Epicor reports 9% license revenue growth in latest quarter
Epicor reported quarterly earnings today. Total license revenue was up 9% and George Klaus harped big on the "new name license" theme. He invoked the fact that Epicor 9 was doing well selling to new accounts - frequently.
The press really didn't follow up on this theme too much - instead mostly asking boring currency conversion and sales commission questions. Epicor didn't really have much to say about their retail software which apparently has undergone some management changes. They mostly mumbled through that portion of the call. I had the impression that retail is definitely lagging. They also seem to sell hardware as there was discussion of ($8 million I think) or hardware sales. If I remember correctly the margin was fairly tiny. They did harp on a 94% maintenance renewal rate -- which somewhat puzzled me because the quarterly comparative maintenance revenue is pretty flat. One analyst asked about this (about the only intelligent question asked) to which there was a very long Epicor pause. No real answer from Klaus on this. They claim well over 100 Epicor 9 are out "on evaluation" but Klaus quips - "don't quote" him (funny thing to say at an analyst press conference).... Earnings say over 140 Epicor 9 are ready to go live this year (as opposed to about 200 already installed). Early on they hit on three things that they thought were driving sales: 1. More prospects (I took this to mean people looking for niche software)2. More industries served with Epicor 9
3. More localization - they apparently are able to utilize Epicor 9 in another 20 languages/locales (unsure on this number exactly as I was connecting via cell to the call and not near a computer) The company made a clear point that sales to existing customers --- upgrades, new modules -- were relatively flat or down. This is another area they spent little time on though when questioned by an analyst of course the company expects to convert many of their install base to Epicor 9. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to ask any questions as it seemed to be softball analyst day. If I did I would have asked: A. What percent of sales are channel versus direct (I hear it's 85% direct with a goal of 60% - which sounds like being a little pregnant. Epicor has a mixed track record here so caveat emptor) B. Who are your three biggest competitors (because I believe Epicor is probably benefiting from a market shift to niche software) C. What effect will the new emphasis by Microsoft and Oracle on specialization for their channel have on Epicor's sales into market niches. (My guess is not a lot immediately but probably in 2 years quite a bit). That's all I remember -- I was connected by cell while out of the office so some of the specific numbers I'm stating from memory could be a little off but in general this was the tone of the call.
Amazon Remanufactured Ink & Toner
Seems I'm always the last to notice these things. Looks as if Amazon has been in the remanufactured ink and toner business since at least earlier this year. Given the comments complaining about price they don't seem to be the cheapest deal going - but you can't argue with their reputation and abundance of cheap or free shipping offers.
MC Hammer & Bay City Rollers Visit Mohegan Sun's Free Wolf Den This Weekend
It's hammer time! This Saturday 7/31 catch MC Hammer live on-stage at the Mohegan Sun. Admission is free. Must like listening to 35 minute versions of "Can't Touch This".
Never noticed that Facebook comment boxes positioned this way
First time I've noticed the Facebook comment box looking this way. I think you always had to click comment and then a box appeared.
Is Intuit dragging down all of SaaS-land with their outages?
Again Intuit is apologizing for an outage on their QuickBase site. For a company that hopes to go from 60% to 75% online revenues - this is not good news. It's also very negative for all other SaaS providers who have to live down the frequent outages that Intuit does not seem to be able to get under control (read).
Google News Down
Google displaying a site search box within search results
This is the first time I've seen a search result from Google display a mini-search box right within the Google results.
Using the mini-search results in another search on Google where the results are limited to the site you're searching. This clearly is aimed at keeping searchers on the main Google site -- even when their search results are being filtered against only one domain.
Scribd Soon To Offer Premium Paid Accounts
Looks as if Scribd is soon to launch premium paid accounts. If you click through on the link that shows on the site you're brought to a "coming soon" announcement which also quizzes you as to what you'd be willing to pay for.
MAS90 Consulting Inquiries Suddenly Rising
I'm not sure why but within the last three weeks there's been a huge influx of folks looking for information on rates for MAS 90 consulting.
-- Wayne
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