Logiciel d'affaires et progiciel de gestion intégré

FAQ ALCIE

(NB: le texte sur cette page est en anglais)

This page contains some of the more frequently asked questions regarding our software solutions, our history and expertise, and why you should choose ALCiE for your business.

What is ALCiE?
ALCiE is the name of our Oracle-based ERP / Business Management software. ALCIE is an acronym for Assets, Liabilities, Capital, Income and Expense. (We humorously refer to these as the "5 major food groups" of Accounting!)

How long has ALCiE been around?
Interestingly enough, ALCiE is documented as having been initially developed in 1971 in the assembler language! From that time till 1987, it evolved with versions in Basic Plus II and COBOL. Since 1988, ALCiE has been developed using 100% Oracle technology.

How many installations of the Oracle-based ALCiE are there?
In its first year of release, the Oracle-based ALCiE applications were installed in over 100 customer sites, primarily in the United States. Over the years, ALCiE has been installed in hundreds of sites across the United States, Canada, and around the world.

What size organization do we have to be for it to make sense to use ALCiE?
We cater to small and medium-sized businesses, but practically any size organization could use ALCiE. Our smallest customers are start-ups, while the largest site to run ALCiE applications has revenues in the billions of dollars.

When you say that ALCiE is an "open-architecture application", is that the same as open-source software?
No, ALCiE is not open-source software. ALCiE's core applications are proprietary. However, we believe that our customers should have the freedom to use third-party tools and applications to access their data and address their particular business needs. Therefore, the ALCiE database is uncomplicated and understandable. With the ability to query and extract data using any number of reporting tools that are ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity) compliant, this is what makes ALCiE an open-architecture application.

Quickbooks, Sage 50 or Sage 100 could work reasonably well for me. Why should I use ALCiE?
You should be focused on running your business, not on running the software -- and more importantly, not having to adapt yourself to the software's limitations. ALCiE applications function according to your business, because we produce best-fit applications for your business. Moreover, ALCiE runs on Oracle, the premier relational database software, recognized as the leader in database products and is synonymous with robustness and high performance. In other words: you'll stay focused on running your business.

Isn't Oracle expensive, and doesn't that make ALCiE expensive?
The answer to this is "No", in more ways than one!

If you were to calculate the total cost of ownership of an ALCiE solution over the life of the system, ALCiE would frequently prove less expensive than many other brand name solutions. The key to ALCiE's success in this area is the fact that it is a low maintenance system, requiring very little effort to keep it running continuously 365 days a year.

Oracle technology products (e.g. database, forms and reports) are offered in various editions that are priced for start-ups, medium-sized and large-sized businesses. To top it off, Oracle has a database product that is absolutely free of charge, called Oracle Express Edition.

As if that were not enough, ALCiE license costs are lower than its closest competitors. But licensing is just one of the important cost components. Remember: You have to consider the total, long-term cost implications when purchasing ERP / Business Management software.

How is ALCiE priced?
ALCiE is aggressively priced to provide the customer with a cost-effective solution. License costs are calculated as two components: module license costs and user license costs. Modules and users are purchased independently, and there are no minimums, which means you buy only what you really need.

What do we need to know about Oracle to install and run ALCiE?
Nothing, if you really don't want to! We take care of the Oracle products installation, leaving you the simple task of logging into the system when it has been installed. Also, we provide assistance with regards to the Oracle database throughout the life of the system.

On what platforms can ALCiE be installed?
The ALCiE applications are typically installed in a Windows-based environment. The ALCiE database can reside on any computer hardware / operating system combination that is currently supported by Oracle.

Are there any volume or size restrictions with respect to number of users, volume of transactions or data storage?
No. Any number of users and transactions can be accommodated. The ALCiE database can grow as large as needed, enabling you to keep all historical data. The database size can be increased at any time, without interrupting operations.

What about migrating data from my older system, interfacing to other special in-house applications, or adding some special functions?
We do all of that! Many of our smaller and medium-size customers have little or no internal technical resources. For these customers, we fulfill the role of an I.T. department and we handle their technical needs. We are geared to be a total solution provider.

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Do you have any more questions? Feel free to contact us to get additional information.