Two very good resellers reported that in 2009 they had revenue growth of more than 20 percent, which is akin to saying they found a cure for cancer, given the way the economy went last year. It's not wise to name them and I'll simply say they carry major midmarket lines. Read more...

Microsoft has a lot of product promotions on its home page, rotating between various parts of its diverse product line. But this last week was the first time I have seen a home page plug for Dynamics Hosting. Read more...

Microsoft has a new pricing schedule coming out in May for Dynamics GP 11, which features a great deal of rolling products together at one price in various bundles and suites. Officially, "Based on partner feedback we decided to make a few select changes to simplify the pricing model for Microsoft Dynamics GP, and with the upcoming launch of Microsoft Dynamics GP 11, the timing was right," said Errol Schoenfish, the Dynamics GP director of product management. Read more...

Epicor has named Sam Montana to head its worldwide channel, a move that comes as reports are coming in that Epicor would start growing its channel again. Montana, who has worked at Epicor for 12 years, has the title VP worldwide solutions, according to his Linkedin page.  The company announcement said he has been running the worldwide systems engineers operation. The announcement of Montana's new responsibility was made at Focus, a reseller event whose existence I think Epicor has only briefly acknowledged to the press (and which isn't mentioned on the Web site anywhere easy to find). The change in direction seems logical given that Epicor has said that its newest product, Epicor 9, puts it back in the financial software business. For the last few years, it has been heavily oriented towards manufacturing. Epicor channel efforts are always interesting since its CEO George Klaus spends a lot of time emphatically telling analysts and investors that the company is totally direct sales (which it isn't). Klaus most recently delivered this message in October in discussing Epic's third quarter results. He told analysts direct sales is one area that differentiates Epicor from other ERP vendors. Read more...