Software Company Eases

Development, Reduces Server

Requests by 90 Percent
Overview
Country or Region: nited States
Industry! Professional services"
Software en#ineerin#
Customer Profle
Epicor develops software solutions
for more t$an %0,000 customers
worldwide& '$e company, w$ic$ $as
%,(00 employees, was t$e %009
)icrosoft Partner of t$e *ear for
+lobal ,S- .ine of /usiness&
Business Situation
,ncreasin#ly, Epicor customers
as0ed for more 1e2ibility in t$e
company3s main solution, Epicor 9&
Epicor also wanted to simplify
development and reduce )icrosoft
S4. Server database requests&
Solution
Epicor deployed beta versions of
t$e )icrosoft -isual Studio %050
development system and t$e
)icrosoft &6E' 7ramewor0 8&
Benefts
Supports lar#e data models
Simpli9es development
Reduces server requests by 90
percent
Saves time and money
:'$e improvements in t$e )icrosoft &6E'
7ramewor0 8 will $elp our pro#rammers do
fewer tas0s in less time t$an before& '$at
means we can #o to mar0et faster, and wit$
more features&;
Eri0 <o$nson, -ice President, Product Researc$, Epicor
Epicor is a #lobal software company t$at creates
enterprise resource plannin# =ERP> solutions for
manufacturin# 9rms and ot$er customers& ? #rowin#
number of Epicor customers wanted a more 1e2ible
version of Epicor 9, t$e company3s 1a#s$ip ERP solution&
Epicor also sou#$t to reduce t$e time it spent on
framewor0 development and wanted to lower t$e tra@c
to its )icrosoft S4. Server database& '$e company too0
advanta#e of t$e )icrosoft -isual Studio %050
development system and t$e )icrosoft &6E' 7ramewor0
8, w$ic$ includes a new version of t$e )icrosoft
?DO&6E' Entity 7ramewor0& '$is software, w$ic$
supports lar#e data models, $as #reatly eased
development for Epicor pro#rammers and reduced S4.
Server database requests by 90 percent& Epicor also
saves time and money on development and can deliver
products to its customers faster&


)icrosoft -isual Studio %050
Customer Solution Case Study
Situation
/ased in ,rvine, California, Epicor is a
)icrosoft +old Certi9ed Partner t$at
develops innovative enterprise
resource plannin# =ERP> solutions for
small and midsiAe businesses and
+lobal 5000 companies in more t$an
5B0 countries& )ost of t$e
or#aniAation3s %0,000 customers wor0
in t$e manufacturin# distribution,
$ospitality, retail, and business
services industries&
'$e or#aniAation3s most widely used
ERP solution is Epicor 9, a serviceC
oriented arc$itecture =SO?> product
t$at is based on t$e )icrosoft -isual
Studio %00D development system and
t$e )icrosoft &6E' 7ramewor0& Epicor
9 also uses )icrosoft S4. Server %00D
data mana#ement software to
support its data repository& '$e
product $as separate client, business
lo#ic, and database layers&
'$e solution is desi#ned to #ive
employees t$e data t$ey need to
ma0e t$e ri#$t business decisions&
:Epicor 9 $andles all t$e critical
business processes in an or#aniAation,
suc$ as orderin#, inventory,
purc$asin#, 9nancials, and $uman
resources,; says Eri0 <o$nson, -ice
President, Product Researc$, Epicor&
Recently, many Epicor customers
e2pressed a need for additional
functionality and 1e2ibility in Epicor 9&
7or e2ample, customers wanted to be
able to perform database queries wit$
compiler support, so if pro#rammers
misspelled a S4. Server table name,
t$e lan#ua#e could still $elp t$em
write #ood queries& :7or t$at to wor0,
