ORLANDO, FL — ERP provider Epicor Software Corp. today said it is developing next-generation business intelligence and social media applications and services that will enhance the company’s Epicor 9 next-generation applications.
Speaking to 1,700 customers and partners at the company’s annual Perspectives customer conference, Epicor officials said the new applications under development will give users more visibility into real-time data, transactions, and communication streams as well as the ability to take action based on that information.
The next-generation business intelligence initiative — dubbed Smarter Business Intelligence by Epicor — will include cloud-based Advanced Financial Planning and what Epicor calls Actionable Analytics applications. Built on top of Microsoft technology, including its PowerPivot in-memory tools, the Advanced Financial Planning application will allow users to create and analyze financial models that include large amounts of historical performance data. Epicor said it will offer user access to AFP from Windows, Web, mobile, and Microsoft Office applications and devices.
A second new BI application under development is Actionable Analytics, which marries Epicor’s existing Enterprise Performance Management analytics server with the Business Process Management and Business Activity Monitoring pieces of the company’s latest Epicor 9 enterprise applications. This, Epicor said, will allow users to issue real-time analytics and alerts to users telling them the business impact of a pending transaction. Using the Actionable Analytics application, for example, a company could define a target profit margin and notify a user if a new purchase order would degrade margins below the target level.