Epicor Focusing on Cloud ERP
Epicor Insights 2016 was the forum Epicor used to highlight their shift in business motto away from focusing on just technology to instead “Grow Business not Software”. This change came after Epicor appointed a new CEO and CFO to lead their business and they are positioning themselves differently as a result. Outside of growth being a main topic of discussion at the event, Cloud ERP is the other topic they flaunted. Helping customers achieve growth is important to Epicor and in order to do that, they need to bring more value to these customers. This translates into improvement in the quality of software and services offered, further development of the products based on customer needs, streamlining and simplifying Epicor product release and updates, and dedicating cloud as a major road ahead.
At the event, Epicor focused on some of the key initiatives they are undergoing with Cloud currently. Here are the highlights:
- Improving Cloud Visibility. Better insight into the cloud environment gives their customers better understanding of what’s going on with systems and services. Epicor was being pushed to provide better transparency despite the fact that by definition cloud customers are supposed to be insulated from the vendor. As an answer to this, Epicor has created dashboards, allowing customers to see in real time what is going on with the system and can provide more information on updates and maintenance needed.
- Continuous Expansion of Epicor Cloud Globally. Epicor is expanding its operational footprint to better serve its customer’s needs across the globe. Epicor is now live in the cloud in 10 countries, and recently started operations at the Microsoft Azure data center in Singapore to serve Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. More global growth to follow.
- Specific Documentation. Epicor is looking to prepare specific documentation for their customers looking to move to cloud deployment, and to manage companies using cloud-based Epicor products.
- Pilot Systems for Cloud ERP Customers. Their customers are now able to use a pilot system in addition to the operational one. This pilot system is upgraded in advance of the production, so companies have an opportunity to test real-life data in the upcoming release and make sure the main application, and all customized reports, workflows, and others are working as they are supposed to before applying changes in the production environment.
Epicor shared with the attendees that two years ago the cloud accounted for about 20 percent of North America’s Epicor customer quotes. A year ago, this number was around 38 percent. Within the last 4 to 5 months, they announced that slightly more than half of all Epicor’s new clients prefer cloud deployment over on-premise. This number certainly varies from month to month, but the “new business reality” for the vendor is already here, customers choose cloud more than other deployment options. Epicor also predicted that all customers will eventually move to Cloud ERP. Because of this thinking, Epicor’s number one priority is providing their customers with the latest version of their software, since this version is better for their business.
2W Tech has been trying to help educate organizations on the benefit of Cloud ERP and would be happy to discuss if this deployment method is best for your business. We are a Certified Epicor ERP partner.
Read More about Cloud ERP here:
Epicor ERP 10.1 Supports Mobility and Cloud
Have You Considered Making the Shift to Cloud ERP