Epicor Software expands cloud footprint in Middle East

Rolling out a cloud-first strategy in the Middle East means ERP customers can leverage cloud deployment benefits, says Sabby Gill, Epicor Internationalexecutive vice-president.

Epicor Software has launched its cloud-first strategy for ERP (enterprise resource planning) deployments in the Middle East. The US company sees growing appetite for cloud solutions in the region.

With more than 40 years of industry experience, Epicor provides flexible, industry-specific software designed around the needs of manufacturing, distribution, retail and service industry customers.

Epicor introduced cloud-based solutions to its customers in the US more than two-and-half years ago and in Asia this year, Epicor International executive vice-president Sabby Gill told Khaleej Times.
Building on the momentum of moving hundreds of multi-tenant Epicor cloud customers to the new Epicor ERP 10.1 release in the US and parts of Asia, Epicor is now expanding its global cloud footprint in the Middle East and Egypt.

"Rolling out our cloud-first strategy in the Middle East means ERP customers in the region can now leverage cloud deployment benefits, including business consistency, worry-free security, hassle-free upgrades, reduced risk and faster time to value. Perhaps most importantly, given the current economic climate with depressed oil prices, cloud solutions also offer lower total cost of ownership," Gill explained.

Cloud services market
Last month, a Gartner report predicted that the public cloud services market in the Middle East and North Africa would grow by 18.3 per cent in 2016 to $879.3 million. More specifically, the cloud application services market is forecasted to grow by a staggering 207 per cent from $166.1 million in 2015 to $509.8 million in 2020.

According to a report by Forrester Research: "No longer a tactical solution, cloud is a strategic enabler of connected economies. Technology leaders will orchestrate cloud ecosystems, connecting employees, customers, partners, vendors and devices to serve rising customer expectations."

Epicor has made it easy for organisations to utilise the cloud to take advantage of a new cloud-first era of service delivery and flexibility, where ERP is delivered as a service and accompanied by value-added services to ensure scalability, security and business continuity.

"The Epicor ERP solution has been one of the strengths and indispensable tools of our business processes for the last six years," said Raheel Shamim, business systems manager for Al Rajhi Holding Group.

The company's decision to offer cloud solutions in the region has been warmly received by the partner community.

"As a channel partner, our ability to compete and stay relevant in the market hinges on us tailoring our business model to be in line with the latest technology and customer buying models. I see building a cloud practice as key to this strategy. By offering cloud solutions, Epicor is helping us on this journey by allowing us to strengthen our value proposition to both our existing and new customers," said Vetri Selvan, managing partner for RheinBrucke IT Consulting, an Epicor partner.

- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com