Tech specs
1-8 of 28 reviews
What is our primary use case? We normally use ACL Analytics to automate what we call control testing across different business areas. We have several use cases for procurement which covers accounts payable. We are looking at payroll, employees sharing bank accounts or sharing last names, and all those different HR tests. We have a whole suite of approximately 56 bots testing for six controls. We use it for various business units and we have quite a lot of solutions. With ACL Analytics alone it is a bit difficult, so we integrated it with a robots application that sits on the cloud. It helps us to control data extraction via our service accounts and automate all that process. In that way, we are able to run a task, and once it is completed, it deletes the data we have extracted from source, only keeping the exceptions that we have. With ACL Analytics, you have an extension of writing scripts or commands, and what you can do with that is extend it to what they call the HighBond or Diligent robots. That Diligent bot uses Python. Now you are able to create a workflow based on what the result has been on ACL Analytics. For instance, when we have identified a user or a record that is a ghost employee, we need to send that record to business owners. The HighBond or the Diligent cloud bot kicks off the workflow where it triggers an automated notification to the business owner. Then the business owner can provide evidence on that record, and that record feeds back again onto HighBond, which has a storage area also for reporting. That information is stored back into our dataset, and then we are able to analyze it further. What is most valuable? The key feature of ACL Analytics is integration, which allows for vast amounts of data sources you can connect to. The tool itself allows you to integrate it into your audit work in terms of taking exceptions that you receive from your analytics. It provides integration into your GRC platform and into your audit working files, and then one key thing is the vast amounts of connectors. We have seen a return on investment as we have mostly reduced working hours for the audit engagements. If an auditor was normally budgeted to take 600 hours, we have implemented a solution to take those audit hours down to 200 hours. We are mostly taking those metrics. What needs improvement? We have an issue with the hard coding of passwords in ACL Analytics. You do not have an interface where you can enter a password and then it can be encrypted when you enter it. Every time you enter a password, it gets exposed under the script, so that is one of the key flaws. I would definitely want the scalability to be improved in the next releases. The flexibility of getting or sharing suggestions regarding new features could be enhanced. They can optimize the pricing. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with ACL Analytics for more than 5 years. What was my experience with deployment of the solution? Deploying ACL Analytics does not take long; it takes a maximum of a day. Firstly, you need to get your architecture approval in terms of security regarding what the tool can do and all its different functionalities, including the security flow about sensitive sharing of passwords. Once we have got that approval from architecture, we test the application and run it on the Windows machine as the vendor has specified. To install, we start on the UA environment. To see if it is able to install, we spin up a UA environment and run the installer on our on-prem environment. Then, we check if you can log on into this application since it connects to the internet, ensuring your server can communicate using port 443 or outbound only. That is what has been configured, so you need to test that connectivity to the internet. Once you have done that, your on-prem application will be able to connect or communicate with the internet. That is the testing we do for the desktop application and once we have that, we migrate it onto all the other users across the organization. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I would rate how stable this solution is as a 10. There are minimal downtimes in terms of running analytics. If it is ever down, you also have an option to do a secondary node in case one agent goes down, the other one is able to function. It just depends on the configuration you have done, but in my experience, you should never have any issues in terms of the application itself and its performance, although because of its time-based system, it is probably because our storage we need to acquire more when we are running analytics. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I would rate how scalable ACL Analytics is as a 5. It is a vendor application, and you do not have much power in terms of what we can adjust. How are customer service and support? I would rate the technical support for ACL Analytics as a 7. This rating is due to slow response times; it would take more than 5 days to respond. How would you rate customer service and support? Neutral Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? Before using ACL Analytics, we used SQL. We decided to switch from SQL mainly because of connectors; SQL only connects to SQL databases, whereas ACL Analytics connects to multiple databases. How was the initial setup? I would rate my experience with the initial setup of ACL Analytics as a 10. Just one person is needed for the deployment. What about the implementation team? Currently, three people are needed for the maintenance of this solution. What was our ROI? We have seen a return on investment as we have mostly reduced working hours for the audit engagements. If an auditor was normally budgeted to take 600 hours, we have implemented a solution to take those audit hours down to 200 hours. We are mostly taking those metrics. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? I would rate the pricing of ACL Analytics as a 10. Which other solutions did I evaluate? Before choosing ACL Analytics specifically, we evaluated other options such as IDEA Analytics and Arbutus software. We chose ACL Analytics over the other options because this one is server-based. With IDEA or Arbutus, it is desktop mode only. What other advice do I have? I am a customer of this solution. It depends on new joiners and leavers in the organization. However, based on our contract, we are licensed to have only those 300 licenses, so we maintain them based on the movers and leavers process. My overall rating for ACL Analytics is 8 out of 10. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Hybrid Cloud If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use? Amazon Web Services (AWS) Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.customer
