epic ERP, a value added Epicor enterprise resource planning (ERP) software reseller, has joined forces with CentralCloud to bring clients within Sub-Saharan Africa the flexibility and scalability of an end-to-end, feature rich cloud-based ERP solution.
CentralCloud is associated with Alviva Holdings, one of Africa’s largest providers of information and communication technology products and services.
“While Epicor cloud-deployed ERP has brought customer success to hundreds of companies globally, epic ERP is the first value added Epicor reseller to provide this functionality within Sub-Saharan Africa,” explains Stuart Scanlon, managing director and founder of epic ERP.
“As an innovative technology that needs advanced infrastructure in place from an on-premise point of view, epic ERP is now able to provide the same solution within the cloud, not only with a zero hardware footprint but also within a highly secure, available environment.
“The upshot here is that African clients no longer have to make an additional hardware investment to derive value from their ERP software.”
A key element of the epic ERP/ CentralCloud solution is the fact that clients can easily flex or shrink services consumed according to their changing needs.
They are also able to manage their own cloud environment via a self-service portal and can switch between the cloud and on-premise offerings as required.
According to Scanlon, Epicor’s sizable, high-profile client base has exacting requirements when it comes to a cloud system.
“Not only do they want an environment with depth, they also want one that is simple to operate, and available 24/7 of course. Certain local clients are seeing an exponential growth of 20 to 30 percent year-on-year, and it is critical that we are able to keep up with these developments. The combined epic ERP/CentralCloud solution is able to tick all of these boxes.”
As the very heart and lifeblood of the company, the implication of ERP system downtime is almost unthinkable, Scanlon continues, as clients stand to lose millions of Rands.
“It stands to reason then that our top requirement for a cloud computing specialist partner was exceptional reliability,” he explains.
epic ERP and CentralCloud have partnered for the past six months, and it is within this relationship, that epic ERP has found the flexibility, scalability, and reliability it sought in a cloud partner.
“With a trusted partner like CentralCloud on board, epic ERP is able to confidently offer a flexible, scalable software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription model to the African market. We can now effortlessly provide backups and upgrade client environments within hours if not minutes.
“CentralCloud operates as a corporate concern, but one with an agile setup and entrepreneurial mindset. It also provides the professional yet personalised touch that was a non-negotiable requirement for our partnership. The CentralCloud team has provided seamless setup, guidance and training around the cloud offering, as well as being extremely responsive, delivering a quick and painless resolution to any challenges,” adds Scanlon.
Joubert de Lange, sales specialist at CentralCloud explains that the CentralCloud offering provides medium-sized businesses with an enterprise-ready infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) solution that is both secure and affordable.
“In the case of epic ERP, African Epicor clients now have access to world-class infrastructure that is available 24/7, meets the desired 99.9 percent availability requirements of today’s businesses and can be scaled up and down quickly as needed via an easy to use the self-service portal.
“Not only is there no minimum financial investment requirement, but clients are also not tied into long-term contracts. As a locally-based cloud partner, CentralCloud is also able to deliver faster response times and greater accessibility, at a lower cost and with less latency than a global partner using international bandwidth,” says De Lange.
