Am I the only one working in a Navision Solution Center which sells both Attain and Axapta who is frustrated? It’s been nearly a year since the merger, and still Navision has not come up with a decent positioning of Axapta versus Attain. In our organization we spend a lot (and I mean A LOT) of time discussing which product suits each prospect best, and which product we should recommend for each project. So, if anybody is in posession of a decent positioning statement between Attain and Axapta, then please let me know. Thanks in advance. Lars Strøm Valsted Head of Project and Analysis Columbus IT Partner A/S www.columbusitpartner.com
I couldn’t agree more! The missing positioning is a very big problem. Even in the US, where Axapta is practically non-existing, we still have this problem, since Navision continues their marketing based on this un-decent (to use Lars’ word) positioning. Of cause they should not stop doing their marketing, but they should make this positioning ASAP. Currently it’s waisting our time. In my point of view Axapta is technologically years ahead of Attain. It’s using it’s own propriotery JAVA language. The OO nature of this language makes it very difficult to learn and very different from other commonly used business development languages (pascal, basic, business basic, visual basic for applications/scripting). The implementations time thus is way higher than for Attain projects. So I would recommend Axapta to the so-called visionaries or high-tech customers that what state-of-the-art. Or if the customer would have more than 250 users. In all other situations I would recommend Attain. Best regards, Erik P. Ernst, webmaster
I can add something to what Erik says here: I would recommend Axapta for international projects where the customer wants one single database for several countries. Lars Strøm Valsted Head of Project and Analysis Columbus IT Partner A/S www.columbusitpartner.com
But that should be ok in Attain as well? Best regards, Erik P. Ernst, webmaster
Hi ! As I’m also working with Axapta AND Attain, I also wanted to tell my opinion on that: 1. The programming language of Axapta is not difficult to learn for anybody who ever programmed in C, C++ or Java. And that’s almost every student from university ! 2. Attain is somewhat easier and faster to implement, as the complexity of the product is not as high as Axapta. 3. Concerning international companies: as in Axapta, all legal requirements of all countries supported is implemented, it’s better for this purpose, whereas in Attain, there is still one version for every country. 4. My general opinion on Axapta vs. Attain is like: for a customer heavily focused on Inventory Management, Axapta is better. If the customer is more focused on ledger, Attain is better. At last: my dream: Navision “Attapta”: Technology from Axapta, Ledger system from Attain, Inventory system from Axapta, Marketing from Attain Best regards Helmut Wimmer, NCPS, NCDS
In my opinion, Axapta and Attain could compete in exactly the same markets. They did before the merger. That means that the positioning will be artificial. There is not really any natural division between the two products. Thus, NSCs that sell both are naturally confused. From a strategic perspective, if the Attain and Axapta developers could be blended into a single team, future releases of Navision products would be better. Realistically, even the great organizers at Navision will face serious challenges blending two two distinct cultures of former competitors. I studied Axapta, but I’ve only implemented Attain. My impression is that the Axapta user interface is clunky compared to Attain. Also, the conceptual consistency is better in Attain than Axapta. Originally, Axapta was intended to be more functionally complete than Attain. Attain focus more on ease of customization. Today, Attain equal depth of functionality to Axapta. The key is not how much is in the unopened box, but how fast the needed functionality can be put into place. I’d rather have Attain than Axapta for nearly all companies. In terms of user counts, Attain can compete with Axapta. Today I was told that there is a customer in Germany with over 1,000 Attain users connected via User Portal. There are 10 User Portal Application Servers supporting these users. With User Portal, you have just as much technology “coolness” as you can get with Axapta. Using simple XML definitions generated by dataports, you can create quickly create powerful, Microsoft digital dashboard Web Parts. The result is incredible. Jim.
Lars : You may want to read some interesting comments from a confused Navision Customer. http://navisioner.com/html/viewpoint1.htm Now if reseller selling different Navisionn ERPs start getting frustrated and customer confused, there’s something that ought to be done by the marketing people at Navision in order to clarify the situation, this only can be achieve by giving a crystal clear market positioning for each ERP. ###### tarek_demiati@ureach.com
You all should not think about that TO much. Buy your competitor, steal (better) the technologie. Wait max. 2 years and you have a new product. Beleive me. Regards Walter
quote:
Helmut Wimmer: At last: my dream: Navision “Attapta”: Technology from Axapta, Ledger system from Attain, Inventory system from Axapta, Marketing from Attain
quote:
In my opinion, Axapta and Attain could compete in exactly the same markets. They did before the merger. That means that the positioning will be artificial. There is not really any natural division between the two products. Thus, NSCs that sell both are naturally confused.
quote:
You all should not think about that TO much. Buy your competitor, steal (better) the technologie. Wait max. 2 years and you have a new product. Beleive me. Regards Walter
Well people - I guess y’all saying the same thing, I thought from the beginning. Of Course Navision are not going to keep two different - but same functionality - programs. I’ll bet that whitin the next 2 to three years (if not sooner) we will see a “Attapta”. Hell - if I were them I would do the same thing. Sell the current products (Axapta is also pretty new) get a little cash-flow. before releasing a brand new version. Just my two cents Anyone taking bets? //Henrik Helgesen -: KISS::Keep it Simple, Stupid :- Edited by - hhelgesen on 2001 Nov 22 06:14:21