PRODUCT NAME Octopus Microfinance Suite v. 2.
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 on-
going basis
The advantages of a continuously evolving product may also be
reduced for MFIs which have limited access to the Internet
IT expertise Installation and maintenance may require users with experience in
required 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 Commercial Bank
Microfinance Bank
Community Bank
Finance Companies
Savings and Credit Associations
Cooperatives and Credit Unions
Non-profit Organizations
Overall Rating
Name of User
User feedback (Excellent, Good, Average, or Poor)
(Sample of users) African Gate Financial Support
Good
See User Surveys for (Ghana)
detailed ratings. Good Anonymous
Average Anonymous
Average Anonymous
Good AIRDIE (France)
Average Buksh Foundation (Pakistan)
Total Number of Clients (MFI) 12
Installation by
region Europe and Central Asia 10
Sub Saharan Africa 1
See RFI for installations East Asia and the Pacific 0
by country.
South Asia 1
Middle East and North Africa 0
Latin America and the Caribbean 0
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 multi-
entities.
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 The solution comes with an extensive number of reports. However,
reporting 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/ Implementation and training support are provided either by the
Training/ Support 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 The application can run on a simple PC, either as a standalone or
capabilities embedded in a network environment with a central server (local
*** (LAN) or Internet (VPN)).
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
Range of user Total implementation budget of the surveyed users varies from $0
budgets to $145,000.
(See User Surveys for
detailed budget)
Standard costs Unit Comments
License N/A License is free of charge as Octopus is open-source.
Implementation fees Per Octopus proposes a turn-key implementation
implementation, package which includes training, installation and
based on portfolio configuration, light adaptations, and migration of
size 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 Three levels of maintenance support offered:
portfolio - 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 # of # of # of % Urban/
Price
(details in RFI) Clients Users Branches % Rural
Case 1: MFI with Loan, Deposit,
100,000 220 50 50/50 N.A.
Domestic Transfer Products
Case 2: MFI with Group and
40,000 60 20 20/80 $105,000
Individual Loan Products
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
Features covered by Octopus
DELIVERY FRONT OFFICE
CHANNELS
CLIENTS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Teller
mgmt Loans Savings Transfers Others
Individual loans
Client information Savings account Payment card
ATM management Solidarity groups with Interbranch
individual loans
Solidarity groups with Current account Check mgmt
Interbank
POS group loans
Potential client Overdraft account
information Foreign exchange
International
management
Term deposit
Mobile Collateral mgmt
Banking Batch Insurance
Customer Guarantor mgmt Planned savings
Relationship
Mgmt (CRM) Credit Scoring Group savings
PDA
LEGEND
Function not covered
BACK OFFICE NETWORK
Function covered at ADMINI- FINANCE & ACCOUNTING REPORTING PC stand
LAN
less than 50% STRATION alone
Finance Accounting
Function covered Operational reporting Centralized
between 50 and 75% HR
administration Chart of accounts Regulatory authorities On line With off
Function covered at Budget mgmt (WAN) line option
Payroll mgmt reporting
more than 75% management
Treasury mgmt Sub-ledger
Financial reporting Decentralized with
Function covered by updates
consolidation of
additional module Share mgmt Asset mgmt
Accounting GL Management reporting Database Incremental
Function covered by
transfer data transfer
partner software
