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Burning Questions and Misconceptions about Sage ERP X3 Alerts & Workflow (aka KnowledgeSync)

We have recently had a host of questions regarding the need of Sage ERP X3 Alerts & Workflows (aka KnowledgeSync). Yes it is true that native Sage ERP X3 contains alerting, report deliver and workflow functionality. The KnowledgeSync product is an approved OEM solution branded as Sage Alerts & Workflows. This is the same solution they offer with all of their product lines.

How does Sage Alerts & Workflows stack up against the native Sage ERP X3 functionality?

A very fair question – and the overall answer is simply that Sage Alerts & Workflows allows more flexibility, customization, and options within KnowledgeSync alerts. KnowledgeSync alerts are easier to configure, and – lastly – KnowledgeSync alerts work with ALL of an organization's solutions and not just with Sage ERP X3. But we are focusing on Sage ERP X3 in this post.

The more detailed answer includes such things as:

  • More alert delivery methods, including support for ALL email systems, dynamic web dashboard, and instant message
  • More sophisticated monitoring – including automated trend analysis and "inactivity monitoring" – triggering alerts when something fails to happen (such as a repeat customer who stops buying).
  • More flexible message configuration options, such as "grouping" multiple records in a single alert, special currency and numeric formatting options, and mapping the email reply address to the "owner" of a record.
  • More options for "scheduling" checks – including work days and work hours, holiday handling, and "cascading" events so that if event 'a' occurs, event 'c' is automatically executed.
  • Cross-application monitoring (such as conditions between Sage ERP X3 and any CRM solution.
  • Monitoring incoming email.
  • Alert "failover" – if the intended recipient is not available, notify a secondary or even a tertiary recipient.
  • Embedded Crystal Reports – so reports can be scheduled, they can be "triggered" based on data conditions, or they can be "auto-requested" and received via an email request.
  • Graphic alerts – including dynamic bar charts, line charts, pie charts, and even "comparative performance" charts.
  • An on-line audit trail of every checked event, every delivered alert, every report, and every workflow action.
  • "Job streams" the ability to link up to 999 events together in logical, multi-step job streams.
  • The ability to fully design events without using any programming language – not SQL, not Java, just using a plain-English wizard designer.

"These are not ALL the differences, just the ones that have specifically been brought to our attention from our existing Sage ERP X3 clients", says Don Farber of Vineyardsoft Corporation. They are the Developers of KnowledgeSync Alerts & Workflow. He helped us assemble this list.

Additional Myths & Misconceptions about KnowledgeSync:

1)      From a licensing standpoint could an existing customer use the KnowledgeSync product that they purchased for Sage 500 ERP and point that to the Sage ERP X3 database? Or would they need some kind of an upgrade?

Answer:  The customer could simply "re-point" KnowledgeSync to Sage ERP X3; no additional license or upgrade is required.

2)      I understand that KnowledgeSync will work with any ODBC compliant database (like SQL server or Oracle) however I was wondering if there is an event pack of alerts for Sage ERP X3 that has been written or if they would need to custom write alerts if they were to move to Sage ERP X3.

Answer:  There is already an eventpak written for Sage ERP X3 – as well as a "version 2.0 eventpak" for Sage ERP X3 which is currently in progress and will be available by the end of January 2014 at the latest.

3)      Do you have people that are using KnowledgeSync with Sage ERP X3 to your knowledge?

Answer:  Indeed we do! We can provide references upon request.


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Tags: Sage X3
Joe Noll

Written by Joe Noll

Joe is the President of the RKL eSolutions brand with a background in MCITP, MCTS Sage 500 ERP Certified Consultant Sage 500 ERP Certified Developer Sage ERP X3 Certified Developer Sage ERP X3 Technical Consultant Specialties: SQL Server Optimization assistance, Virtualization, Business Continuity Planning.