Epicor Software put its newest version, Epicor 9, into the clouds in a new release called Epicor Express, which makes it a pioneer among veteran mid-market companies to get an Internet version to market. Express is designed for job shops and smaller manufacturers. The on-demand version packs in a variety of functions, including CRM, financial management, product, production, product and material management functionality, business intelligence, business process management and the Epicor ICE business architecture. It’s an all-in-one, except that name is sort of taken. The press statement that an “affordable monthly fee” that covers software, hardware, operating systems, support, training sources and on-going system maintenance and upgrades. The Temptations’ s song, Cloud Nine, could be a good theme. “You can be what you want to be.” However, I suppose the line, “You’re a thousand miles from reality” probably doesn’t fit the image. Read more...

Many readers have received the credential from the American Institute of CPAs called the Certified Information Professional, an IT designation available only to CPAs. However, all of them, to my knowledge, qualified based on experience and none took the exam that was once offered. That's going to change in about a year when a new test hits the market, according to Jim Bourke, the CPA who heads the CITP committee. Read more...