What is our primary use case? I use ACL Analytics for fraud detection in our banking system. We have robotic reports extracted from the system periodically. Every week, three reports are generated, providing us with a big picture to identify if any fraud has occurred. What is most valuable? ACL Analytics is a great application that helps me analyze data more effectively compared to other tools like Excel. It allows me to view extensive data and extract only the necessary columns for specific analytical missions. With over a million clients, this feature helps tremendously in identifying fraud detection in client accounts. What needs improvement? I believe the formulas and scripting language in ACL Analytics need development to be easier for me to use. I want to see more robotic reports generated automatically, rather than relying heavily on scripting. It would also be beneficial if ACL Analytics included features similar to Tableau for data presentation. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using it for just a couple of months, specifically around three months. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I occasionally experience lag when extracting Excel sheets after formulating and setting up the required data. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I have not encountered any limitations or scalability issues with ACL Analytics. How are customer service and support? I escalate many questions to technical support, and they usually respond to me. However, the local support sponsor in Egypt is not very active and delays in responding. How would you rate customer service and support? Negative Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? Before ACL Analytics, I depended on our local system for GRC and continuous control monitoring. How was the initial setup? The initial basics are user-friendly and easy to use, but challenges arise when more complex formulas are involved. Writing and understanding complex formulas could be improved for easier usability. What about the implementation team? I was not initially involved in the implementation team, but the application was paused for four months and then started again. I then became a part of the implementation team and received training from a sponsoring company. What was our ROI? I am not aware of any measurable return on investment in terms of financial operations, but ACL Analytics is a very useful application that helps save power, time, and resources. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The pricing for ACL Analytics is reasonable, but due to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, costs in our local market increase. For example, a thousand dollars last year cost three thousand pounds, but today it is five thousand pounds. Which other solutions did I evaluate? There were two offers, and I chose ACL Analytics due to its high reputation in the local market of Egypt. What other advice do I have? They must consider the knowledge of using the application as a key point before choosing ACL Analytics for their environment. Overall, I would rate ACL Analytics nine out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Public Cloud If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use? Other Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
What is our primary use case? I use ACL Analytics mostly for data analytics and automation. I analyze system data to gather insights and evidence, as well as create business process reports. It is an integrated tool that helps me analyze data independently. What is most valuable? Everything is integrated. I have a package where everything is in one place, so I do not have to use multiple tools. The analysis and visualization sides are well-connected, which is very important. I can access data from various sources, both relational and non-relational databases, using one tool. This integration is quite valuable, particularly for data auditing needs and risk analysis. What needs improvement? The visualization capabilities in ACL Analytics need more variety and features. The current selection of visuals is limited, so I would like to see more visualization capabilities. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with ACL Analytics for about six years. What was my experience with deployment of the solution? Any challenges I faced during implementation were addressed by the support team. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I have had minimal performance or stability issues with ACL Analytics. