January 2011 is the last month that Sage is able to sell FRX. This has been known for a while and it’s the direct result of a decision by Microsoft to stop offering FRX. Support will still be available until 2012 and Sage have indicated that version 4.5 of Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 will continue to be backward compatible with FRX.
Sage have introduced a new tool for FRX users called Sage MAS Intelligence (SMI). This is a re-branded version of the Alchemex reporting tool which is already in widespread use by other ERP packages including Accpac.
However one potential stumbling block with adopting Sage MAS Intelligence is that existing FRX users have no utility to convert their reporting files. Until now.
Erik Kaas, Sage Director Product Management for the Sage MAS product line, has just revealed that a conversion utility is due at some undetermined point in the future:
Sage recently received permission from Microsoft that allows Sage to decrypt the proprietary FRx files. Sage will use this to create a utility that will help reduce the effort to migrate FRx reports into Sage MAS Intelligence. This utility will not “automagically” transform FRx files, but it should allow consultants or users familiar with FRx to more quickly recreate similar reports in SMI. We will be working on the utility but don’t have a specific release date yet. We’ll provide updates as we get closer to releasing
via Linkedin
