Running on Old Drumsticks – Moving Beyond Epicor’s Legacy Versions

In some ways, enterprise applications are like professional athletes.

There is a period of promise. There is a period of inconsistent, but incremental growth, which culminates in a period of eminence and excellence. Then comes the slow decline—the phase of lowered expectations, and eventually, the time for replacement. For every Joe Montana, there is a Steve Young. For every Brett Favre, an Aaron Rodgers.

But ERP vendors have one advantage that we mere mortals lack. While it’s terribly difficult to reprogram a creaky knee or a sore arch, it is possible to reprogram an enterprise system.

To paraphrase Marcellus Wallace:

“Some athletes think their bodies will age like wine. If you mean it turns to vinegar, it does. If you mean it gets better with age, it doesn’t.”

As an Epicor ERP implementation consultant, I’ve stepped into many organizations whose business systems—sticking with the culinary motif—have more gristle on them than a bucket of secret-recipe chicken. Their basic structure is freezer-burnt fry hen. And since it takes more spice to make an old bird taste good, these aged systems have become harder to maintain, harder to support, and harder to extend or reconfigure.

The secret recipe I recommend to these Epicor ERP clients is simple: start with a new bird.

It is possible to take an aging platform and replace it with something more current, more robust—something fit for future endeavors.

And you don’t have to lose what made the original valuable. It’s possible to preserve the original flavor—those competencies and capabilities that have differentiated the system from its competitors.

Epicor spent the past several years doing just that—replacing its legacy architecture with Version 10: a full-stack Microsoft platform that’s more scalable, maintainable, and versatile than ever before. For Epicor customers still running legacy versions, the upgrade path provides the programmatic equivalent of a Canterbury spring—a fountain of youth.

Still, many customers hesitate to make the jump from legacy 803 or 905 to Version 10. In working with companies across industries, I’ve found several distinct challenges that often get in the way:

Epicor ERP Customizations

Companies that have significantly customized the legacy version fear that those customizations can’t be rebuilt or migrated without chaos. They worry Humpty Dumpty won’t come together again in Version 10 the way he did in 803 or 905.

Epicor ERP Product Configurators

The Product Configurator is a challenging and complex module in any version. With the advent of Version 10, its architecture changed dramatically. Companies who have finely tuned their legacy configurators may shy away from the effort to rebuild the wheel on new roads.

Epicor ERP Crystal Reports

With the move to a Microsoft-centric stack, Epicor shifted from Crystal Reports to SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). Companies comfortable with Crystal may hesitate to invest in rebuilding a full suite of reports in SSRS.

From Legacy Epicor ERP to Epicor Kinetic

The challenges ahead are not insurmountable. Our goal at EstesGroup is simple: to make the benefits of moving to a newer version of an ERP system far outweigh the risks and costs.

So, if you’re running a legacy version of Epicor—and if you’re tired of chewing on an old set of drummies—come talk with us. We’d love to help get your company running strong again.

Have a question? Ask us anything about your legacy Epicor system. Let’s explore what lies on the other side of your Epicor ERP upgrade.

Ready for a Better View? Epicor Classic is sunsetting, but your next chapter is just beginning. Let’s uplift your system to the modern Kinetic web UI—cleaner, faster, and built for the future. Sign up using the form below to get the guide to uplift to Epicor’s latest.