Like many other ERP vendors, Epicor has finally decided to schedule the final on-premises releases for three of its main products: Kinetic, Prophet 21, and BisTrack. Over the last few years, it has been tempting, nudging, and persuading customers to migrate to the cloud versions of these products. It has been more patient in this migration than many others and has finally set a schedule for the final versions of these three products.
The future is cloud-based, and stopping development of on-premises versions enables Epicor to focus its full attention on developing features that are better when cloud-based. It also enables the firm to focus on providing ERP solutions that are secure, scalable, and continuously updated.
Vaibhav Vohra, President and Chief Product & Technology Officer at Epicor, said, “As we look ahead, our commitment is simple: to ensure every customer has a clear pathway to the latest innovation, security, and enhanced business agility. Our cloud investments enable us to deliver secure, scalable, and current Cognitive ERP capabilities that help businesses make better supply chain decisions in an increasingly complex world.
“These final on-premises releases mark an important milestone in that journey. We will closely work with our customers every step of the way via Epicor Support, through our AI-powered Ascend with Epicor migration program, and with our industry-first innovations such as conversational ERP.”
Epicor Cloud supports over 20,000 businesses worldwide, enabling customers to prioritise growth rather than software management. With a focus on cloud development, Epicor delivers regular feature updates, advanced AI tools, and a resilient platform that lowers IT workload and operational risks. Customers can easily leverage innovations such as the industry’s first ERP AI agent, freeing up resources for business expansion.
Sunset is not the end
The Epicor announcement reveals three stages for the end of life of the on-premises solutions. However, there is no end date, giving customers time to make the decision to migrate.
However, with less investment in development in the future, there will be risks for organisations that extend use beyond the final release, notably around compliance requirements that change and are baked into the solution rather than configurable. It is an area that organisations need to consider.
Once the final on-premises release is available, the products will enter a second phase in which Active Support from Epicor will be provided. In most cases this will be available for up to two years. Following that, will be what Epicor calls sustaining Support. Sustaining Support provides essential stability, access to the online knowledge base, and limited telephone assistance.
However, it does not include new features, comprehensive bug fixes, or the sale of new modules. The primary aim is to maintain the software’s operability while encouraging customers to upgrade to newer, actively supported versions such as Kinetic.
Epicor published the timelines of the three applications as follows:
Kinetic
- Final on-premises release: 2028.1, tentatively scheduled January 2028
- Active Support for release 2028.1 through December 31, 2029
- Sustaining Support begins January 1, 2030
Prophet 21
- Final on-premises release: 2028.1 tentatively scheduled for May 2028
- Active Support for release 2028.1 through June 30, 2029
- Sustaining Support begins July 1, 2029
BisTrack
- Final on-premises BisTrack Web Browser & API release 2028.1 is tentatively scheduled for July 2028
- Active Support for on-premises BisTrack Web Browser & API release 2028.1 through June 30, 2029
- Sustaining Support for on-premises BisTrack Web Browser & API release 2028.1 begins July 1, 2029
- BisTrack Desktop final release 2026.2 tentatively scheduled for December 2026
- Active Support for BisTrack Desktop through December 31, 2028
- Sustaining Support for BisTrack Desktop begins January 1, 2029
- BisTrack UK 3.9 (2017): Active Support through December 31, 2026; Sustaining Support begins January 1, 2027
The future lies in the Cloud
While Epicor continues to support on-premises customers, it has also developed a program called Ascend with Epicor to help those organisations migrate to the Cloud. The program, delivered by both Epicor and its partner ecosystem, leverages powerful tools, consulting services, support, and training to help organisations with the migration.
Bryan DeRuvo, Vice President of ERP and IT, VMC Group, commented, “The process moving to the Cloud was very simple for us using the Ascend with Epicor cloud tools; it couldn’t have been easier. It took a few hours to get the database uplifted, moving our customizations over, and testing.
“That was a very easy process for us. Epicor provides a lot of guidance and handholding on that, and their project management team was not invasive, but very supportive.”
The program begins with an analysis of the customer’s existing environment. The analysis generates a customised readiness assessment, which helps the organisation better understand any risks and the migration path that minimises disruption. For organisations looking to migrate to the Cloud, Epicor offers more information on its Innovation Pathway web page. Clients are welcome to contact their Epicor account representative.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Epicor has bitten the bullet and laid out a timeline for customers to migrate to the Cloud. There is still plenty of time for planning; however, organisations should start thinking seriously about this now, as these timescales will rapidly shorten. If they are not thinking about upgrading yet, this announcement should prompt them to do so.
Customers may want to continue their journey with Epicor. Certainly, the three cloud-based versions of these solutions will not only be familiar but also offer much, much more in terms of functionality at go-live and well beyond.
What will be interesting is how many customers will opt to migrate to the Cloud with Epicor. There are other options available, and this announcement may also be good news for competitors, as it means a new raft of manufacturers and distributors will be seriously considering moving their ERP to a cloud-based one. The challenge for competitors is to identify which of those Epicor clients are actually seriously considering an alternative vendor.