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I find ACL Analytics to be scalable. How are customer service and support? The technical support team for ACL Analytics is quite efficient and ready to help if I face any challenges. How would you rate customer service and support? Neutral Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I have worked with IDEA in addition to ACL Analytics. I did not switch, but rather expanded my knowledge on other tools. How was the initial setup? The implementation mainly involves installation, ensuring connectivity to the databases, extracting data from various systems, and the automation side. The setup of robots, agents, and software itself is also part of the process. The initial setup took a maximum of two days. What about the implementation team? I was involved in the initial setup of ACL Analytics. What was our ROI? The analytic side of ACL Analytics allows me to prove its value, which justifies continuous funding. It has proven value in terms of time saving and efficiency, so much so that using open-source tools like Python is not necessary. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? ACL Analytics is more expensive compared to competitors like IDEA. However, it offers features such as GRC that IDEA does not have. Despite this, it is considered an expensive tool. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I did not switch solutions but used ACL Analytics alongside IDEA to expand my knowledge. What other advice do I have? I recommend ACL Analytics because it makes work easier and is user-friendly. Before choosing it, consider the costs. There is no need to buy the entire package upfront. Start with the analysis side, implement it, see its value, and then go to the next stage. I rate ACL Analytics as a strong eighth. The overall rating I give to the solution is 8 out of 10. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Hybrid Cloud If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use? Other Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
What is our primary use case? I used ACL Analytics for rental testing, JE testing, and rental revenue testing. We ran tests when the data exceeded the capacity of platforms like Excel and needed to be run on SQL or Azure. The tool was integral in handling large datasets and conducting various audits. What is most valuable? The most valuable feature of ACL Analytics is its error suggestion capability, where it indicates problems if operations are incorrect. This feature was part of the premium version we used. What needs improvement? Currently, the platform is not very comfortable for users coming from a non-technical or non-coding background. It should be easier to learn for these users. While we had e-learning resources to assist, a more intuitive platform would be beneficial. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using ACL Analytics for three years. Initially, it was a bit challenging, but I found it user-friendly after about three to four months of use. What was my experience with deployment of the solution? Deployment was neither easy nor hard. Once we learned how to use the software, it was manageable. For complete deployment, it took around seven to eight months. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I only faced stability issues twice due to a large query input, which caused a minor crash. It didn't take more than half an hour for our IT team to resolve the issue. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? There are certain limits in ACL Analytics, and if those are exceeded, the system may crash. How are customer service and support? We contacted technical support via a vendor. For major technical issues, resolutions typically took six to eight hours. For minor issues, our technical team handled them. Their responses were prompt. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We used a separate tool called Audit Analytics, which was helpful. Our tech team would provide scripts that we modified to generate outputs. It was a firm-based software. How was the initial setup? Setup was neutral in difficulty. It required learning, and it took me seven to eight months to complete the deployment with my team. What about the implementation team? I was part of a group of 12 in a pilot batch in Hyderabad, and six of us were deployed on ACL Analytics. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? From research, ACL Analytics is quite affordable compared to the market. However, premiums are a little bit expensive, but justifiable given the benefits of the tool. What other advice do I have? I rate ACL Analytics nine out of ten. For new users, I recommend visiting their website to read the user guide and watch the videos available. This will help in understanding the basic functions of ACL Analytics. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Public Cloud If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use? Microsoft Azure Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
What is our primary use case? Some of my use cases include connecting to multiple databases, such as Teradata, Oracle, and SQL. There is a feature in Toad Data Point that securely stores all login information, and once I am connected, it automatically establishes the connection, similar to SQL, where using the same password connects automatically. For visualization, I use Tableau and Power BI, which offer multiple connections, however, they do not specifically connect to databases where I can connect to multiple data sources. Toad Data Point is one of the tools that enables connections to multiple data sources. How has it helped my organization? We started seeing benefits after some time. What is most valuable? A valuable feature is automation. With Toad Data Point, I can automate most steps automatically. There is a feature called Toad Automation, which is a valuable tool. What needs improvement? Toad Data Point should include more features for utilizing AI, which can automatically perform many tasks. The tool should have a feature where, if I convert my Oracle connection, the code, whether a select statement or anything else, should automatically convert into Oracle format. The same with SQL. When connecting to SQL, the code should be in SQL format, and when connecting to Teradata, it should be in Teradata format. Since not everyone knows all languages, there should be a feature that automatically converts code into the desired format. It's not user-friendly. Once you start using it, you eventually get to know the features. