| Targeted to small and medium-size companies
with $25 - $100 Million in revenues. Microsoft-Centric Technology.
MAS 500 was built from scratch in the last few years using Microsoft development
tools and it has been optimized to run on the Microsoft SQL Server database. Best.
MAS 500 is owned by The Sage Group, which is, according to Sage, the #1 PC-based
vendor of accounting and business solutions in the world with worldwide revenues
of $815 Million US, profit of $212 Million US in 2002 and 3.1 million installations.
Best is also reportedly #1 in the US, UK, France and Germany. The reason for its
lack of success so far in Canada is due to a lack of marketing. However, in January
2001, Best opened up a Canadian office to promote Best and develop a distribution
channel. MAS 500 increased its install base in Canada by 25% last year.
Customization. MAS 500 has strong features not only in screen changes but
in also adding custom applications. Customization is outside of source code so
that there are not conflicts in upgrades. Manufacturing. MAS 500
will appeal to discrete manufacturers and includes Shop Floor Control, MRP, Planning
and Scheduling, Estimation, Product Configurator and Engineering Change Management.
Create a work order from a sales order. Replenishment. MAS 500 not
only incorporates seasonal cycles, sales history and lead times, but will also
recommend the supplier with the best performance. Project Accounting.
MAS 500 also includes project accounting, remote timesheet and expense reporting,
and a 2-way link to Microsoft Project. Customer Relationship Management.
MAS 500 includes customer service and sales force automation. SalesLogix.
MAS 500 also provides good integration with SalesLogix (customer relationship
management) which is also owned by Best. By using SalesLogix, users can access
MAS 500 information without needing a MAS 500 license. Advanced reporting
and analysis. Includes tracking the Key Performance Indicators. With Business
Insights Analyser any user can create presentation quality reports and mine information
resident in the database. Advanced Financials. MAS 500 includes
consolidations and allocations. | 
