Convergence provided an opportunity to get opinions on the looming purchase of Epicor and its combination with Activant Solutions, which sells specialized financial applications.  A Microsoft employee said that the deal, in which private equity investor Apax Partners intends to buy both, will distract Epicor’s management and its sales force for at least year. “It’s great for Microsoft,” he said. That opinion may reflect the fact that Epicor has been making advances in the mid-market with its still relatively new product Epicor 9. An Epicor reseller said that it would “be great or awful, nothing in between.” Read more...