When selecting JD Edwards as your go-to ERP system, you’ll find it comes equipped with standard, built-in security measures. However, many companies opt for an extra layer of protection and choose to further enhance their security with third-party tools. Today we’ll compare two of those third-party tools: ALLOut Security and Q Software.
Here at ERP Suites, we have customers who use both tools. Consequently, we have lots of experience with both, so we’re able to adequately compare their ins and outs for you to consider.
By the end of this article, you’ll understand:
- How these third-party security tools work with JD Edwards
- The similarities and differences between ALLOut and Q Software, and
- What to consider before making your final choice.
How do these third-party security tools work?
ALLOut Security offers a suite of security management tools for JD Edwards, including user provisioning, password management, segregation of duties, and audit trail reporting. The software is designed to be user-friendly, with an intuitive interface and easy-to-use features.
Q Software provides a range of security tools specifically designed for JD Edwards, including access control, segregation of duties, and auditing.
Similarities between ALLOut Security and Q Software
Q Software and ALLOut Security are native JD Edwards applications, meaning they’re written completely within the JD Edwards toolset, and both support all versions and releases of JD Edwards. Additionally, both are Oracle-certified partners and products.
Finally, both products offer a modular approach to security, allowing customers to choose the tools they need and customize their implementation to fit their specific needs.
Similarities between ALLOut Security and Q Software
Q Software and ALLOut Security are native JD Edwards applications, meaning they’re written completely within the JD Edwards toolset, and both support all versions and releases of JD Edwards. Additionally, both are Oracle-certified partners and products.
Finally, both products offer a modular approach to security, allowing customers to choose the tools they need and customize their implementation to fit their specific needs.
The Differences
ALLOut Security and Q Software have their own unique strengths and weaknesses when it comes to enhancing JD Edwards security. The two key differences that we notice are the user interface and the ease of upgrading.
Interface
ALLOut Security has an intuitive, user-friendly, JD Edwards-like interface, very much in line with the multiple roles approach JD Edwards adopted with ERP8. For instance, ALLOut Security features three-way matching, which offers the ability to load user profiles and roles, and to analyze and determine what each can see and do in the system—all on one screen. This makes adding new users and setting up roles even simpler than with a regular JD Edwards interface.
Q Software is more complex, utilizing hundreds of custom tables and business functions. Users will likely have to refer to the product’s documentation to work with it to any real extent, which will make training and day-to-day usage a more complicated affair and potentially impact managed support hours as well. Adding a new user with Q Software must be done manually, through JD Edwards itself, or via SQL.
Ease of Upgrade
With its simpler interface and lighter JD Edwards footprint, ALLOut Security is easy to upgrade. Often, the process can be completed within an hour or less. Because of its heavier JD Edwards footprint, Q Software upgrades are much more involved, often requiring twenty hours or more, from release to release, due to its existing architecture. All of its hundreds of custom tables and business functions must be upgraded, along with the SQL data sets required for the tables. With our own customers, a Q Software upgrade requires a Statement of Work, which takes longer to put together than it takes to actually perform a complete ALLOut Security upgrade.
What to consider when making your final choice
Your choice of a third-party security tool is something you should consider thoughtfully. Here’s a checklist of final factors to evaluate before you make your choice:
- Is your third-party security tool Oracle-certified?
- Do you want a modular approach within the tool and if so, does the tool offer that?
- Is your interface intuitive and easy to understand with minimal training?
- What do you want your upgrade process to be like?
At ERP Suites, we’ve helped many customers utilize both ALLOut Security and Q Software as third-party security tools for JD Edwards. If you’d like to speak with us directly about the best third-party security tool for your needs, please contact us today.