you need a data model,; says
<o$nson& :ntil recently, our
customers built t$eir own data
models& /ut t$ere was no application
pro#rammin# interface for t$e
database besides S4. Server itself&;
'$is was problematic for many
customers& :People were as0in# us
$ow to #et t$eir own code to mirror
t$e be$avior of Epicor 9 wit$ re#ard
to updates,; says <o$nson& :'$eir
pro#rammers wanted to do t$in#s t$e
same way as our application code did
t$in#s& ,t became clear to us t$at we
needed to #ive our customers a
certi9ed data model t$ey could use&;
?lso, Epicor 9 uses .an#ua#eC
,nte#rated 4uery =.,64>"a
)icrosoft &6E' component t$at adds
native queryin# functionality to &6E'
lan#ua#es"w$ic$ Epicor $as provided
to its customers for t$eir S4. Server
databases& :Ee do a lot of framewor0
development, but our obFective is to
avoid customiAin# t$e tec$nolo#ies
we wor0 wit$,; <o$nson says& :Ee did
not want to $ave to be .,64
providers&;
?dditionally, Epicor wanted to $elp
reduce tra@c to t$e S4. Server
database& :Ee saw t$at for eac$ line
item of a sale, for e2ample, customers
want to verify t$e department or
s$ippin# date, and many of t$ose
database queries are t$e same for
eac$ of t$ose items,; says <o$nson&
:,t3s di@cult to do t$ose queries once
across all line items, so t$ere was a
lot of tra@c to S4. Server and t$at
aGected scalability&;
Epicor also sou#$t to simplify
development for its team of 800
developers& :Durin# development, we
often $ad to wor0 wit$ t$e same table
in multiple data models, w$ic$ was
confusin# because our developers
often $ave to 0eep trac0 of w$ic$
model $as c$an#es in it durin#
updates,; <o$nson says&
Solution
,n early %009, Epicor started
searc$in# for a new &6E' data access
?P, t$at its customers could use&
However, t$e company could not 9nd
a $i#$Cperformin# solution t$at would
support t$e lar#e data model siAe
needed for Epicor 9& :Epicor 9 $as
5,I00 S4. Server tables,; says
<o$nson& :Ee loo0ed at solutions t$at
Fust couldn3t $andle t$at database
siAe, and we didn3t t$in0 we could
c$an#e t$e solution be$avior to 9t our
needs&;
'$e company considered creatin# its
own solution& However, Epicor
c$an#ed its mind w$en it learned
about t$e features in )icrosoft -isual
Studio %050 and t$e )icrosoft &6E'
7ramewor0 8&
,n particular, t$e &6E' 7ramewor0 8
includes t$e )icrosoft ?DO&6E' Entity
7ramewor0 8, w$ic$ $elps developers
create data access applications by
pro#rammin# a#ainst a conceptual
application model& Eit$ t$e ?DO&6E'
Entity 7ramewor0 8, developers can
reduce t$e amount of code and
maintenance needed for dataC
oriented applications& '$e tec$nolo#y
also features en$anced performance
and better support for lar#e data
model siAes&
'$e Entity 7ramewor0 8 includes
templates for code #eneration based
on t$e '8 codeC#eneration tec$nolo#y
in -isual Studio %050& Developers can
customiAe t$ese templates to provide
ric$er functionality, suc$ as
implementin# custom interfaces&
?lso new in t$e &6E' 7ramewor0 8 is a
pro#rammin# model for writin#
multit$readed code, w$ic$ can
simplify application development&
Developers can use t$is model to
create scalable parallel code wit$out
t$e need to wor0 wit$ t$reads or a
t$read pool& ,n addition, t$e &6E'
7ramewor0 8 provides en$ancements
in Eindows Communication
7oundation, suc$ as a simpli9ed
con9#uration model and t$e inclusion
of a routin# service wit$ w$ic$
