Microsoft® Business Solutions–Axapta® is Upper Mid-Market Darling for Eclipse

Sydney - Monday, 1 September 2003 - "Interest in Microsoft Axapta from upper mid-market enterprise is at record levels for Eclipse Computing (Australia) Pty Ltd in a reversal of the slump experienced by much of the IT channel.

Eclipse Business Development Director, Mr Martin Wildsmith, said that as Tier One vendors faced a reduction in licensing in excess of 30%, Eclipse had achieved significant growth with Microsoft products.

Eclipse has experienced an explosion in interest in Microsoft Axapta from enterprise customers in the upper reaches of the corporate mid-market, with $2.5 million in sales and services made in the four months to June.

Mr Wildsmith said that Microsoft Axapta was definitely on the radar as a viable alternative to Tier One solutions.

“It’s a clear indicator that the market is changing,” he said.

“Tier One solutions are too bulky and time consuming to implement. They just will not give the returns and deliver the flexibility of a solution like Microsoft Axapta.

“You can’t customise Tier One solutions quickly enough to get the returns that this market now needs to stay competitive in their industries.

“In the upper end of the corporate mid-market, specifically in organisations with 30 to 200 users and an internal IT division, there is a sweet spot for Microsoft Axapta.”

When Microsoft Business Solutions was formed in 2002 following the acquisition of Navision and Great Plains, Axapta became part of the Microsoft Business Solutions suite which reinforced the product’s longevity in a period of instability in IT.

“Because it’s a Microsoft product now, risk has decreased for the larger corporations who are not willing to take a gamble on a product without a secure future,” Mr Wildsmith said.

“This trend has been further fuelled by the recent merger of JD Edwards and PeopleSoft and the aggressive take over plans of Oracle.”

Microsoft Axapta offers an integrated solution for an organisation’s financial management, business analytics, manufacturing, supply chain management, CRM and eCommerce.

Eclipse is a leading reseller of business solutions that include Microsoft Axapta and Microsoft® Business Solutions–Great Plains®, SunSystems® Financials, Pivotal® CRM and their most recent offering, PayGlobal® Payroll & HR.

Eclipse is one of Australia’s fastest-growing companies, ranked number 33 in BRW’s Fast 100 last year, and has built its business by providing high-level customer service to support a range of software solutions.

The company has Gold Certification from Microsoft Business Solutions and has twice achieved membership to the prestigious Inner Circle which is open to just 1% of Microsoft Business Solutions Partners globally.