because it has it's own built-in remote capabilities which is included in the price of the product.

• Questionnaires - Axapta's CRM solution includes a wizard that makes it relatively easy to create questionnaires that may be scheduled days, weeks, months or years in advance. At the appointed time, Axapta sends the questionnaires out to the designated recipients, and upon return, Axapta automatically computes the results and compiles a detailed report showing the number of questionnaires sent, number of responses, and analysis of responses including standard deviation. This type of tool provides is great for gathering business intelligence on your existing customers, missed customers, employees, or other targeted groups.

Weaknesses - Axapta is certainly not without problems – as with any top product, Axapta contains weaknesses, missing features, missing modules and shortcomings. For example, Axapta has no payroll module, does not work with FRx, and offers few third-party add-on solutions. Axapta is not targeted towards businesses of every size, nor is it ideally suited for every industry. We have compiled a detailed list of features for this product which can be accessed by clicking here.  Additionally, we have Comparison Reports, which list the features found in Axapta that are not found in the competing products. Other comparison reports available highlight the features found in competing products that are not found in Axapta.