developers can create a sin#le upC
front layer for accessin# bac0Cend
services&
Epicor implemented beta versions of
-isual Studio %050 and t$e &6E'
7ramewor0 8 in late %009& '$e
company used t$ese products to
develop Epicor 9&0B, t$e latest
version of its 1a#s$ip ERP solution&
/ene9ts
/y usin# )icrosoft -isual Studio %050
and t$e )icrosoft &6E' 7ramewor0 8,
Epicor $as support for its lar#e data
models and created a new version of
its 1a#s$ip product& '$e company $as
also #reatly simpli9ed development
and reduced tra@c to S4. Server by
90 percent& ?dditionally, Epicor $as
lowered its overall development costs
and can brin# products and features
to customers more rapidly&
Supports Large Data Models
/ecause t$e ?DO&6E' Entity
7ramewor0 8 can support lar#e data
model siAes, Epicor could use t$e
tec$nolo#y to create Epicor 9&0B&
:'$e earlier version of t$e Entity
7ramewor0 did not $andle our data
model siAe very well, and we
e2perienced delays in testin#,; says
<o$nson& :'$ose problems $ave all
been solved wit$ t$e ?DO&6E' Entity
7ramewor0 8&;
?s a result, Epicor did not $ave to
create its own inC$ouse data access
solution& :,nitially, we planned to
write our own data access layer
because of our data model siAe and
t$e unique be$avior of our
application, w$ic$ we needed to
replicate in our data access tier,; says
<o$nson& :'$e ?DO&6E' Entity
7ramewor0 8 #ave us t$e data model
siAe support and performance we
needed, so we did not $ave to spend
time and eGort writin# our own
solution&;
Simplifes Development
Eit$ -isual Studio %050 and t$e &6E'
7ramewor0 8, Epicor developers too0
advanta#e of t$e 1e2ibility of t$e '8
codeC#eneration templates w$en
creatin# Epicor 9&0B& :'$e ?DO&6E'
Entity 7ramewor0 8 separates t$e
data model from t$e code t$at it
#enerates,; says <o$nson& :'$e '8
templates drive w$at t$e code loo0s
li0e, and t$at made it easier for us to
edit t$ose templates so t$e code
turned out e2actly t$e way we wanted
it to loo0&;
Epicor developers also made use of
t$e new parallel pro#rammin# model
in t$e &6E' 7ramewor0 8 and t$e new
features in Eindows Communication
7oundation to furt$er simplify
development of Epicor 9&0B& :sin#
parallel e2tensions in t$e &6E'
7ramewor0 8, we can do batc$
processin# on t$e database by
readin# records and t$en creatin#
tas0s t$at can be $andled in t$e
bac0#round,; says <o$nson& :Our
developers no lon#er $ave to create
and mana#e t$reads to do t$at&;
Eit$ t$e simpli9ed con9#uration
made possible by t$e new version of
Eindows Communication 7oundation,
developers can also create Eeb
services more easily& :Ee $ave about
5,000 Eeb services in Epicor 9, and
our developers used to create 5,000
entries in a con9#uration 9le to create
t$e endpoints,; says <o$nson& :Eit$
Eindows Communication 7oundation
in t$e &6E' 7ramewor0 8, only one
entry is required for all of t$ose Eeb
services in Epicor 9&0B&;
Reduces Server Requests by !
Percent
/y usin# t$e new '8 codeC#eneration
templates, Epicor could modify
templates and build a new ?P, into its
solution& :Ee combined t$e idea of
:'$e ?DO&6E' Entity
7ramewor0 8 #ave us
t$e data model siAe
support and
performance we
needed, so we did not
$ave to spend time
and eGort writin# our
own solution&;
Eri0 <o$nson, -ice President, Product
Researc$, Epicor
:Ee conducted some
performance tests
recently wit$ e2istin#
code, and we were
able to reduce t$e
requests to S4.