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Toad Data Point for the last three and a half years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I have no issues with lagging or crashing. That said, whenever I try to export data, there might be some lag due to the large volume of data. It's not a challenge, just unusual. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I think Toad Data Point can be scaled, and features can be added. Some aspects, like scalability, could be improved to avoid writing different codes for each database. It should be possible to write in SQL and pull data from Oracle, converting SQL into Oracle. While this can be done, the feature does not currently exist. How are customer service and support? I have never experienced any issues with customer service. Everything went smoothly. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? Other products do not support all databases. I have mostly used Alteryx. Alteryx is another ETL tool. Used specifically for querying, Toad Data Point is the best. How was the initial setup? The setup is easy, even when the version changes. I can automatically convert my data sources and connections. It's not difficult. Deployment within my company is straightforward, with installation done automatically. Once installed, it's self-learning, requiring minimal effort during deployment. There may be occasional updates that can be handled on the back end. It usually happens automatically overnight. We don't even notice. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? I don't manage the pricing. That's handled by the supply chain management team. What other advice do I have? I suggest that users should know all the languages when running queries on Toad Data Point. Follow the sessions offered for Toad learnings, as they provide valuable input and information about new features. I rate Toad Data Point nine out of ten. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
What is our primary use case? There are two main use cases. One is reengineering an existing model and making changes from a database. The other is making a new model from scratch. These use cases involve all kinds of systems, including both Oracle and lately also Postgres. What is most valuable? The feature I really like is the graphical part, especially the control of the relationships. You can move them around any way you want. I haven't found this in any other tool. It makes it easy to create a comprehensive and easy-to-understand diagram. What needs improvement? When updating a model after generating a schema, if only a few tables are imported, the tool assumes you want to delete the rest, which is cumbersome. If you have a large model, you repeatedly have to clarify that you don't want to remove the rest. If we could view the same model on physical, logical, and conceptual levels while retaining all information, that would be beneficial. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with Toad Data Modeler for at least ten years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is quite stable. I would rate its stability as a nine out of ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The tool is able to scale, allowing for new models and additional users. I would rate its scalability as an eight out of ten. How are customer service and support? I have been in touch with the technical support team a couple of times, and they were very helpful in finding solutions quickly. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive How was the initial setup? The initial setup is quite simple and provides everything I need. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Considering its functionality, I would rate its pricing as a seven out of ten. It could be cheaper yet is still pretty good. Which other solutions did I evaluate? The only other product I found with satisfactory functionality comparable to Toad Data Modeler was from Visual Paradigm. What other advice do I have? I would rate the overall solution as a nine out of ten. I recommend Toad Data Modeler to other users. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
What is our primary use case? We primarily use Toad Data Point for end users where SQL Developer does not provide sufficient tooling. Toad Data Point offers better SQL development tools compared to SQL Developer, making it the preferred choice for certain development use cases. What is most valuable? It provides better SQL development tooling than SQL Developer, which is not a sufficient tool for all development use cases. It offers power developers the tools they need. What needs improvement? I am not the end user of this solution. I am not close enough to it because I manage the platform that it runs against. The end users who use the Toad tool come against the database that my team manages, so it is hard for me to provide any area for improvement when it comes to the Toad tool. However, in the administration case, cost is a significant issue. The Mac license is incredibly expensive. It is 1,600 dollars each, which is more than the Windows version. Scalability is difficult when it is that costly. For how long have I used the solution? We have been using it for more than ten years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I have no concerns about stability. There have been no issues related to stability. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Outside of the Mac administration, it is very scalable. It does not scale well when considering the high cost of the Mac license. How are customer service and support? I am very pleased with their customer support. They were very prompt and responsive. They resolved my issue within a day which was specifically around licensing. When we signed ELA, there were some issues with some of our SKUs because we licensed multiple products from them. We opened a case with them, and they quickly got back to me and had it resolved within a day. