Karen Chastain, Senior Manager of Alliance Marketing, Epicor Software Corporation

“Microsoft Services Partner Advantage enablesus to get to the front of the line with experts at Microsoft. It provides us with one-on-one expertise and the ability to make our solutions achieve their full potential.”

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Epicor is a registered trademark of Epicor Software Corporation
Document published March 2008

Businessand Technology Need

Epicor Software Corporation is a leader in delivering end-to-end business solutions to companies around the globe. Known as one of the fastest-growing companies in the world, Epicor has more than 20,000 customers in 140 countries in the manufacturing, distribution, retail, hospitality, and services industries.

Epicor offers solutions that integrate seamlessly with Microsoft® products while providing the support necessary to easily deploy and maintain these systems. With a strong background in technological innovation, Epicor strives to supply business solutions that improve customer workflow and productivity. These solutions use the most current technologies and operate in a variety of working environments. To maintain its position as an industry leader, Epicor wanted to improve methods of product assessment and implementation to deliver better solutions and more focused support to its clients.

Solution

In 2002, Epicor joined the Microsoft Services Partner Advantage program to gain firsthand insight into Microsoft products and resources. The program extends the technical support benefits of the Microsoft Partner Program and is designed to provide independent software vendors (ISV) organizations with tailored software development services, resources, guidance, and personalized problem-resolution support through a strategic and collaborative relationship with Microsoft.

Through the program, Epicor is assigned an Application Design Consultant who provides the company with one-on-one guidance and feedback on product solutions. Access to Microsoft testing facilities is also granted.These facilities are dedicated to tackling common problems in software development. Using Microsoft performance labs, Epicor tests its applications to iron out bugs that may hinder functionality. Scalability labs are used to determine how many desktops an application can be deployed on, before displaying symptoms of overload. The labs also provide problem isolation services that enable Epicor to detect unique instances of a problem that may occur in rare situations, preventing the need for unexpected hotfixes in the future.

In addition, Microsoft Services Partner Advantage offers consulting and workshop services, which Epicor uses to receive product guidance from product groups at Microsoft. This includes additional assistance from developers who conduct code reviews and code analyses of solutions from Epicor. “If we ever had specific questions about how something should be used or how we should move forward, Microsoft Services Partner Advantage directed us to a product group that could help answer our questions,” says Erik Johnson, Senior Director of Product Development for Epicor Software Corporation. The product experts run architectural reviews and give in-depth descriptions of the Microsoft products that Epicor incorporates into its solutions. This helps bring direction and clarity to the scope of a new product.

Benefits

With Microsoft Services Partner Advantage, Epicor is able to deliver high-quality products to its customers in a timely fashion. “I could hire three people, have each of them learn about a Microsoft product, keep them trained almost 365 days a year, and struggle to keep my head above water. Or, I could go with Microsoft Services Partner Advantage, which gives me an entire army of experts at Microsoft,” enthuses Johnson.

Microsoft Services Partner Advantage has enabled Epicor to gain expert insight into the integration of Microsoft products, while providing the resources necessary for Epicor to meet release dates and continue providing world-class software to organizations around the globe.

Improved Risk Management

With Microsoft Services Partner Advantage, Epicor is better prepared for unexpected issues that may occur during product deployment and use. “If we come up with an issue that we can’t resolve, Microsoft Services Partner Advantage provides us with the resources to figure out the problems and fix them beforehand so that we can be confident about the product we deliver,” states Johnson. Having access to testing facilities at Microsoft helps Epicor ensure that its applications function smoothly with Microsoft products in a variety of working conditions, preventing any potential problems that may occur in the future. “With the resources provided by Microsoft Services Partner Advantage, we have doubled concurrent user counts consistently every two years for the products we regularly test in scale labs,” says Johnson.

Expert Technical Advice

Building successful solutions around Microsoft products requires Epicor to have a firm knowledge base surrounding the products it incorporates. “Microsoft Services Partner Advantage works for us because we have a dedicated person and a dedicated team that we can go to when we need a quick response,” says Karen Chastain, Senior Manager of Alliance Marketing for Epicor Software Corporation.

This practice is carried out in the testing facilities as well. “We always have a minimum of five support staff members every time we do a lab. There are at least three people in various disciplines of expertise, plus we have our application development consultant and a backup just in case,” states Johnson. Getting help and product expertise are never an issue with Microsoft Services Partner Advantage. Epicor receives technical skill tailored to the company’s business, whenever they need it.

Reduced Time to Market

Epicor is committed to delivering reliable, high-performance solutions that help companies achieve its goals. “Microsoft Services Partner Advantage enables us to get to the front of the line with experts at Microsoft,” says Chastain. “It provides us with one-on-one expertise and the ability to make our solutions achieve their full potential.” And because Microsoft Services Partner Advantage also provides code reviews and analyses, Epicor product developers can quickly address and resolve issues as they occur. With product-testing resources and expert guidance from Microsoft Services, Epicor delivers products in a timely fashion, while benefiting from world-class support that ensures the quality of its products.