19 November 2008

Enterprise resource planning developer Epicor is supporting Microsoft’s cloud computing initiative, the Azure Services Platform.

Epicor says it shares with Microsoft a complementary vision for cloud computing and building applications that seamlessly bridge the gaps between PC, Web and phone. Epicor recently announced its next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution Epicor 9 – expected to be generally available before the end of the year – which it says will put ‘ERP everywhere,’ making use of Web 2.0 concepts to provide users with a truly collaborative and dynamic enterprise business application experience.

“Epicor continues to be a leader in adoption of forward-looking technologies from Microsoft,” said Robert Wahbe, the corporate vice president in charge of Microsoft’s Connected Systems Division. “Taking advantage of our cloud computing initiative is the next logical step in the evolution of Epicor’s service-oriented business applications – creating new business benefits and lower cost of ownership, which equates to increased value of these solutions for customers.”

“As an enterprise software solution provider, we are challenged to continuously increase the value of our solutions to our customers — widening the spread between the benefit and cost of ownership,” said Erik Johnson, senior director of development at Epicor. “The Azure Services Platform will be a game changer for cloud platforms – it incorporates Microsoft’s .NET Framework which means Epicor can leverage our existing skills and code libraries. Azure will also include new storage, identity, and data geo-affinity features that are crucial for deploying commercial enterprise applications in the cloud.”

Epicor has been working with the Azure Services Platform since mid-July, developing Enterprise Search for its Epicor 9 offering. When it is released in 2009 Enterprise Search will be Azure-enabled and the first in a series of connected applications for Epicor 9 customers.

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