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? SQL Developer acts as an alternative, offering about 80% of what Toad Data Point does. There is a huge overlap between the two. The main advantage of SQL Developer is that it is a free tool, requiring no licensing, so a lot of our developers use it exclusively. They do not use Toad Data Point. How was the initial setup? It is very easy. I do not manage the deployment. The end users of Toad Data Point have a wrapper for the installation. They use that when a request comes in for the product. We have an ELA, and it is unlimited on the endpoint side. It is just a package that they deploy. It is a button click. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The Mac licenses are expensive, costing 1,600 dollars each. This is much higher than for the Windows version. I maintain a very limited number of licenses due to this cost. What other advice do I have? We love it. Overall, I would rate Toad Data Point a nine out of ten. Disclaimer: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
What is our primary use case? I work as an external auditor for a government agency. I use the tool for analytics. What is most valuable? We apply different methods, such as sampling, data manipulation, and sorting. I'm fond of the scripting feature, which automates routine tasks and saves time. It also offers data insights. The major benefit of ACL Analytics is its ability to save time. Tasks that used to take more than a week can now be completed in hours. Using scripts, we can run data and get the results. The training programs were good. I found the training that came with the version I used in 2017 helpful, but the newer training was even better. What needs improvement? The tool's pricing is quite high. When I purchased the software, I constantly contacted the representatives. I requested a single license, but they informed me that only packages of three licenses were available. This made it very difficult for us to manage the cost, especially given the economic challenges in our country. The price of $5,000 is high, and transferring money from one country to another, particularly in dollars, is challenging due to high exchange rates. Although we managed to purchase it then, the lack of a single license option and the high cost were issues. I had trouble getting my issue across when I posted a problem with screenshots on the forum. The support team initially didn't seem to understand my problem and replied with general questions. I had to send more emails to explain it better. I think their support could be better. We expect support people to know the software well and understand our issues. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with the product since 2017. How are customer service and support? I found ACL Analytics to be a very reliable software. When I encountered issues in different scenarios, I sought help and received immediate support. The support was very effective in solving problems. One of the major strengths of ACL Analytics is its supportive community, which makes things easier for learners. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? Before ACL Analytics, we primarily used Excel for analytics purposes. However, we were aware of its limitations, as it is a spreadsheet tool rather than a dedicated analytics software. We used Excel for small data and routine tasks. How was the initial setup? The solution is easy to implement, provided the organization or management is willing. The scripting is straightforward and can be easily acquired by anyone with basic computer knowledge and common sense. The key factor is management's willingness to implement it. Regarding ease of use, it's quite easy when you have sufficient knowledge and proper planning. However, if the training is not systematic, it can be challenging. What other advice do I have? In our scenario, our department in Pakistan implemented ACL Analytics in 2004. Most people weren't using it due to limited knowledge and training sessions. When appointed in 2009, I found the software interesting and began using the trial versions. In 2017, I committed to it seriously, purchasing a book with a six-month license. With proper knowledge and training, we have used ACL Analytics to contribute to our work environment. We have not yet used ACL Analytics' AI feature, but we expect to in the future. Our sister organization plans to implement SAP HANA in two to three months. With the implementation of SAP HANA, we anticipate using AI features in SAP HANA and ACL Analytics. Actually, we started getting training in our department in 2004, when the organization first acquired the product. However, the training sessions were basic and did not cover advanced or in-depth topics. Those who received the training couldn't apply it effectively because they needed more advanced knowledge. In our department, we received one—to two-day basic training sessions, but the help resources and tutorials provided with the licensed version were instrumental in helping me understand and gain advanced knowledge of the software. We did not opt for additional maintenance support or anything else. They offered other options and renewals, but we did not pursue them. Our organization's license agreement ended in 2019, and at that time, I did not have access to the required IDs, codes, and registration codes. Some of our seniors had access and continued to use it, but I did not. I recommend ACL Analytics to all my colleagues and peers. Whenever the topic of improving analytics comes up at work, I advocate for the continued use and purchase of ACL Analytics. It is the best in the field and market. I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
