Epicor Unveils Version 9 to Attendees

Epicor Software (News - Alert) has unveiled, to nearly 2,000 attendees at its annual customer conference, the launch of its next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) product, Epicor 9. With the launch, Epicor officials say they're "introducing a new approach to the way ERP systems are designed, built, and used."

 

Expected to be generally available before the end of the year, Epicor 9 will use Web 2.0 concepts to provide what company officials describe as "a truly collaborative and dynamic enterprise business application experience."

 

Basically Epicor 9 is an adaptable and collaborative business architecture that pretty much works no matter where you are, or your industry means of access.

 

Epicor is "at the forefront of a new paradigm that is revolutionizing the user experience for business applications such as ERP," says John Hiraoka, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Epicor to TMC (News - Alert), "making it easier for users and employees from all across the business -- even the world -- to get the exact information they need in whatever format they need."

 

Hiraoka said today we're seeing "social computing applications being merged with business applications architecture, where business users are now using search engine technology, RSS feeds, mash up and virtualization, concepts birthed by the Internet Age, applied to improve the way people work."

 

Walid Abu-Hadba (News - Alert), CVP, Developer & Platform Evangelism for Microsoft, said The Best Little Software Company In Redmond "applauds Epicor for its deep usage of the Microsoft (News - Alert) platform to deliver its service-based business products."

 

Epicor officials say they have "converged" the best of their offerings into this next-generation superset release. The release provides "reach, synergy, and visibility" to the organization and its trading partners.

 

Specifically, Epicor features numerous essential embedded capabilities that manage the flow of processes right across the enterprise.

 

This approach to core functionality, "typically provided in other systems through after-the-fact integration or third party add-ons," includes customer relationship management (CRM), supplier relationship management (SRM), advanced planning and scheduling (APS), business process management (BPM), governance, risk and compliance (GRC), product configuration, field service and more.

 

Epicor officials say users can select whether to deploy on-premise, single-tenant hosted, or multi-tenant Software as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)), Windows-based or Web-based, centralized or decentralized, end-to-end or individual suites: "Customers can also choose how to configure the application suites to best fit and improve business processes.

 

End users can choose several options for interacting with their ERP system: using the standard application forms, through Microsoft Office applications, through Internet and intranet portal pages or composite applications, using a search engine, taking RSS feeds, and from mobile devices."

 

In August, Epicor announced Canadian swimwear retailer Groupe Bikini Village had selected the Epicor Retail Software as a Service (SaaS) product.

 

Bikini Village sells swimwear across Eastern Canada. Headquartered in Boucherville, Québec, the company operates 60 stores under the Bikini Village banner in Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

 

Bikini Village overhauled and refreshed many of its stores, company officials said, "part of an ambitious renovation and expansion strategy now beginning to yield results." The company recently posted a 25 percent increase in Q1-2008 year-over-year revenues.