ABB Ability Solution Suite vs. IFS Applications vs. Workiva

Of course this is the one of the best solution available in the market at present. When you have Multiple system in a plant then you need a powerful tool for Computation which Ability does it smoothly.

Incentivized

Order to cash processes and scenario are implemented natively in IFS. An HR module exists for career management also (objectives, comportments, training, mobility) but may be improved in terms of workflow validation (e.g. training to validate by a manager) or reporting.

Incentivized

Wdesk is best suited for companies with demanding SEC filings and documents, with multiple revisions due to auditor/counsel review, and where financial reporting is extremely manual. Wdesk really helps take out the potential errors out of extremely manual processes, and helps automate regular financial reporting by allowing companies to link financial information and build customized flows of their information into financial statements and other documents (such as presentations or other internal reporting).

Incentivized

• Computation of data.
• Presentation to right person.
• Ability to perform critical task and sending to users.
• Multiple control system connectivity.

Incentivized

• It supports the web version in most later versions.
• It provides various mobile versions of the applications as mobile apps to cater various areas.
• IFS Applications allows easy configurations of the application without going for costly customization.
• It covers almost every areas of an industrial company so any other third party applications are minimum.
• It allows safer and easier built-in options for integrations capabilities.

Incentivized

• The biggest strength of the program for our team is that multiple users can work in the document at the same time. Multiple users can be in the program updating financial statements, footnotes, MD&A - all without stepping on each other's toes.
• Rolling forward the documents from one period to the next is pretty simple. Links to source documents are maintained and new ones can be added without much hassle.
• Edits and changes can be made right up until the last minute before filing. There is no waiting period or pencils-down period unless we enforce one ourselves - the Financial Reporting team is in control of the timing of our filings.

Incentivized

• May be for smaller PLCs this can't be implemented.
• Cost may an area ABB can look in to.
• Improvement in GUI

Incentivized

• Handling massive volumes of data can be improved.

Incentivized

• The automation could be better. A lot of mass updates are done manually.
• Sometimes the system has connection issues and certain functions are down.
• The customer service could be more proactive to provide regular training and sharing updates on the software.
• Customer service could be better to help process the mass updates in a timely fashion.

Incentivized

One of the best solutions in the market with a user-friendly system. This is very useful when the ABB system (Like we had 800xA) is there, new or existing; all the ABB systems can be integrated using this rather than going to a 3rd party vendor, which may have interface problems.

Incentivized

The system is very difficult to use, overly complex, and difficult to learn. It also has limitations that are hard to overcome.

Overall it's a good-to-go product because of its features. It's easy to set up, meets requirements, has quality support, etc. So far, it has been working quite well for me, and I wish to continue using it for as long as it meets my requirements.

Incentivized

Good support in terms of quality and promptness. When we had problems with some of the commands not getting executed, their online support also provided a good solution to solve the problem. Even mission-critical task we were able to solve during this Pandemic time. The suggestion is to go for the online support 1st in the future, followed by a visit.

Incentivized

We have been unable to get answers to our questions, solutions to our problems, and they don't seem interested in working in the construction industry.

Workiva's technical support is impeccable and undoubtedly one of the best. The times we needed them, they were super quick and willing to help. It works 24 hours a day, and there will always be someone to help with doubts or technical problems regarding the tool.

Incentivized

Better suited for the ABB System as Microsoft is a third party for ABB Control System.

Incentivized

IFS Applications is based on Agile Technology which allows organizations to reconfigure user interface as per user requirements and make it user-friendly. Other applications are lagging on many fronts like User Interface, Online help document availability, Implementation methodology, and post-implementation expenses.

We moved from a third party filer to doing it in house. Have seen demos of products like Active Disclosure, which has come a long way from the beta version I saw and but we are not too far gone with Wdesk for us to evaluate other products. When we first signed up with Webfilings, (former name of Workiva), there were no viable products in the market. I had seen an Oracle product and a beta version of Active Disclosure. It was not hard to see the ease and intuitive-screens, to guide one through the filing process. The excel-like spreadsheets were an added bonus.

Incentivized

• Positive is definitely ROI since manual intervention is minimized and the process is automated.
• Cost wise, ABB has been looked upon considering the small industry.
• Overall, a good solution for a large companies.

Incentivized

• Reporting is now centralized and managed. Previously, reports were outside the information systems and there was a risk of incoherence.
• Accounting controls are now in place on the overall processes, including production, which helped the company to reduce closing periods or to produce more easily official mandatory accounting files yearly.
• Interfaces between the CRM forecast tool and IFS helped to keep the tools in sync, and to decrease the processing times prior to production launch.

Incentivized

• We spend less than we used to with a traditional printer.
• We have been able to do turn-on-a-dime equity offerings with last minute changes and still file on time.
• Inviting external legal into the platform has helped with communication but we actually suspect they spend MORE time (and billing) on our documents than they used to just simply because it's so easy to get at them anytime they want.

Incentivized