Epicor? Expands Global Footprint for IT Service Management
Epicor ITSM to Offer Support for 14 Languages and Greater Business Integration through Advanced Extensibility
IRVINE, Calif. (November 10, 2008) – Epicor Software Corporation (NASDAQ: EPIC),
a leading provider of enterprise business software solutions for the midmarket and divisions of
Global 1000 companies, today announced its expanded world footprint for IT Service
Management (ITSM) through Epicor ITSM, a complete service desk management solution that
enables best practices and the efficient management of IT services.
“The worldwide expansion and continued enhancement of Epicor ITSM is part of our
overall objective to extend the value of best practice IT service management tools to
progressive businesses across the globe,” said James Norwood, vice president of product
marketing for Epicor. “Epicor ITSM includes significant capabilities to align IT with the broader
enterprise, while satisfying the demands of midmarket IT professionals in a number of countries
that have traditionally been under-served by software vendors.”
Increased Global Reach
In the latest release, Epicor ITSM extends multinational capabilities to more than 20
countries with nine languages currently available (English U.S., English U.K., Dutch, German,
French, Spanish, Russian, Estonian, Hungarian and Traditional Chinese) and offering support
for businesses in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas. Additionally, development is
under way for Swedish, Simplified Chinese and Greek. Support for Arabic is planned for future
release to meet demand in countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab
Emirates.
This extended reach of ITSM provides Epicor customers with greater power for
managing IT operations as part of an integrated global solution and also broadens Epicor’s
ability to serve midmarket companies around the world.
Greater Business Extensibility
The service-oriented architecture (SOA) on which Epicor ITSM is built provides easier
integration with, and extension of, Epicor ITSM to external applications and businesses,
including an application programming interface (API) for computer telephone integration (CTI);
inbound and outbound Web service integration via Epicor Service Connect, and the introduction
of a Self-Service and Field Service Portal solution based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server
2007.
CTI opportunities have been enhanced with the addition of an interface that allows
telephone software to launch a new Epicor form for incoming calls. This feature can significantly
reduce the costs associated with integrating with external CTI hardware and software and
create greater efficiencies in the service desk.
The bi-directional Web service integration enabled by Epicor Service Connect, sold
separately, provides secure workflow orchestrations within Epicor ITSM and between Epicor
ITSM and other line of business services, including external connectivity to Epicor and non-
Epicor applications. For outgoing integrations, administrators can set up Server Event Listeners
which wait for a specified event to occur, such as an updated incident, problem or change
request, and then send the data set of the transaction to a Service Connect workflow. For
incoming integrations, several Epicor Web services have been enhanced to allow easier
interaction with external sources.
The addition of a new Self-Service and Field Service Content Pack for Microsoft
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Office SharePoint Server 2007 enables midmarket
companies to increase responsiveness to internal customers. IT personnel in the field now have
straightforward and secure access to adjust incidents, problems, request for changes (RFCs),
and check for new assignments, finalize change advisory board (CAB) judgments and find
information, from virtually anywhere.
“Epicor does a great job of leveraging the business benefits of Office SharePoint Server
2007 to drive efficiency throughout IT service organizations,” said Tom Rizzo, Director of
SharePoint at Microsoft. “Using the power of the integrated platform of capabilities in Office
SharePoint Server 2007, Epicor helps empower IT professionals to work more effectively and efficiently, and ultimately provide faster, streamlined service to knowledge workers within an
organization.”
Best Practices in IT Service Management
Epicor ITSM is built completely on an adaptable SOA using Microsoft’s .NET Framework
to provide increased scalability, flexibility and support for the worldwide standard for IT
processes – Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). Epicor ITSM is used
successfully by both midmarket and large enterprises in a variety of industries from
manufacturing to retail to education, with implementations ranging from fewer than 500 up to
10,000-plus supported employees.
Source: Epicor