Server by 90 percent&
'$at is because of t$e
?DO&6E' Entity
7ramewor0 8&;
Eri0 <o$nson, -ice President, Product
Researc$, Epicor
compilin# queries and cac$in# query
results because of t$e template
1e2ibility,; says <o$nson& :6ow, we
can loo0 in t$e ?DO&6E' Entity
7ramewor0 8 obFect state mana#er to
c$ec0 if a row was already t$ere, or if
it was already retrieved usin# t$e
e2act same query wit$ t$e same
parameters&;
Eit$ t$ese new streamlined
development processes, Epicor $as
reduced t$e load on S4. Server and
increased t$e overall application
responsiveness& :Ee conducted some
performance tests recently wit$
e2istin# code, and we were able to
reduce t$e requests to S4. Server by
90 percent,; says <o$nson& :'$at is
because of t$e ?DO&6E' Entity
7ramewor0 8&;
Saves "ime and Money
E$en Epicor realiAed it did not $ave
to write its own new data access
layer, t$e company 0new t$at it would
be able to reduce development costs&
:/ecause of t$e ?DO&6E' Entity
7ramewor0 8, we no lon#er $ave to be
in t$e .,64 provider business,; says
<o$nson& :Ee can oJoad framewor0
development, and as a result we do
not spend time and money trainin#
our developers&;
Epicor $as also e2perienced stron#
compiled query performance, w$ic$
will lead to furt$er cost savin#s& :Ee
noticed immediately t$at t$e
?DO&6E' Entity 7ramewor0 8 is
e2tremely fast at row
materialiAation,; says <o$nson&
:Overall, t$e perCrow development
cost was lower in t$e Entity
7ramewor0 8 t$an in all of t$e ot$er
tec$nolo#ies we evaluated&;
#elps $picor Speed "ime%to%
Mar&et' ()er *e+ ,eatures
Eit$ its new solution, Epicor can
deliver products and features to its
customers faster t$an before& :Ee do
a compre$ensive costCbene9t analysis
of every sin#le tas0 we #ive to a
pro#rammer,; says <o$nson& :Eit$
t$at in mind, t$e improvements in t$e
)icrosoft &6E' 7ramewor0 8 will $elp
our pro#rammers do fewer tas0s in
less time t$an before& '$at means we
can #o to mar0et faster, and wit$
more features&;
,n addition, Epicor customers can use
t$e new routin# service in Eindows
Communication 7oundation to create
new customer features more easily&
:)any of our customers $ave multiple
o@ces and manufacturin# plants all
over t$e world,; says <o$nson& :Eit$
t$e routin# service in Eindows
Communication 7oundation, we can
en$ance our application to $elp t$ese
customers brin# t$ose sites to#et$er
and ma0e sure t$eir distributed
processes are easily resolved&;
)icrosoft -isual Studio
%050
)icrosoft -isual Studio %050 is an
inte#rated development system t$at
$elps simplify t$e entire development
process from desi#n to deployment&
nleas$ your creativity wit$ powerful
prototypin#, modelin#, and desi#n
tools t$at $elp you brin# your vision
to life& Eor0 wit$in a personaliAed
environment t$at $elps accelerate t$e
codin# process and supports t$e use
of your e2istin# s0ills, and tar#et a
#rowin# number of platforms,
includin# )icrosoft S$arePoint Server
%050 and cloud services& ?lso, wor0
more e@ciently t$an0s to inte#rated
testin# and debu##in# tools t$at you
can use to 9nd and 92 bu#s quic0ly
and easily to $elp ensure $i#$Cquality
solutions&
7or more information about -isual
Studio %050, #o to!
www&msdn&microsoft&comKvstudio
7or )ore ,nformation
7or more information about
)icrosoft products and services, call
t$e )icrosoft Sales ,nformation
Center at =D00> 8%IC9800& ,n
Canada, call t$e )icrosoft Canada
,nformation Centre at =D((> BIDC
%89B& Customers in t$e nited
States and Canada w$o are deaf or
$ardCofC$earin# can reac$ )icrosoft
te2t telep$one =''*K'DD> services
at =D00> D9%CB%L8& Outside t$e B0
nited States and Canada, please
contact your local )icrosoft
subsidiary& 'o access information
usin# t$e Eorld Eide Eeb, #o to!
www&microsoft&com
7or more information about Epicor
products and services, call =989>
BDBC8000 or visit t$e Eeb site at!
www&epicor&com
'$is case study is for informational purposes
only& ),CROSO7' )?MES 6O E?RR?6',ES,
ENPRESS OR ,)P.,ED, ,6 'H,S S))?R*&
Document publis$ed ?pril %050
Software and Services
)icrosoft -isual Studio
O)icrosoft -isual Studio %050
'ec$nolo#ies
O)icrosoft ?DO&6E' Entity
7ramewor0 8
O)icrosoft &6E' 7ramewor0 8
OEindows Communication
7oundation