Historically, ERP software has been uninteresting and stodgy, the playground of a few dominant on-premise players. Today, a variety of innovative vendors have taken hold in this market, pushing ERP into the cloud while attempting to pull business away from large companies like SAP and Oracle. Then, there is Epicor, a company with nearly $1 billion in revenue that serves mid-market ERP customers. In it's Last Conference, Epicor demonstrated the results of this new coordinated strategy and presented key building blocks for the future. These components include: Simplified software architecture and platform. The new platform, based on .NET technology from Microsoft, significantly reduces the complexity associated with developing and maintaining the product. For example, the following image shows that Epicor 10 (the new version) requires only one build (product variant) compared with 11 in the prior version:
The new, simplified platform has allowed Epicor to streamline internal development and testing processes, while focusing labor on innovation rather than low-value tasks. While this may seem like an arcane technical point, it has important beneficial implications in areas such as quality assurance, technical support, and implementation. In summary, the new platform streamlines a host of downstream activities that directly affect customers in a positive way.
Cloud strategy. Going forward, the company is maintaining “one code line” for on-premise and cloud development. Developing a single product that works in both the cloud and on-premise environments allows Epicor to apply resources efficiently while giving customers choice of deployment method. Johnson summarized, saying, with the new platform, “Every dollar spent on on-premise benefits the cloud product and vice-versa.”
Services strategy. Enterprise customers need service and support through the entire software lifecycle, from pre-sales through implementation and after the go-live point. To oversee ERP for the Americas, which includes services, Epicor brought on industry veteran Donna Troy. They have adopted a milestone-driven methodology combined with a strong program of change management. This graphic shows the latest implementation process:
Epicor ERP 10 offers features such as social collaboration, e-commerce, and flexible deployment (cloud and on-premise). It also substantially increases performance compared to previous versions. Here is a diagram of the components:
C# Everywhere. Good news for developers around the world. There is no more Progress in Epicor 10. Everything from Customization to BPM can be written in C#.
