PRODUCT NAME Octopus Microfinance Suite v. 2.6 VENDOR NAME Octopus Microfinance 2009 Review* September 2009 Previous Reviews Not applicable SUMMARY Overall impression Octopus is an innovative new solution based on an open source development model. Continuous improvements and developments are made through a collaborative web platform which brings together the editor, resellers, and MFIs to contribute to product development. The solution was launched in 2007 and meets basic requirements for a small-medium MFI. The solution is evolving at a steady pace as a result of its development methodology. Pros User-friendly solution with highly ergonomic window displays (intuitive use, search anywhere function, dashboard of critical information and alerts) Free of charge license acquisition - the user owns the source code and can choose its own counterpart for maintenance Product is continuously enriched through community contributions Cons Basic functionalities covered at this time The advantages of a continuously evolving product may raise issues for MFIs to adapt their standards/processes on an ongoing basis The advantages of a continuously evolving product may also be reduced for MFIs which have limited access to the Internet IT expertise required Installation and maintenance may require users with experience in SQL servers. *Please consider the profile of a typical user when reading this review. Evaluations are conducted based on how well the product performs for the type of user indicated in the client profile section. 1
CLIENTS Size (# of clients) Small (less than 5,000) Medium (5,000-25,000) Medium-Large (25,000-50,000) with SQL version Large (more than 50,000) Other (specify) Type of institution User feedback (Sample of users) See User Surveys for detailed ratings. Installation by region See RFI for installations by country. Commercial Bank Microfinance Bank Community Bank Finance Companies Savings and Credit Associations Cooperatives and Credit Unions Non-profit Organizations Overall Rating (Excellent, Good, Average, or Poor) Good Good Average Average Good Average Total Number of Clients (MFI) 12 Europe and Central Asia 10 Sub Saharan Africa 1 East Asia and the Pacific 0 South Asia 1 Middle East and North Africa 0 Latin America and the Caribbean 0 Name of User African Gate Financial Support (Ghana) Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous AIRDIE (France) Buksh Foundation (Pakistan) RATINGS from * = poor to **** = best Functionality ** The solution meets the basic requirements of a small-medium MFI. The Credit and the Client Information modules have the most extensive coverage. The multi-currency Accounting module is complete but the configuration schemes lack flexibility. Only current accounts and saving accounts offered by the Savings module which is expected to be completed by the end of 2009. Transfers expected to be added in 2010. Teller Management is basic and no other delivery channels are available for the time being. The Group methodology is particularly well implemented. Screens display one glance for detailed information related to all group members. Batch entry available for loan repayments and compulsory savings, with exception posting capability. 2
The application can centralize and present data at different levels: branch, region, end entity. However, it does not yet offer multientities. Ease of use **** State-of-the-art screen design with easy and intuitive navigation through the windows. Client-centric approach; all information and operations related to a client can be accessed through tabs in the same window. Clear display of information with drill-down capacities. Some practical features are permanently displayed, including search anywhere and automatic alerts on events (treasury level, today s repayments, late loans, etc.). The application is multi-lingual, available and maintained in English, French, Russian, and Arabic. There is no contextual Help in the application. Users connect to the website to access updated manual, wiki, forum, etc. Management reporting ** The solution comes with an extensive number of reports. However, most of them are preset so the user cannot define their own criteria for filtering and presentation of data. The information can be presented at different levels of consolidation, and some of the reports include trend analysis based on specific time periods. The application integrates with Crystal Reports, but the design of new reports requires IT expertise (SQL and Octopus data structure). Implementation/ Training/ Support *** Implementation and training support are provided either by the editor, based in France, or one of its partners located in Senegal, Kyrgyzstan, and Sri Lanka. New partners are expected in North Africa/Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia. Some users indicated that they have installed the application themselves. The application and new releases can be downloaded from the Octopus website. The website also provides methodology and data migration tools for the end-users. Surveyed users have rated the implementation, training, and support services from Average to Excellent. Octopus Microfinance Suite is also available in ASP mode (Application Service Provider); MFI users connect remotely to the editor server and manage their own data (Octopus online). 3
Technical capabilities *** The application can run on a simple PC, either as a standalone or embedded in a network environment with a central server (local (LAN) or Internet (VPN)). Range of user budgets (See User Surveys for detailed budget) Databases supported include Microsoft SQL Express (free of charge but limited to 11 concurrent users) and SQL Server. Consolidation in the central database is made through integration of the entire database, not in an incremental manner. Incremental consolidation is expected to be available by the end of 2009. The application includes audit trail reports, however, these are limited to input from transactions and does not include changes made on tables and the configuration. User roles and privileges are rigid and cannot be set based on the user profile. COST SUMMARY Total implementation budget of the surveyed users varies from $0 to $145,000. Standard costs Unit Comments License N/A License is free of charge as Octopus is open-source. Implementation fees Per implementation, based on portfolio size Octopus proposes a turn-key implementation package which includes training, installation and configuration, light adaptations, and migration of data up to 2 branches. Fees are based on portfolio size: - Greenfield: EUR 5,000 - Portfolio < EUR 1 million: EUR 10,000 - Portfolio EUR 1-10 million: EUR 15,000 - Portfolio > EUR 10 million: EUR 25,000 Training Per person System administrator: $ 3,000 per person End-user: included in the implementation package Maintenance % of gross portfolio Three levels of maintenance support offered: - Shared Support (0.02% of gross portfolio): resolution of bugs and calls answered within one day - Dedicated Support (0.05% of gross portfolio): resolution of bugs and calls answered within 2 hours, one feature request per year - Continuous Improvement Support (0.25% of gross portfolio): resolution of bugs and calls answered within 1 hour, on-site support and coaching whenever needed, unlimited feature requests 4
Pricing Cases (details in RFI) # of Clients # of Users # of Branches % Urban/ % Rural Price Case 1: MFI with Loan, Deposit, Domestic Transfer Products 100,000 220 50 50/50 N.A. Case 2: MFI with Group and Individual Loan Products 40,000 60 20 20/80 $105,000 Case 3: MFI with Individual Loan and Deposit Products 15,000 45 10 80/20 $60,000 Comments: For case 1, provider prefers to quote on a case-by-case basis. 5
DELIVERY CHANNELS FRONT OFFICE Features covered by Octopus CLIENTS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Teller mgmt Loans Savings Transfers Others ATM POS Mobile Banking PDA Client information management Potential client information management Customer Relationship Mgmt (CRM) Individual loans Solidarity groups with individual loans Solidarity groups with group loans Collateral mgmt Guarantor mgmt Credit Scoring Savings account Current account Overdraft account Term deposit Planned savings Group savings Interbranch Interbank International Batch Payment card Check mgmt Foreign exchange Insurance LEGEND Function not covered BACK OFFICE NETWORK Function covered at less than 50% Function covered between 50 and 75% Function covered at more than 75% Function covered by additional module Function covered by partner software ADMINI- STRATION HR administration Payroll management Share mgmt FINANCE & ACCOUNTING Finance Budget mgmt Treasury mgmt Asset mgmt Accounting Chart of accounts mgmt Sub-ledger updates Accounting GL REPORTING Operational reporting Regulatory authorities reporting Financial reporting Management reporting PC stand alone On line (WAN) Centralized LAN Decentralized with consolidation of Database transfer With off line option Incremental data transfer 6